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EDITOR'S COMMENT

The disability rights movement which was initiated in the West, has been slowly gaining in importance in developing countries in the past few years. At this juncture, it is enlightening to read the Guest Editorial by Raymond Lang, who examines the relevance of the disability rights movement in the developing countries, in comparison with the developed world.

In the past few decades, the Asia Pacific region has seen rapid improvement in services for people with disabilities. Countries in south Asia, south east Asia and the Pacific have been experimenting with different methods of non-institutional forms of rehabilitation. The experience of the last two decades is likely to facilitate further changes in this field .With this, one anticipates that the dawn of the twenty first century will witness the era of implementation of more systematic, well planned and cost effective rehabilitation services. However, there are many controversial issues that are yet to be addressed, before more effective implementation of non-institutional forms of rehabilitation can take place.

Employment for people with disabilities is an area which is inadequately addressed in most countries in the Asia Pacific region. Attempts to reserve jobs or to train disabled people to fit into the available jobs are very few, and often do not set the right context to promote employment for disabled people. The article on the Japanese system of quotas describes the policy level initiative for employment promotion in that country. If disabled people are to be integrated without discrimination, such policy changes have to be brought about, especially to promote vocational rehabilitation.

One of the studies in the original articles section is an analysis of the attitudes and knowledge about disability in a section of the population in Jamaica. Even though a number of 'attitude' studies have been carried out, more such studies are needed from different parts of the world to help people to plan their programmes more appropriately. The other study examines the factors that affect 'coping' in parents with mentally handicapped children, which to a great extent determine the impact of the disability on the parents. These studies are helpful in identifying different types of interventions in rehabilitation that were hitherto considered as less important while planning for community based programmes.

Some of the views presented in the letters by the authors illustrate the importance of cultural, social and management influences that need to be addressed during the implementation of a project. Other letters describe the new tools in the field of rehabilitation, and illustrate the benefits of partnerships that can be established between the different sectors such as industry and voluntary organisations.

From this issue, some changes have been made in the format of the journal. The contents are displayed prominently on two pages, studies have been introduced with an abstract and the print size has been increased. Reviews have been completed quickly. However, due to the large number of submissions, delays have occurred in publishing some of the articles.

The editorial team wishes all the readers and well-wishers a warm and Happy New Year!

DR. MAYA THOMAS
CONSULTANT IN REHABILITATION
J-124, USHAS APARTMENTS
16TH MAIN, 4TH BLOCK, JAYANAGAR
BANGALORE - 560011, INDIA


ASIA PACIFIC DISABILITY REHABILITATION JOURNAL (VOL.9, NO.1, 1998)

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