Special Mothers Project

Everybody needs an Occupational Therapist

A Ghanaian resident in the United Kingdom told me a story about a fellow Ghanaian who lives in the UK and has a condition called Fibromyalgia, a disorder characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain accompanied by fatigue, sleep, memory and mood issues.

This Lady who has Fibromyalgia also has two lovely children, one of them lives with cerebral palsy, for the purposes of this article let’s call the lady with Fibromyalgia Akosua.

Akosua usually has very difficult mornings, she finds it difficult getting up from bed to prepare the children for school because of the bodily pains associated with her condition.

Akosua thus approached her city’s local authorities with her issue which was immediately referred to the Department of Social welfare for urgent attention.

What the social welfare department in the United Kingdom did for this lady was to assign an occupational therapist to her home, who helps and support her child with cerebral palsy to function effectively.

The occupational therapist reports to Akosua’s home every morning at 6AM, helps baths the child with cerebral palsy, feed, toilet trains and prepares her for school.

The school bus comes in to pick Akosua’s daughter, usually there is an attendant on the bus who makes sure that Akosua’s daughter is safe and arrives at school safely.

At school, there is a school occupational therapist who also supports Akosua’s daughter with feeding and other daily living skills.

By the time, the young girl is dropped off back home, Akosua has gained some strengthen to prepare meals and other things that the family will need.

That is how Akosua’s family has been living in the UK for a long time now.

In Ghana, is it a different story, a mother of a child with cerebral palsy or any disability for that matter is her own therapist.

Therapy services are paid for by the family or primary caregiver raising the child with disability, no money, no service, no money no health.

Our health care system in Ghana prioritizes the biomedical approach which focuses on giving medication and not the rehabilitative one, it seems nobody pays attention to rehabilitation services in Ghana.

If a family has money, and they can afford, therapists are willing to come home and work with their child or person with disability who needs therapy services, if you do not have money, you are on your own, it is almost like the survival of the fittest.

At the second Occupational Therapy Association of Ghana (OTAG) scientific conference, most of the occupational therapists working in Ghana bemoaned that it seems Ghana does not understand and prioritize rehabilitation as a major healthcare option.  

Rehabilitation services, helps a person regain physical, mental, and/or cognitive (thinking and learning) abilities that have been lost or impaired as a result of disease, injury, or treatment.

 Rehabilitation services help people return to daily life and live in a normal or near-normal way. These services may include physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, cognitive therapy, and mental health rehabilitation services.

Ms Joana Nana Serwaa Akrofi, an occupational therapist, who made a presentation on the topic: Occupational Therapy in early intervention: A descriptive study, said for early intervention services which is usually between the ages of 0 and 3, occupational therapy practitioners promote function and engagements of infants and toddlers and their families in everyday routines.

“Practitioners enhance a family’s capacity to care for their child and promote his or her development and participation in natural environments where the child and family live, work and play,” Ms Akrofi said.

However in Ghana, occupational therapists cannot be effective in that area because parents always have to carry their children to the hospital for occupational therapy services, having occupational therapy at home means parting with substantial amount of money which only the rich can afford.

Ms Akrofi said for early intervention practices, occupational therapy centres on the family and the practitioner is supposed to be there to support the family, Occupational therapists must offer a holistic service that encompasses activities of daily living, rest and sleep, play, education and social participation.

What Ms Akrofi describes belongs to the future and not present in Ghana, however, being a mother of a child with cerebral palsy, myself, I believe that the presence of an occupational therapist in my home will so much enhance not just the life of my daughter with cerebral palsy but my own life and the life of my entire family members.

As Ghana joins the rest of the world to mark occupational therapy day on the 27^th October, I want to remind the government of Ghana, that allied health services which includes occupational therapy should not be an option, it should be the real deal because I think that everybody needs an occupational therapist.

Pay attention to Rehabilitative Care – OTAG to Government

The Occupational Therapy Association of Ghana (OTAG) on Monday launched the Occupational Therapy week celebration with a call on government to pay attention to rehabilitative care

Mr Paul Darlington Forson, Public Relations Officer of OTAG said government seems to be more focused on the biomedical approach to healthcare rather than the rehabilitative approach

“That makes it very difficult for us to work effectively, “he said stressing on the need for government to pay attention to rehabilitation services.”

Rehabilitative Health care services helps individuals that have been impaired due to sickness, injury, or disability to improve skills and functioning for daily living

These services may include physical and occupational therapy, speech-language pathology, and psychiatric rehabilitation services in a variety of inpatient and/or outpatient settings.

The weeklong celebration begun with a scientific conference on the theme: “Improving health and wellbeing: the Occupational therapy perspective”.

Ms Joana Nana Serwaa Akrofi, an Occupational Therapist, in a presentation on the topic: Occupational Therapy Early Intervention: A descriptive study, said there was the need for family centred occupational therapy services at a very early stage in a child with disability’s life

“The best places to carry out occupational therapy interventions is in the natural setting, the home, the child’s school and during play time,” she said

Other activities lined up for the week long celebrations includes awareness creation campaigns in schools and churches and an outreach programme to screen people in Okatabanman Society in Adentan, a suburb of Accra.

Ghana Occupational Therapy Association to sensitize public on their work

The Ghana Occupational Therapy Association is embarking on a public sensitization programme to educate the public on the work and role of occupational therapists in our health care system

The sensitization drive which will begin with a launch of the Occupational Therapy week celebration is part of efforts to mark World Occupational Therapy Day which is celebrated every 27^th of October

Mr Paul Darlinton Forson, Public Relations Officer, Occupational Therapy Association of Ghana, told the Special Mothers Project that his organization is doing the sensitization for a whole week  starting 21^st October, 2019, with a variety of activities and programmes to create awareness about the existence and importance of occupational therapy in health care

Activities lined up for the week long celebrations includes a scientific conference on occupational therapy practice , awareness creation campaigns in some churches and public places  and an outreach programme to screen both the young and old at Okatabanman society in Accra.

The celebration is on the theme: Improving Health and Wellbeing: Occupational Therapy Perspective

The World Federation of Occupational Therapist which Ghana is a member is the international voice of the occupational therapy profession.

Occupational therapists treat injured, ill or persons with disabilities using therapeutic everyday activities. They help their patients or clients develop, recover, improve and maintain the skills needed for daily living and working

The Special Mothers Project is an advocacy and awareness creation programme on Children with Special Needs Issues, the project provides an online platform for families raising children with special needs to connect, The Special Mothers Project  does advocacy using the media

Families raising children with disabilities urged to approach the District Assemblies for support

 The family of Samuel Nuamah Ampofo, an 11 year old boy with cerebral palsy has been educated on the available government policies for persons with disabilities and how the family can access such support

The family through a public health nurse Ms Theodora Abakah Acquaah reached out to the Special Mothers Project, an advocacy and awareness creation programme on cerebral palsy issues, to solicit support

 Ms Acquaah told the Special Mothers Project  that she met the family of Master Ampofo about seven years ago when she was posted to the Mamobi General hospital, the mother of the boy, has mental health issues and is unemployed, leaving the grandmother to care for them as well as other family members

Ms Acquaah said: “the young boy Samuel attends the Dzorwulu Special School but sometimes money for transportation from home to the school and back is even a challenge”

Samuel Nuamah Ampofo who lives with cerebral palsy is able to walk and talk.

Mrs Hannah Awadzi, Executive Director of the Special Mothers Project spoke to the family about the District Assembly Common Fund for Persons with Disabilities as well as the Inclusive Education Policy and advised the family to approach their District Assembly for support

Madam Janet Opoku, Grandmother of Samuel, who is a petty trader, said her daughter who gave birth to Samuel has mental challenges so she has been taking care of the boy since infancy

“We have not been given any official diagnosis of my grandson’s illness, we have been using herbal medication for his treatment and by God’s grace he is doing well”

Ms Opoku called on the government to support families raising children with disabilities, saying “The resources that goes into nurturing these children is a lot.”

The Special Mothers Project does advocacy for children with Special Needs (Cerebral Palsy) using the media. The project also provides an online platform for families raising children with Special needs to network, share ideas and engage in peer counseling

World CP Day – Prioritize the Social Protection System in Ghana

The Special Mothers Project, an advocacy and awareness creation programme on cerebral palsy issues has called on the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection to prioritize our social protection system to support children with cerebral palsy

Families raising children with cerebral palsy are usually left to struggle alone, there are no social support systems for such families, the Special Mothers Project is calling for the establishment of rehabilitation centres in various communities to support such families.

A statement issued and signed by Mrs Hannah Awadzi, Founder and Executive Director of the Special Mothers Project, ahead of the World Cerebral Palsy Day celebrations on Sunday, 6th October lauded the increasing awareness on cerebral palsy in Ghana

“People are becoming aware of that cerebral palsy exist in Ghana and it is not a curse or a bad omen to have a child with cerebral palsy, cerebral palsy is a neurological condition, it is an injury to the part of the brain that controls movement.”

Referring to a communique issued at the Special Needs Parenting Summit held recently, the statement, urged government to ensure the effective implementation of the Inclusive Education policy to enable children with cerebral palsy also have access to education.

“Every government school should dedicate one classroom for children with Special Needs where people could be trained to take care of them while the parents work to earn some income

Parents raising children with disabilities should be able to access the District Assembly Common Fund for persons with disabilities to help with the high cost associated with nurturing a child with disability,” the statement said

World Cerebral Palsy Day is a movement of people with Cerebral Palsy and their families, and the organisations that support them, in more than 75 countries.

The vision is to ensure that children and adults with Cerebral Palsy (CP) have the same rights, access and opportunities as anyone else in our society.

The World CP Day celebration is an opportunity to Celebrate and express pride in the lives and achievements of those with CP and the people and the organisations that support them