The 15th World Occupational Therapy Day has been celebrated in Bangladesh as elsewhere in the world, aiming to create awareness among occupational therapists and people from all walks of life.

This year the theme of World Occupational Therapy Day is 'Occupational Therapy for All'. 111 countries around the world are hosting occupational therapy week-or month-long programsme this October.

Spinal muscular atrophy or SMA is an incurable rare disease. Like many countries in the world, Bangladesh also has patients with this disease. But due to lack of awareness, a large number of suffering from this disease are not getting tested and treated.

An awareness programme and screening camp was organised by Cure SMA Bangladesh, Center for the Rehabilitation of the Paralyzed (CRP) and Bangladesh Occupational Therapy Association (BOTA) to mark the day.

This camp was held in the conference room of Mirpur CRP on Sunday morning. SMA patients and invited guests started the day celebration programme by cutting the cake.

The programme was moderated by Clinical Occupational Therapist Manisha Chakraborty.

Apart from patients suffering from rare SMA disease from different parts of the country, officials and leaders of CRP, Cure SMA Bangladesh and Bangladesh Occupational Therapy Association were present.

Speakers in the event said, occupational therapy is a treatment and service through which a physically, mentally and socially ill or disabled person can be made self-reliant.

Occupational therapists treat children with disabilities such as autism, attention deficit hyperactive disorder or ADHD, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, club feet, Gulen Bary syndrome or GBS, meningitis, encephalitis, etc.

Calling Spinal Muscular Atrophy or SMA as a rare disease, he said, “This genetic disease is caused by the loss of motor neurons that control muscle movement. Medications as well as therapy are of particular benefit to patients with this disease."

In the second phase of the programme, SMA patients from different regions of the country were imparted practical knowledge on occupational therapy and conducted screening camps.

Rakib Hossain, Head of Occupational Therapy Department, Mirpur CRP gave the opening speech on the occasion. Anima Das Nupur Vice President of Bangladesh Occupational Therapy Association (BOTA), Morshedul Quader, Deputy General Manager of Mirpur CRP, Shahadat Hossain, President, Cure SMA Bangladesh, Finance Secretary Mohammad Omar Farooq, Junior Occupational Therapist SM Farhan Bin Hossain also spoke on the occasion.