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Disable Rehabilitation Program

 

 

What is Rehabilitation? What does it actually mean? Rehabilitation is simply to achieve the maximum function and adjustment of the individual and to prepare him physically mentally, socially and vocationally for the fullest possible life compatible with both his abilities and disabilities. Every social minded person will agree with the conclusion and one of the greatest problems that the nation faces today is the rehabilitation of the physically and mentally disabled. Any restriction or lack of ability to perform an activity in a manner or within the range considered normal for the human beings, resulting from impairment is termed as disability. Impairment concerns the physical aspects of health; disability is the loss of functional capacity resulting from an impairment org


an; handicap is a measure of the social and cultural consequences of an impairment or disability. The types of disability include loco-motor, hearing, speech, visual and mental disability. Recent development is the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health developed by WHO in 2000 which has been used in the Multi-Country Survey Study during 2000 and 2001 and the World Health Survey Program in 2002 and 2003 to measure health status of the general population in 71 countries. The domains here are classified into body, individual, and societal perspectives by the conceptual components that includes body functions and structure, activity and participation along with contextual factors that includes a list of environmental and personal factors. The ICF considers that every human being can experience some degree of disability and it is a continuous process from attainable level of health.
Bangladesh is a country with 134.8 million people, 8% to 12% of whom are affected by disabilities of various kinds. Srijony Foundation works on this Disable Rehabilitation Program with a very high priority. Matter of fact is that this is one of the core programs of the organisation. With the alliance and assistance of Abilis Foundation we have been working on this project for a number of years. Srijony Foundation have been working on this project with the help and assistance of National Disable Development Foundation since 1998. A number of disabled persons in Jhenidah district have been provided with financial and technical supports. Srijony Foundation believes that without the development of the persons with disabilities the meaningful community development can not be occurred. With a view to rehabilitate and change the situation of the person with disabilities in the society, a trained team of skilled staff has been working in this program. The project intervention has Primary Rehabilitation Therapy (PRT), Assistive Device Support, Referral Services, and credit for IGA as on their need. Resulting this program attempts to,

  • Change community attitude and behaviour towards disability.
  • Empower persons with disabilities (PWDs) by enabling them in society.
  • Develop appropriate rehabilitation.

The Main Targets
1. Advocacy for mainstreaming the systems and services. It requires commitment across all sectors and built into new and existing legislation, standards, policies, strategies, and plans.
2. Invest in specific programs and services for people with disabilities. In addition to mainstream services, some people with disabilities may require access to specific measures, support services, or training. In this process, involvement of persons with disability is of paramount importance as they give insight into their problems and suggest possible solution.
3. Capacity building of health care providers and program managers. Human resource capacity can be improved through effective education, training, and recruitment. A review of the knowledge and competencies of staff in relevant areas can provide a starting point for developing appropriate measures to improve them. Manpower generation by promoting new courses and initiating degree and diploma courses like Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation will address the problem of shortage of manpower in long run.
4. Focus on educating disabled children as close to the main stream as possible.
5. Increase public awareness and understanding of disability. Governments, voluntary organizations, and professional associations should consider running social marketing campaigns that change attitudes on stigmatized issues such as HIV, mental illness, and leprosy. Involving the media is vital to the success of these campaigns and to ensuring the dissemination of positive stories about persons with disabilities and their families.
6. Generating representative community-based data will help to plan and execute appropriate measures to address the problems of persons living with disability.
7. Strengthen and support research on disability.

The lives of people with disabilities are still dominated by ignorance, fear and superstition, which permeate much of society at large. They remain neglected and excluded from normal social and political activities in their families and in the community. The situation is worse for women and children, who are the most vulnerable groups. These negative attitudes towards disability apply to more than 12 million people in Bangladesh and to more than 300 million in the Asian and Pacific Region. The centre purpose of Srijony Foundation is creation and promotion of opportunities, services and facilities, which enable people with disabilities and their families/carers to participate in the wider community and to attain a better quality of life.
The targeted disabled people have been the poorest, the most vulnerable and the outcasts in the society. Through the project run by Srijony Foundation disable people have been given the opportunity to receive physiotherapy, occupational therapy and special needs education service. More importantly, disabled persons carers receiving the training and motivation to continue the physiotherapy at home. Not only will the disabled person gets physically benefited by the project, but also the effects will be long lasting and the disabled persons will have a better future. This can only be good for the long-term development of Bangladesh. It is also satisfying that so many people are aware and concern about disability and developments through this project run by Srijony Foundation.

Objectives
• To provide quality physiotherapy, occupational therapy and special education support to the disabled children and adults to develop the physical and functional condition.
• To extended more therapy facilities to accommodate increased numbers of patients, for physiotherapy, occupational therapy and for special education.
• To extended the adult physiotherapy service especially for the Stroke, Arthritis, Back pain, Neck pain and Sports Injuries clients. This new initiative will help to accelerate centre income to sustain and improve the centre activities.
• Educate the mother/parents/guardians of the children about the prevention of disability and provide training on physiotherapy techniques. So, parents able to continue the physiotherapy at home and ensure the improvement.
• To help the general public to accept, respect and assist disabled people. To encourage them to welcome disabled people into their lives, and for them to appreciate the abilities and potential of disabled people.

Research is essential for increasing public understanding about disability issues, informing disability policy and programmes, and efficiently allocating resources. Srijony Foundation is well aware of all these facts and its working staffs in this sector is trying its best best. Some of the important areas of research can be quality of life and well-being of people with disabilities; barriers to mainstream and specific services, and what works in overcoming them in different contexts; accessibility and universal design programmes appropriate for low-income-settings. Srijony Foundation is working tirelessly on this project just to create a proper Disable Rehabilitation Program.