Editorial
The International Seminar on the Implementation of the World Report on Disability occurred in São Paulo on February 23rd through 25th. It celebrated the launching of the Portuguese Language version of the Repot. The expressed purpose of the Seminar was to "identify the challenges to the implementation of the report's recommendations aiming at the promotion of equal opportunities for persons with and without disabilities..."
It was undoubtedly a successful event, with the participation of almost one thousand persons representing 15 countries and 23 Brazilian states. The involvement of offices such as the UN secretariat for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; the Human Development Network of the World Bank, the ICF Research Branch; the Secretary for the Rights of the Persons with Disabilities state of Sao Paulo and of the Coordinator in the Technical area of Health of the Persons with Disabilities of the Department of Programmatic and Strategic Actions of the Health Ministry (our dear colleague Dr. Vera Lúcia Ferreira Mendes), was a clear demonstration of the possible national and international impact of the Report.
As the event was organized by the Secretary for the Rights of the Persons with Disabilities under the leadership of a physiatrist, Dr. Linamara Battistella, with unquestionable progress generated a natural tendency to a larger emphasis on physical and motor disabilities and therefore a small participation of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists. Changing this reality depends on us.
Some issues, however, involve all the rehabilitation area and should be considered.
Several participants pointed out that the health and education professionals should be better prepared in order to ensure equal opportunities to access health and education resources. Improving communication is considered a key-point in this process.
Other aspect that was emphasized was the need of comparable data about barriers and facilitators that allow the development of an "epidemiology and functionality and inclusion" with global significance.
The information about functionality is essential to the determination of mere adequate and efficient intervention purposes and proposals. Functional aspects of each specialty should be determined aiming the identification of common terms that can be shared.
Some international initiatives that are being started, as the inclusion of functionality on the ICD-11, were also mentioned. It demands the identification of the most important professions on rehabilitation to suggest a list of the specialists who should participate in this project. A concrete action by SLPs and Audiologists aiming to be included in this list and to participate on the discussions would probably be advisable.
An interesting general impression is that the difficulties in the consistent and coherent use of ICF are common to other countries. The suggestion of a guideline to the ICF use was received as a useful tool. I will not deny my personal satisfaction with the valorization of functionality, an area with which I've been working for more than two decades. I agree with the suggestion that more adequate functional analysis allow the identification of intervention priorities and, therefore, the better use of intervention resources. It is useful to remember that Brazilian SLP and Audiology has not been idle. For some years, SBFa and CFFa have been discussing this issue and implementing the practical use of these notions.
The World Report on Disability may be an important tool to the development of actions in SPL and Audiology that can both enhance the role of this professional and improve the services provided to people with different types of deficiencies.
Fernanda Dreux M. Fernandes
Executive editor of the JSBFa
Publication Dates
-
Publication in this collection
29 Mar 2012 -
Date of issue
2012
