The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full participation) Act, 1995, came into force in February 1996. But the attitudinal change towards those with physical disabilities that has to go with the legislative changes has been slow in coming.

With less than 5 per cent of the 50 million disabled persons in the country having access to rehabilitative services, a whole segment of society remains alienated from the mainstream.

``Services for people with disabilities is woefully inadequate in several parts of the country, especially in the rural areas,'' said Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Maneka Gandhi at the inauguration of an international exhibition on assisting devices for people with disabilities.

Since disabilitiesare most often detected late, the benefits of early action and intervention for disabled infants and children are denied till the problem is accentuated. Particularly, in the rural areas, as disabilities are not included in the usual primary health care services, the problem remains undetected or untreated.

``Disabled children and youth rarely receive a formal education and it is difficult for them to gain access to vocational training. Persons with disabilities are rarely entrusted with family or community responsibilities,'' said Gandhi. The situation is even worse for the disabled girl child and women, for whom the fact of being female is viewed as a further social disadvantage.

In the last few years, there are indications of a change in attitude towards the disabled, as it becomes evident that with timely intervention, specialised education, some assisting devices, training and employment, even the disabled can overcome their handicap and become contributing members of society.

Ability India 98, asthe exhibition is called, brings together the latest available assisting devices for persons with all types of disabilities, manufactured both in India and abroad, including robotic arms, mechanised wheelchair, hearing aids, equipment for persons with cerebral palsy or the leprosy cured. And, for many families with a disabled child, this a rare opportunity to see the range of assisting devices available in the country.