Not let down by disabilities, they make parents proud

BENGALURU:

Down syndromehas

never been a deterrent for him to surge ahead and win laurels. Abishek Kumar Dubey, affected by the genetic disorder, had won two bronze medals in weightlifting in the 2010 Special Olympics in Athens, while he has two medals from international events in discus throw and 100-metre sprintin hiskitty.

Dubey from Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh was among those with intellectual and developmental disabilities (PwIDs) who took part in the 25th annual national parents’ meet of

Parivaar

on Sunday.It is a national confederation of parents’ association for persons withintellectual disability, autism, cerebral palsy and multipledisabilities. “He is our pride,” said his parents Anita and Abhay Kumar Dubey who encouraged him to pursue sports. “He could not go to school. But we ensured he excels in sports,” Abhay said. For

Pranay Burde

, 29, of Mumbai, whohas been working in a five-star hotel for 10 years, the motivations are similar. He is the recepientof the National Award (2014) for being the most efficient employee in the category of intellectual disability.

Puducherry lieutenant governor Kiran Bedi recalled the efforts of her late sister

Reeta Peshawaria Menon

in drafting policies for the welfare of persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and requested the Centre to provide reservation to young family members of such people.

Jharkhand couple awarded Bedi handed over the Reeta Peshawaria Menon-Premlata Peshawaria National award, instituted in the names of her sister and mother, to

Bhavishya Kiran

, an organization from Jharkhand, for serving the underprivileged. It was founded by couple Mala and Sandeep Jha in the name of their son, who is a person with special needs.