The Shafallah Center for Persons with Disabilities on Sunday marks the World Cerebral Palsy Day. The centre operates under the authority of the Qatar Foundation for Social Work, which in turn is affiliated with the Ministry of Social Development and Family.
The Shafallah Center aims to raise awareness about cerebral palsy, its causes and rehabilitation methods, highlight the health, educational, psychological, social, and rehabilitation rights of persons with cerebral palsy, show them solidarity, and promote their social integration.
On the occasion, Executive Director of Shafallah Center Maryam Saif al-Suwaidi said that Shafallah pays great attention to persons with cerebral palsy, adopting the best strategies, therapies, and training for this condition, include speech and language therapies.
Al-Suwaidi added that the centre possesses specialists who offer speech and language therapy services using top-notch methods and tools, enabling persons with cerebral palsy to develop their social communication skills, initiate communication, express their emotions and basic needs, and interact with their surrounding.
She said that the centre has formed a specialised team capable of providing evaluation and therapeutic services to those facing difficulties with swallowing and feeding skills, assessing their nutritional needs and meeting them by means of creating meal plans that ensure adequate and safe nutrition.
She noted that the number of persons with cerebral palsy receiving the centre's therapy services stands at 75, benefiting from its psychological, behavioral, educational, rehabilitation, and medical services. Moreover, al-Suwaidi pointed out that Shafallah holds training workshops for the families of persons with cerebral palsy, including psychology lectures, in addition to providing these families with psychological support, with Shafallah's Family Support Department holding regular meetings for family support groups.
She said that Shafallah Center has adopted strategies for cerebral palsy therapy and training, including future plans pertaining to speech and language therapies, given that cerebral palsy affects speech heavily, with speech disorders appearing in approximately 70% of children with this condition.
She named some of the technologies that the centre utilises for cerebral palsy therapy, such as the intensive suit therapy and the eye gaze technology, adding that Shafallah intends to adopt additional assistive technology in the future.
