All-inclusiveness: The place of assistive devices for persons with disabilities in the Covid-19 pandemic era

Abstract

An efficacious confrontation to the blowing-out of Covid-19 known as coronavirus have emanated to rely comprehensively on the innovation of assistive devices to flow the indispensable information about the bearing waves of a plague inducted as “Covid-19 or Corona virus”; bridge the social gap flanked by special need condition in the midst of social separation; safeguard the robustness of persons with disabilities (across the ages) during Covid-19 pandemic and ensure the “stay safe” crusade is not epitomized with ostracism. In that case, the immersion of assistive device for swiftness of all-encompassing healthy society particularly that of persons with disabilities is preordained. Whereas handling dynamism nature of persons with disabilities on the ground of equal right with their ‘abled’ counterparts calls for assistive devices. This paper explores the effect of assistive devices in making persons with disabilities evolve with their essence and existence as well as playing own quota in the fight against Covid-19 pandemic. It also describes Covid-19 in relation to persons with disabilities to set a scale of balance on multiplicity nature of human using assistive devices as mechanism for inclusion of all and sundry particularly that of persons with disabilities. Therefore, saving and securing lives and livelihoods of persons with disabilities during Covid-19 era is only achievable through uncompromising influence of assistive devices. Keyword: Covid-19; Persons with disabilities; assistive devices; coronavirus; Inclusion. International Journal of Childhood, Counselling, & Special Education (CCSE), Volume2, Issue: 1, March: 2021, pp.53-66 Adebisi & Adewale 54 Introduction The outburst of covid-19 or coronavirus is not restricted to Nigeria but a global sensation. In the essence of that, over twelve million people across the globe seem to have been infected by this deleterious virus. The oral tradition from series of sponsored radio and television programs that featured specialists in microbiology, genetic, parasitology, virology, and medical pharmacology as regard dealings with the pandemic avowed no single vaccine has been explicitly considered for its cure. Many experts in the field of medicine and surgery bank on the fact that Covid-19 is not a respecter of anybody, race, religious, social, political, or economic affiliation. The virus can be contracted both by educated and non-educated; young and old, physically fit or not. Without any iota of doubt persons with disabilities are not let out of its perilous mission, such individuals may either get ill with covid-19 or confined by the newly demand of social distancing, which is a measure in place to checkmate its spread. Moreover, the on-going campaign against Covid-19 might not be a solitary itinerary of workers in public health but a broad determination on the part of public to make all folds including persons with disabilities not defenselessness of the pandemic; and getting the psychological and physiological requirement of persons with disabilities conveyed at this period of enormity. Yet, the protection of persons with disabilities seems not to have been greatly held with precedence even with the spread and scourge of Covid-19. This laxity may have occasioned a few persons with disabilities to have been left out of safety and active strategy of combating the virus. The flare-up of the virus has led to the shutting down of schools, courts, carriage system, social businesses, musical concerts, relaxation and leisure facilities and others cost-effective venture. Its emergence could have disrupted all and sundry including persons with disabilities off equilibrium. The affliction of Covid-19 in connection to the futility of persons with disabilities may not be fully expounded by thousands of words. For instance, it is not surprising that Nigerians including persons with disabilities were anticipating for palliative to be given in getting themselves relieved from fiscal hardship experience during lockdown and restriction enforcement by the Nigerian government as part of covid19 control measure. This might be the reason for spending close to a billion of naira on food distribution and cash transfer to the poorest of the poor and their children captured in the social welfare intervention called ‘school feeding’ without displaying similar gesture to persons with disabilities. That is, nothing seems to have been purportedly done as an incentive to the persons with disabilities across all ages irrespective of inequality between their monetary prowess and that of their able counterparts together with the fact that the economic undertakings of the country are under the siege of covid-19. Persons with disabilities are seemed abandoned by International Journal of Childhood, Counselling, & Special Education (CCSE), Volume2, Issue: 1, March: 2021, pp.53-66 Adebisi & Adewale 55 their municipals that ought to have stood by them and show the individuals the solidarity. The agony of persons with disabilities during this pandemic era may be horrifying as the survival of the so called ‘abled’ persons has been throbbing and diminishing. The circumstances of persons with disabilities may perhaps be horrifying or deteriorating with Covid-19 as many of them may find it difficult to vend for their “daily bread” and get an entrée to the apt information about Covid-19 that could keep them safe. Persons with disabilities (most especially those with mental health disorders) living in an overfilled hospice, institutional home or boarding facility may require the support of support staff to get food ready, cloth washed and other routine for their daily breathing. Nonconformity with the use of protective masks, hand sanitizer and few other measures by the operational staff of the boarding facilities while rendering services to persons with disabilities may get the individuals infected with Covid-19 and persons with disabilities respectively. In addition, institutions, and camps for persons with disabilities are lacking cleansing agent and running water for the regular hand washing of persons with disabilities and their careers. This state of affairs together with the poor living environment and disheartened health-care amenities may impede an unending fight with Covid19 and it’s spread amongst persons with disabilities insurmountable. Nevertheless, ban on interstate movement, social and religious gathering and schools’ activities for days has incited the use of internet and application software deliberately design to run anthropological events with over twenty participants. Even though, the physical structures of office, classrooms and establishment are under the locked, their activities have been moved from conventional to the streamlined approach such as television, internet, and social media. Persons with disabilities if not being excluded, may not have fully benefited from this innovation owing to the absence of assistive devices or products such as digital outfits and internet amenities in addition to the problem of technical know-how and poor power supply (Human Right Watch, 2020). This might be termed as discrimination in the face of legal provision of education, information, health support for persons with disabilities to live like their counterparts without disabilities (Human Right Watch, 2020). Also, immeasurable number of digital information and guidelines to support school children at home through live broadcast may tend to be more beneficial to the ‘abled’ learners than those with disabilities because learning styles of persons with disabilities may not have been considered for its delivery. For this reason, failure to reckon with uniqueness of persons with disabilities at all age may dispossesses Nigerian government from recognizing Covid-19 as a substantiated threat to the existence and essence of persons International Journal of Childhood, Counselling, & Special Education (CCSE), Volume2, Issue: 1, March: 2021, pp.53-66 Adebisi & Adewale 56 with disabilities. Meanwhile, series of practices such as working from home, paid leave; lithe functioning hour, televising and online based instruction and activities strictly adapted for persons with disabilities might intensify the fight against covid-19 pandemic, which may not be realistic and accessible to assistive devices. Assistive devices are very crucial for the rapid development and accomplishment of society by supporting persons with disabilities to bridge the existing gap in terms of access to cardinal information to be independent and acceptable. It is clear that assistive device is paramount for persons with disabilities to be invested, primed and aligned with their various societies. The advancement of technology in this present age as stated in Adewale (2014) makes it hard for the fulfillment of all-inclusiveness without incorporation of assistive devices. This is because assistive devices to persons with disabilities are getups and kits for independent, participation and instructions proficient of rewarding persons with disabilities for their deficiencies. Assistive devices have capacity for persons with disabilities to be peripatetic, acoustic, unified, and sighted using aids and service like speech synthesizer, lens and hearing aid as in the case of Stephen Hawking, and Tanko Alimakura. Thus, for persons with disabilities to be hale and hearty and relying less on social welfare scheme; lies in the correct blending of assistive devices. The raging short time of COVID-19 on humanity has call for inclusiveness. Covid-19 Pandemic and Persons with Disabilities The features of covid-19 as presented by Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (2020) is a sickness triggered by a specific virus from a group of viruses called corona virus which has been spreading from person to person all over the world. This unusual virus is not quite long but has overextended its host from animal to human (Singhal, 2020). It is on that co