Delhi High Court orders amendment of RPWD Act for children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder- ADHD

The Delhi High Court seeks the evolvement of Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 and this brings good news to the parents of the children having Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) after the court received a petition on it by a Delhi resident named, Smruti R Sarangi.

The Delhi High Court now seeks the RPWD act to be amended and include the necessary provision for children affected by ADHD that at present is not included in the act.

What is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder- ADHD all about?

ADHD is a brain disorder that impacts the ability of a person to focus, remain attentive and control impulsive behaviors. Children having ADHD have problems sitting at one place, completing tasks assigned to them or follow certain instructions.

What are the signs of ADHD?

Uncontrollable impulsiveness, fidgeting, hyperactivity are some common signs of ADHD. An ADHD affected child is not able to complete the work given to him/her on time and so lags behind his fellow mates and this leads to affecting their performance at school.

Children with ADHD also tend to have reading disabilities.

 With the lack of proper policies for ADHD, children will continue to lag behind and loose confidence and later can miss out on opportunities. This problem certainly needs proper legislation formulation to ensure that like other children with disabilities and disorders, children with ADHD also have access to quality education.

The Delhi High Court allowed the concerned parties to submit their suggestions regarding a dedicated education policy for ADHD affected children.

A meeting regarding the policy formulation on ADHD was held earlier in the month of April this year between the principal secretaries of education and health departments of the Government of Delhi who would ensure welfare of ADHD affected people.

The said meeting concluded to the formation of a committee to look into the required actions to be taken to form the policy.

This order of the court has been applauded by several people including Gopinath Ramakrishnan, Co-founder, SCAN-Special Child Assistance Network.

He says, “This is a very good development. Children with ADHD need very different inputs from those with other kinds of challenges. Hopefully, this kind of thinking will lead to tailored programs and interventions for each kind of disability rather than a “one size fits all” approach.”