ACQ Vol 11 no 2 2009

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ACQ Volume 11, Number 2 2009 111
• developing a professional association in Bangladesh; it is
envisaged that this will be initiated within the coming year; and
• continuing support for training and development from
more experienced overseas-trained clinicians; there
continue to be opportunities for overseas-trained
clinicians to be involved in the training course for varied
lengths of time.
Further information
For more information about the Bangladesh course and
volunteering, see: or email
Sultana Nasreen at
For more information about the work of Operation
Cleft, see: or email info@
References
Inclusion International (n.d.). Fact sheet on poverty and
disability. Retrieved 5 January 2009 from
%20Poverty/Fact%20
Sheets/INCLUSION%20INT_FACT%20SHEET_Fact%20
Sheet%20on%20Poverty%20and%20Disability.pdf
JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency).
(2002). Country profile on disability: People’s Republic
of Bangladesh. Retrieved 5 January, 2009 from http://
Regions/South%20Asia/JICA_Bangladesh.pdf
UNDP (United Nations Development Program). (2007).
Human development report 2007/2008: Flighting climate
change: Human solidarity in a divided world. New York:
Palgrave Macmillan.
UNESCO. (n.d.). International Mother Language Day.
Retrieved 5 January 2009 from
education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=19644&URL_DO=DO_
TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
WHO (World Health Organisation). (2004). CBR: A strategy
for equalisation of opportunities, poverty reduction and
social inclusion of people with disabilities. Joint position
paper International Labour Organisation, United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation and the
World Health Organisation. Geneva: WHO.
Recent achievements
of the profession
A recent commitment to the development of speech and
language therapy services for people with cleft lip and palate
has come about through an initiative of Operation Cleft
Australia. Operation Cleft is a project of the Rotary Club of
Box Hill Central (Victoria) and is supported by Rotary clubs
throughout Australia. The program funds reconstructive
surgery for cleft lip and palate and follow-up speech therapy
across Bangladesh and has recently begun providing clinical
and theoretical training in speech therapy for cleft lip and
palate. This included the first ever speech therapy camp in
Bangladesh, a six-day program in which students provided
post-operative therapy. Operation Cleft is committed to
employing graduates of the speech and language therapy
course in Bangladesh to provide ongoing speech therapy
services to this population. Australian speech pathologist
Naanki Pasricha has been involved in the development of
these services and the training of SLT students and
community health workers in Bangladesh to ensure
sustainability of this program.
Interest in speech and language therapy has also been
growing from other Bangladeshi disability organisations.
Final-year speech and language therapy students recently
participated, together with a British volunteer speech
and language therapist, in a two-day clinic on a boat.
This involved travelling to two different remote areas and
delivering services as a multidisciplinary team of doctors,
physiotherapists, occupational therapists, audiologists, and
speech and language therapists. This type of service delivery
enabled those who may not otherwise have the opportunity,
to access assessment, initial advice and referrals.
Links with the profession in the region and internationally
have also been made. In 2006 the first batch of students
participated in a study tour to Kolkata, India, where Bengali
(Bangla) is also spoken and where there is a more established
speech and language therapy profession and services for people
with communication difficulties. The students reported
significant learning about the potential of the profession from
their time spent at the Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy (IICP)
and National Institute of Hearing Handicapped (NIHH).
One final-year student recently obtained a scholarship
to attend the International Society for Augmentative and
Alternative Communication (ISAAC) conference in Montreal.
This provided an excellent opportunity for sharing and
learning about augmentative and alternative communication
and the speech and language therapy profession overseas.
Current challenges and needs
of the profession
In addition to the achievements of speech and language therapy
so far in Bangladesh, there are a number of challenges the
profession is facing. These include the challenges of:
• developing a locally appropriate profession, not simply a
replica of the profession as it operates in more highly re
sourced locations; this includes the development of culturally
and linguistically appropriate resources and approaches;
• finding approaches for service provision to a large, mostly
rural-based population through further exploring the role
of speech and language therapists in training and linking
in with CBR and other service providers;
• building a local research base for speech and language
therapy practice;
• gaining recognition and a role within existing government
and non-governmental services;
Jannatul Ferdous is one of Bangladesh’s first ever speech and
language therapy students, based at the Bangladesh Health
Professions Institute. She has completed her fourth year and will
graduate in 2009 after a one-year internship.
Cristy Gaskill completed a Bachelor of Applied Science (Speech
Pathology) from La Trobe University in 1997 and a Master of Social
Science (International Development) from RMIT University in 2006.
She spent two years teaching on the Bangladesh Speech and Language
Therapy program in 2005 and 2006. She currently works with CBM,
an international NGO working in the area of disability and development.
Correspondence to:
Jannatul Ferdous
Speech and language therapy student
Bangladesh Health Professions Institute
email:
phone: +880 (0)1711 224 540
Cristy Gaskill
International Programs Assistant, CBM Australia
Formerly speech and language therapy trainer,
Bangladesh Health Professions Institute
phone: 0420 405 671
email: