New test to diagnose special learning disabilities in adults to be rolled out by year-end

Subject: Economy

Sec: External sector

Context:

The Union government is expected to roll out a new test to diagnose specific learning disabilities (SLDs) in adults in India by the end of the year.

More on news:

The test is being designed by the National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities (NIEPID) in Telangana’s Secunderabad.
This comes even as the Supreme Court is in the middle of hearing a writ petition by a former Jawaharlal Nehru University student, challenging the absence of such diagnostic methods for testing SLDs in adults, which prevented them from getting disability certificates.
When SLDs were introduced in the list of disabilities in 2016, it invariably left out people who were adults at the time because the nature of the disorder requires diagnosis at an early age.

About the certificate:

Getting a certificate is imperative in order to claim benefits under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016, which provides for reservation in government or higher education institutions receiving government aid (5%), and in government jobs (4%).

Certification requirements:

The certification requirements for SLDs included a clinical assessment, an IQ assessment and an SLD assessment.
The SLD assessment can be done using the NIMHANS battery test or the Grade Level of Assessment Devices (GLAD).
This certification begins at the age of 8, followed by repeat certifications — once in Class 10, and then in Class 12.
The certificate issued after the final assessment at the age of 18 or above will be valid for lifetime.
The new guidelines said that the same tools will be used for adults till new ones for older children and adults can be completed.

Need for such a step:

Officials explained that this was only to cover those who were already adults when SLDs were added to the list of disabilities in the RPwd Act in 2016, thus leaving them without an option to be certified and avail benefits.
Once these adults are covered in the new test, diagnosis and certification can be limited to children due to the nature of the disorder.