Shafallah Center for Persons With Disabilities, one of the affiliates of Qatar Foundation for Social Work, on Sunday organized an awareness campaign to mark the World Cerebral Palsy Day with the objective of raising awareness and proclaiming solidarity with persons with cerebral palsy.
The event primarily aims to highlight the healthy, educational, psychological, social and rehabilitation rights of persons with cerebral palsy.
During a press conference, director of the social awareness department at Shafallah Centre, Jawaher Al Hajri, said the awareness campaign aims to increase societal awareness on cerebral palsy, along with its impact on patients and their families, indicating that the symbol of butterfly was chosen as a slogan for the campaign, since it signifies transformation, beauty, rebirth, hope, and freedom.
She reviewed the most prominent events alongside the campaign, as the first annual forum on the awareness of cerebral palsy will be held on Oct. 17, punctuated by presentations of the the
rapeutic rehabilitation services and the accompanying programme through which therapeutic methods will be showcased, including the cutting-edge devices utilized in treating persons with cerebral palsy on Oct. 5-6.
Director of Therapeutic Services Department at Shafallah Center, Dr. Mohammad Telfat, outlined that the World Cerebral Palsy Day is an awareness event for all individuals not only for patients and their relatives. He affirmed that the percentage of cerebral palsy worldwide is 2%, per 1000, which is obviously an increasing percentage, therefore, a world day has been dedicated to identifying the major causes of palsy and the rehabilitation mechanisms for patients.
The most prominent services offered by Shafallah Center to persons with cerebral palsy include early intervention which implies special education, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech and auditory therapy, psychological and guidance services, as well as raising the awareness of patients’ relatives. Subsequently the patient is approa
ched based on his/her degree of disability, specially that cerebral palsy is a very wide spectrum with a multitude of types, Telfat noted during the press conference.
He affirmed that Shafallah Center strives to constantly upgrade its therapeutic services, as the center offers health care services through medical clinics, along with suitable nutrition for patients, as well as rehabilitation and physiotherapy.
Marking this day is primarily intended to amplify awareness on the disease and its impact on the life of patients and promote the scientific research for the best understanding of the potential causes and treatment.
It also aims to foster the community’s solidarity to understand the cerebral palsy with the purpose of properly include patients in the community, as an opportunity for the government entities and health organizations and institutions to optimize the care services afforded to individuals, along with the policies and programmes dedicated to patients. (QNA)
Source: Qatar News Agency