Parents of cerebral palsy patients fight planned suspension of treatment [Archives:2008/1172/Health]

Almigdad Mojalli
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Dozens of families with children suffering from cerebral palsy held a sit-in and filed a complaint last Saturday with the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, which plans to suspend its funding for Al-Amal Center for an unspecified period.

Al-Amal works specifically with those children suffering from cerebral palsy. The center currently assists 176 cerebral palsy patients.

In response, Labor and Social Affairs Minister Amat Al-Razaq Hummad ordered an investigation into the complaint. Hummad urged the patients' families to be patient with the ministry, as it has a limited budget for cerebral palsy treatment.

Patients' families say their children's medical conditions have gotten better with the constant physical therapy. Basic therapy sessions for the one child cost the ministry approximately $200 per a month, while intensive therapy sessions, which include methods involving such things as a TheraSuit, which uses electrodes to help the children master motor skills, can run $1500 per a month.

Um Rayan Abdullah stated that her son has been receiving intensive physical therapy for two years now and he has progressed a lot. “When I brought him to the center for the first time, he couldn't sit or move any part of his body,” she said. “”But now with constant therapy