Down Syndrome patients and their parents need to form support groups on their own to take forward the fight for their rights, M.K.C. Nair, Vice-Chancellor, Kerala University of Health Sciences, has said.
Inaugurating a public function to mark World Down Syndrome Day here on Wednesday, he said that there was no point in blaming either the government or private agencies for their plight.
The support groups should also include doctors and teachers.
He said that the university was planning to set up a network of experts on disabilities to help the disabled and their families. They had also started a course in disability healthcare counselling.
Dr. Nair said that though there had been a proposal to start a disability university at the State level, it was kept on the backburner when the Union government revealed its plan to set up a similar institution.
Shaji Thomas John of the Down Syndrome Trust said that people with intellectual disabilities should be provided 1% reservation in government jobs as recommended by an expert panel.
Mr. John, a paediatrician at Baby Memorial Hospital, Kozhikode, said that change in attitude was all that was needed to accommodate them.
M.K. Jayaraj and Dhanya Vijayan were honoured.
