Communication disability in Bangladesh: issues and solutions

ABSTRACT

Context:

The UN declaration of Human Rights (1948) included people's right to be able to communicate. This gave all countries the responsibility to provide services for those with communication disabilities. However Speech Language Therapy (SLT) is largely a Minority (developed) World construction, leaving a question about how SLT could or should be constructed in Majority World (developing) countries. Solutions embedded within their context and culture are needed, rather than reproducing Minority World systems. Bangladesh is a Majority World country with a very large population. It has both issues and potential solutions in common with other Majority World countries, but also unique features of its own.

Issues:

SLT services in Bangladesh began only 15 years ago. Social, geographic, economic, historical and political barriers mean they are often unavailable or inaccessible to those in need. There is low public awareness of SLT, but if this were to increase it would be faced by inadequate numbers of qualified Speech Language Therapists. There is a rural-urban divide and high amounts of poverty presenting challenges about how to fund such a service equitably.

Potential Solutions:

The fledgeling SLT profession in Bangladesh has adapted to address local needs, culture, and circumstances, however more solutions are needed. This paper considers ways of raising awareness, improving background information on which to base decisions about distribution and funding of SLT, and taking advantage of a growing number of local tertiary training institutions to provide a solid professional base for SLT services to grow from.

KEYWORDS:

• Bangladesh
• challenges
• communication disability
• service provision
• Speech Language Therapy

Acknowledgements

The first author would like to extend his gratitude to all the Bangladeshis, Speech and Language Therapists in Bangladesh, and visiting volunteers from across the globe who contributed to the development of this profession in Bangladesh and reinforce this writing. The first author also would like to acknowledge the BHPI, CRP, Department of Communication Disorders, Dhaka University for their support with information about SLT in Bangladesh. Finally, the first author would like to express his deepest appreciation to University of Dhaka and the Government of Bangladesh for the Bangabandhu Overseas Scholarship.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.

Notes on contributors

Md Jahangir Alam

Md Jahangir Alam is one of the first graduating Speech and Language Therapists in Bangladesh. While he was working as the course coordinator and lecturer of Speech and Language Therapy (SLT) at Bangladesh Health Professions Institute (BHPI), CRP, he went to the University of Sheffield in 2013 to pursue his MSc in Speech Difficulties funded by the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission, UK. Before that, in 2012, he completed his first masters in Early Childhood Development from University of BRAC, Bangladesh. On returning to Bangladesh, he joined at the Department of Communication Disorders, University of Dhaka as a Lecturer in 2015. Mr. Alam currently is a PhD candidate at the Speech Science Programme, University of Auckland, New Zealand.

Linda Hand

Linda Hand joined the Speech Sciences Programme in the Psychology Department (now the School of Psychology) in September 2007 after 20 years at the University of Sydney. She is a pakeha New Zealander, and was originally educated as a Speech Language Therapist at the Canterbury College of Education after completing a BA in Linguistics and Psychology at the University of Canterbury in 1978. Linda worked as a Speech Language Therapist for the Department of Education in NZ for 7 years before completing an MA in speech pathology at the University of Iowa, and a year or so later moving to Sydney to take a position with the Lidcombe College of Health Sciences which became part of the University of Sydney, in 1987. She completed her PhD in Linguistics (Discourse Analysis) at MacQuarie University in 2003.

Elaine Ballard

Elaine Ballard graduated from the University of Auckland with a degree in German and Italian before going to the United States to pursue a doctorate in linguistics at Cornell University. On returning to Auckland, she took up a position in linguistics before moving on to her current position in the Speech Science division in the School of Psychology. Elaine’s research areas of interest are phonology, child language, multilingualism, historical linguistics, and languages other than English. In her most recent research, she is focusing on phonological development in languages as diverse as Mandarin and Samoan.