Autism campaigner Putul listens to the troubles of people with disabilities, stresses on inclusive development

She has urged the media to portray those “real” stories instead of focusing on her.

“That would make my work easy,” she said at a seminar in Dhaka where people with disabilities presented their horrendous experiences, particularly in accessing healthcare services.

They got this rare opportunity when she, commonly known by her nickname Putul, sat with them instead of taking the chief guest’s chair.

Breaking with the seminar ‘tradition’, she sat beside a wheelchair-bound woman when she was recounting her ordeal.

Daughter of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Putul is a global autism advocate and it was due to her endeavour that the UN and the WHO adopted resolutions on autism.

She is the chairperson of the National Advisory Committee on Autism and Neuro-Development Disability, Bangladesh.

The Disabled Rehabilitation and Research Association (DRRA) organised the seminar on Sunday to share their study findings on the access to health services for people living with disabilities.

The study covered 207 people with disabilities across nine Upazilas of three districts – Manikganj, Satkhira and Chittagong. It found that at least two-thirds of these 207 had no access to medical facilities at government hospitals.

The rest never went to specialist doctors for treatment.

A college student of Satkhira with cerebral palsy told the audience about his suffering and how it could have been avoided with better treatment if his father had money.

The mother of a young girl afflicted with autism spoke about her ordeal and appealed for specialised facilities for those with disability at the Upazila level.

Those stories prompted a joint secretary of the health ministry, Md Helaluddin to say his 18-year-old daughter was autistic.

“This is for the first time I am saying this publicly,” he said, adding only he and his wife could empathise with the hardship they were facing.

The DRRA study identified lack of “effective” referral system to ensure appropriate medical services to the people with disabilities.

It also identified inadequate rehabilitation experts such as occupational therapist and clinical physiologist, poor coordination among the ministries, NGOs and private sector, and inaccessible transport and communication barriers for those living with disabilities.

It is estimated that around 10 per cent of the total population in Bangladesh have disabilities.

Putul said no country could progress if it left the people with disabilities behind.

“We have to understand that those who are healthy today can give birth to a child with a disability or can also suffer disability. We don’t know what’ll happen.”

She advocated inclusive healthcare approach, advising organisations that deal with people with disabilities must cooperate with each other.

She insisted she did not sit beside the people with disabilities for photo opportunity. “It was to listen to what they said. That’s the real world.”