Social Work Intervention

OC 28: Social Work Intervention with the Disabled and their Families
Case Study: Select a family of the disabled child/PWD (person with disability). Become acquainted with the PWD/ family through interviews.

Case: Jeevan Anand Chavan, 25 years

• Introduction
Jeevan Anand Chavan is a 25 year old, enthusiastic individual whose vivacity takes you by surprise and makes you want to know more of him. He is working as a Project Coordinator (Self-Employment Scheme) at The Muncherjee Nowrojee Banajee Industrial Home for the Blind. He finished his HSC from King George School, Dadar with a envious score of 82% and went on to do his SSC and Bachelors in Arts at S.I.E.S College, Sion. After that Jeevan went on to do an MA in Social Work from the
He nullified all previous conceptions and perceptions I had of visually impaired people in particular and of the disabled in general. He exuded such a sense of independence and confidence that I had not felt myself in a long time. Also, from what I noticed, Jeevan hardly spoke of the bleak side of the disability that we had, for all this while, studied in this course i.e. Social Work Intervention with the Disabled and their Families. This is what made me want to explore his case and see what is it that keeps people like Jeevan who have been shaken by odds, keep going, and going very smoothly, becoming an inspiration for most around
This is also because the results of the life and the support that they gave him, are very evident. Jeevan is in a ‘helping' profession rather that seeking help himself. I don't think anything more needs to be said to prove the success of his case.

• Cultural and value system, stereotypes, belief system of the family/PWD
One thing that caught my attention while exploring with Jeevan, his family and their mindset, was that they had thought of and believed in the concept of ‘inclusive education' and ‘integration' when Jeevan was only a child. We are advocating the cause of ‘inclusive education' and ‘integration' only now in India. And that too is being accepted at a very slow pace and with a lot of difficulty. But Jeevan's parents had the foresight of seeing the benefits of inclusive education. They put him in a regular school so that he could learn to adjust with people who are necessarily not his kind- atleast physically. They were realistic enough to see that eventually Jeevan will have to learn to accommodate himself with the rest of the world. Hence they began with it early. This helped Jeevan to not see himself as any different or disadvantaged as compared to other