The director of the National Council of People with Special Needs (Conadis), Magino Corporan says while genetics is the main cause of personal physical disabilities, an alarming number of people in the country are maimed in traffic accidents. “An imprudent driver is similar to a person out of control handling a firearm,” he said at the Grupo Corripio press lunch yesterday, Thursday 5 December.
He said there is a lack of awareness among Dominicans on how to best deal with people with special needs. While designated parking areas are available, they are not respected. He said they have trouble using public transportation, and fellow passengers complain when a driver takes time to let disabled passengers on or off. In many families, he said, people with special needs are kept isolated. He mentioned Down syndrome, visual and autistic impairments. He said hospitals do not have interpreters for deaf-mute patients.
Rosalys Eduardo, in charge of labor inclusion, said that Law 5-13 orders government offices to set aside 5% of jobs for people with special needs, while in the private sector 2% is law, but this is not implemented.
Conadis, with a budget of RD$67 million, has 82 employees, of whom 50 have special needs.
During the interview, the case of a 24-year old deaf-mute PUCMM architecture graduate student was presented as a success story. He said that while moving ahead was tough, he had the support of his parents, siblings and others and when he experienced discrimination, he ignored it.
Conadis recognized that while some municipal authorities are installing ramps for wheelchair users, the Ministry of Public Works has failed to make similar provisions for all public works.