The Union government is expected to roll out a new test to diagnose special learning disabilities (SLDs) in adults in India by the end of the year, government officials said, adding that the test is being designed by the National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities (NIEPID) in Secunderabad.
This comes even as the Supreme Court is in the middle of hearing a writ petition by a former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student that has challenged the absence of such diagnostic methods for testing SLDs in adults, which prevented them from securing disability certificates.
Getting a certificate is imperative in order to claim benefits under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act (2016), which stipulates a 5% reservation for people with benchmark disabilities, including SLDs, in government or higher education institutions receiving government aid, and 4% reservation in jobs in government establishments.
While the top court was hearing the matter, the Social Justice Ministry issued a revised notification on March 12, specifying the guidelines for assessing the extent of the specified disabilities, after considering the recommendations of the sub-committees of experts.
These guidelines said that the certification for SLDs will require three diagnostic steps; clinical assessment, IQ assessment and a Specific Learning Disability Assessment, for which the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences(NIMHANS) battery test or the Grade Level of Assessment Devices (GLAD) will be used. The certification can start at the age of 8 or above, following which repeat certifications will be needed, once in Class 10 and then again in Class 12. The disability certificate then issued after the final assessment at the age of 18 or above will become valid for lifetime, according to these guidelines.
But in the absence of a test for adults, the guidelines also mandated, “These tools will be used across all ages till such time until new scales are developed and validated for older children and adults.”
N. Sai Balaji, a former JNU student, who filed the petition in 2023, was among those for whom certification proved to be a barrier. According to him, the tests which are prescribed for children across different levels, will not have the same questions that a test for adults would, making it “impossible to get certified as an adult”.
Senior officials in the Ministry said that the new test is being developed by the NIEPID, Secunderabad, and should be ready for a phased roll-out by the end of the year. “We will be running it against global standards and then we can think about how to roll it out,” one of them said.
When asked about the barriers in adults having to take SLD diagnosis tests meant for children, a government source said, “This is a stop-gap measure till the new test is in place”, insisting there will be no barrier to certification for adults with SLDs.
‘Certification shouldn’t be a barrier’
While Mr. Balaji, now 32, faced issues with learning in school and college, it was only at the age of 30 that he was diagnosed with SLD (dyslexia and dysgraphia) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) via U.K.-based tests. “Since school days, I was questioned for writing abilities, with language, and mathematics. But I only found out about the diagnosis later on,” he said. It was after struggling with pandemic-induced stress and depression that he sought medical help, which eventually led him to the tests.
“It bothered me that there is a law under which I can claim justice but the processes for implementation do not exist,” Mr. Balaji, who has studied in elite institutions and maintained a rigorous academic record, said. “If I do not take the fight forward despite my privileges, then who will… at least the next generation should be able to study with dignity,” he added.
He pointed out that the reserved seats often do not get filled due to this gap. Disability rights activists said that the gap is even wider in rural areas, where there is little awareness about the subject.
“If there is a vacancy which has not been filled, there is a backlog, which means that the post or seat will be advertised again. If the seat is still not filled, it often goes vacant,” Armaan Ali, executive director, National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People, said. He emphasised the need to create this infrastructure, adding, “Lack of certification should not be a barrier for persons with disabilities.”