This institute finds jobs for hearing impaired

bangalore: in a world that is increasingly becoming loud, these people remain blissfully unaware of the commotion. but bliss or not, the plight of the average hearing impaired person remains a case of questionable happiness in our society. in the situation as it stands today, the work done by dr s.r. chandrasekhar institute of speech and hearing is relevant."here we try to give back these people a semblance of normal life by teaching them how to adapt to a world that is alien and averse to them," says a.r. muthukumar, director of the institute. the institute which has been in operation since 1977, prides itself on being one of the premier voluntary organisations offering diagnostic and rehabilitative services under one roof for speech, language and hearing disorders. it has formed an organisation -- signers world -- to elucidate the qualities of sign language. the institute which also extends its activities to training, teaching and research, has recently started a placement cell to find jobs for the hearing disabled. "the objective of the cell is to see that every disabled person who approaches the institute gets a job based on his qualification and merit," says janani, head of the employment cell. according to janani, the cell which was formed in june 2001, has already run into a lot of problems in finding jobs for the deaf due to social stigma. "most employers believe that these people will be a burden and a liability. but this is not in the least bit true. these people are qualified and trained to hold jobs and they should be given their fair chance," janani adds. most of the hearing impaired seem to be qualified in electronic work (iti diplomas) as well as filters and turners in a mechanical capability. computer programming, graphics, multimedia, webpage designing, general artistry and illustration are the other areas where they excel with least interference of their disability. "it is true that for the first few days, employers will find it difficult to communicate with them especially if the employers don't know sign language. they might have to write out all the orders. but soon, a language of work-related signs will evolve on itself and work will become smoother," says kripa, head of the sign language department. another problem faced by the employment cell is the ignorance of many an employing organisation about its existence. apart from this, the jobs that are offered to these people are much below their qualifications with lamentably meagre salaries. "considering that the hearing impaired can concentrate on work more with fewer distractions and have a higher labour turnover than any normal person, more people should come forward to offer them jobs. hopefully, employers will soon realise the potential of these people and give them an opportunity to prove the same," says janani. (for further details call 5460405/5470037/5468470).