About The Counselor
Abha Khetarpal is a triple masters degree holder. She did her graduation from Delhi University, Masters in Economics from Punjab University, Masters in English from Annamalai University and then Masters in Counseling and Psychotherapy from University of Nagaland.
She is polio survivor and is a wheelchair user. She wanted to do something for persons with disabilities. So she launched an online counseling website (www.crossthehurdles.org).Online and tele-counseling were totally new concept in our country. She counsels them and her services are absolutely free of cost.
She is a disability rights activist. She has a registered society by the name of Cross the Hurdles. This society helps empower individuals with disabilities in areas such as their educational concerns, career development, vocational decision making, developing their self advocacy abilities, creating awareness about their rights and teaching them life skills, to name a few. She also looks after their career planning. Her services till this date are free of any cost.
She has also authored three handbooks, namely, ‘Tax Concessions and Exemptions for the People with Disabilities in India’ and ‘Keeping You Abreast’ for Women with Disabilities for their breast cancer self examination and awareness. The third one is Menstrual Management and Hygiene for Women with Disabilities. They are in all accessible formats including audio books, Braille books, print version and screen reader versions both in English and Hindi.
Ms.Khetarpal has recently launched the first ever Mobile Application by the name of Cross the Hurdles for the people with disability in India. The mobile application is an information resource.
She voluntarily extends her expertise as a counselor for students with disabilities at University College of Medical Sciences and Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, New Delhi.
She loves writing and has written many articles for magazines and newspapers apart from writing on her blog. Her numerous papers have been published on the diverse issues of disability in prestigious journals. Some of them are:
- Disability Studies in Medical Education in International Journal of User Driven Medicine
- Infertility: Why Can’t We Classify This inability as Disability in Australasian Medical Journal
- Phobia in Poetry: Colreirdge’s Ancient Mariner in Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine
- Salience And Relevance Of Accommodation: A Psychosocial And Economic Perspective Published in the Research Study on Employing Persons with Disabilities by PHD Chambers of Commerce and Industry
- On The Crossroads of Gender and Ableism; Published in India International Center Quarterly Journal; Summer 2013 issue
- Disability Studies in Medical Curriculum: Transforming medical practice and making it more human, MEDIC, Methodology & Education for Clinical Innovation - New Series, University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome
- Apna ghar rangvake to dekhiye (Hindi); Published in Research & Humanities in Medical Education – RhiME
- Information Communication Technology (ICT) and Disability; Review of Market Integration 6(1) 96–113 © 2014 India Development Foundation, Sage Publications
She was one of the protagonists in the 61st National Film award winning documentary Accsex, a film that took up a bold subject for the first time in India as it traces the journeys of the storytellers as they reclaim agency and the right to unapologetic confidence, sexual expression and happiness. Her works mostly focus on empowering women with disabilities and spreading awareness in them to stand for their rights.
She has conducted sensitization workshops to sensitize the non disabled on the issues of disability. She keeps on fighting for Disability Rights and setting up of accessible and inclusive environment for them. She believes people with disabilities can be a great economic resource.
Her motto is: ‘’Give Me Accessibility And I Shall Give You Productivity’’.
