Please click here to know benefits of a disability certificate.
The Rights of People with Disabilities Bill 2014 was finally passed by the Parliament in December 2016 and is now the Rights of People with Disabilities Act ( https://www.indiacode.nic.in/handle/123456789/2155 ). The Act replaces the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995. It fulfills the obligations to the United National Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), to which India is a signatory.Section 2(s) of the Act defines :
(s) “person with disability” means a person with long term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairment which, in interaction with barriers, hinders his full and effective participation in society equally with others;
No doubt this is a very wide definition.
The Schedule accompanying the Act defines various disabilities. Although Stroke is as such not explicitly mentioned, many of its consequences such as locomotor disability, Aphasia find mention. This is understandable since many strokes may not directly lead to a disability of the extent that may require protection of law. Chapter X, Section 58 sets out the procedure for ‘certifying a disability’ under which a certificate of disability ( aka Disability Certificate ) may be issued to a disabled person.
Under the Act, Ministry of Justice and Social Empowerment has defined people who can get a disability certificate. These are :
- An Indian Citizen and
- At least 35 % mental handicap or 40 % orthopaedic disability or 90db to 100 db deafness or at least 90 % visual impairment ( blindness)
The disability certificate (DC) and/ or Identity card ( UDID ) enables a disabled person to avail of any facilities, benefits or concessions under the available Government schemes.
Steps to Get a Disability Certificate
- Visit nearest Government Health Center for an examination. The Doctors therein will assess and guide you to appropriate hospital having jurisdiction over your case/ area.
- Visit the said Hospital and present yourself before the appropriate Medical Board there for disability evaluation. In case the disabled can not be personally present in the Hospital, a parent t/guardian may approach to discuss alternative arrangements for disability evaluation. At the time of this visit following documents are required :
- Referral from local health center
- Two Color photos of the disabled, showing the disability if possible
- ID and Address Proof
- Medical reports available
- Previous Disability Certificate ( if renewal is being applied for )
It is always better to speak to the Hospital personnel to find out what documents may be needed, and the schedule of the Medical Board , in order to avoid multiple visits for the disabled. The Referral Slip from the Local health Center maybe frequently asked for so advisable to keep it safe.
Much of this process ( except that of physical presentation before a Medical Board) is now also available online, along with the process of issuance of a Unique Disability Identity ( UDID). For details please see :
http://www.swavlambancard.gov.in/
The UDID makes it easier for the persons with disabilities (PwDs) to avail of governmental benefits, wherever they may be located. For More details see :
http://www.swavlambancard.gov.in/cms/card-benefits
Here is a recent ( 2023) experience of one of our active group members Ms Shruthi on how she got Disability Certificate for her stroke affected husband Mr. Gururaj. Thanks to her for all the information !
Hello everyone, we are from Bengaluru. We have procured disability certificate. I want to share with you all the steps we have taken to get certificate for my husband Mr Gururaj BM .
He had a stroke in Oct 2017. He has brocas aphasia.
- We went to NIMHANS for this purpose. We made a registration and collected the card with patient ID.
- Next we met neurologist in neurology department and speech therapist in the speech language department.
- We had taken all our previous reports / records. We told our purpose of visit was for disability certificate.
- In the speech pathology department, they conducted the West aphasia battery test for assessment. They have given their advice for improvement. They also give their assessment rating. We had visited 5 times to speech department.
- We have to visit the neurological rehabilitation department and get cards with patient ID for further visit. In this department, we requested for disability certificate.
- Physiotherapist assessed and he also gave assessment rating.
- We also had to take a report from consulting neurologist. For this we met the neurologist.
- By the time assessment is done, we had visited department of public and social work. Here, they helped is to generate the UDID number- Unique disability ID . This number will help us track the application in http://www.swavlambancard.gov.in
- We had to get signatures from department head / the person assessing on form -Medical board recommendation for chronic neurological illness.
- Submit the completely signed form in the medical board.
- We kept checking frequently about the status in the above website using our application number.
- It could also be tracked at District disabled Welfare office,
Dept. For empowerment of differently able and senior citizens. - We downloaded the certificate from the above website.
Some important facts: we visited around 12 times, one department in a day. NIMHANS is totally crowded and we have to ask people for help and guidance. Have lot of patience. Visit on the days they have mentioned only. It has taken more than 4 months to complete the procedure. We received certificate after 3 months. You need to people to run around for all the registration and enquiry activities.
The above ?is my previous write up on how we procured disability certificate. It was a long procedure since my husband has aphasia. In short , the following steps:
- In a government hospital ( check in the disabled welfare department website for particular state) , register to generate UDID NUMBER
UDID is unique disability ID. - Get the application
- Refer with neurologist. He will sign the application after the consultation
- Neurologist will refer to clinical psychologist if required only
- In case of aphasia, assessment test done by registered Speech Therapist. Therapist will sign the application.
- Registered physiotherapist will sign the application after thorough examination of current abilities.
- Submit the application . Check the status in the http://www.swavlambancard.gov.in website.
For us the procedure was elaborate. There are other members in the group who completed with simple procedure.
If you have limited/No information about Stroke, its symptoms and consequences, we STRONGLY suggest you read at least one of the following before you leave this Website, as well as share the links with your friends and family. You may save someone from sudden death or being crippled for life !
* Be fast – Stroke Symptoms in English with Videos of Actual Strokes
* स्ट्रोक (आघात) – हिंदी में कुछ जानकारी
* स्ट्रोक-के-साधारण-लक्षण
* In Bengali – Be Fast – দ্রুত !
* In Gujarati – જ્યારે સ્ટ્રોક આવે ત્યારે BE FAST
* In Marathi – BE FAST स्ट्रोक होतो तेव्हा !
* In Odiya – ଷ୍ଟ୍ରୋକ: ମୃତ୍ୟୁ ଅଥବା ଶାରୀରିକ/ମାନସିକ ଅସମର୍ଥ