February 26, 1999

In a Bangkok laboratory, a lone powered wheelchair collects dust, serving as a nagging symbol of neglect for Thailand's disabled. It's the only such chair in the country of 60 million, sitting unused because of insurmountable obstacles in bringing health technology to an ailing marketplace.

There are also no more than 30 speech pathologists to serve the entire population, compared to Canada's 8,000 for a population of 30 million. Thailand obviously has a long way to go to make life easier for the disabled, but despite the odds, the country's leaders have made huge strides in recent years. In 1991, the government passed a law declaring the rights and services to which the disabled are entitled - something even Canada doesn't yet have.

Last month Dr. Albert Cook, U of A dean of rehabilitation medicine, accompanied a Canadian delegation invited by the Thai government to advise them on giving the new law some teeth. During a two-week tour of hospitals and schools in Bangkok and Chiangmai, Cook discovered Thailand's approach to what is called "assistive technologies" is a study in contrasts.

"In electronic-based and computer-based technologies, they're very advanced," he says, "especially in high-level computational linguistics involving speech recognition and synthesis. Those are really challenging problems because of the nature of the Thai language - being tonal - and because of its structure."

Some of the software Thai designers are producing for those who can't speak, or for those who can't use a keyboard and mouse usually because of severe spinal cord injury, rivals the best North America has to offer.

But when it comes to addressing visible, physical disability - as opposed to those of a sensory or intellectual nature - the country's assistive technology lags painfully behind much of the developed world, says Cook. And the notion of wheelchair accessibility is virtually non-existent.

"In North America physical disabilities have been at the forefront. Part of it is cultural. There's still a certain amount of shame associated with having a child with a disability. The problem is being addressed with very young children and their parents, but it's still an issue for older individuals with, for example, cerebral palsy. They tend to be hidden a bit."

The deaf manage to succeed well enough because they can sell goods in the market using a calculator to display prices. A staggering 45 per cent of Thailand's population are employed as street vendors in Bangkok's market, and since many customers don't speak Thai anyway, the deaf are not as disadvantaged.

In general, the status of Thailand's disabled is improving, not only because of committed organizations lobbying the government on their behalf, but also because the king and princess of Thailand have adopted disability as a kind of cause c‚lŠbre, says Cook. In fact plans are in the works to host an international conference on assistive technology to coincide with celebrations of King Bhumibol Adulyadej's 72 years on the throne. "The royal family is very much in evidence and very revered. So it has high visibility," says Cook.

The Thai government has been extremely receptive to the insights and recommendations of the six-member Canadian delegation, says Cook, making it clear they'd like to continue working with Canada on a steering policy for the disabled in the future.

"They are very determined to make changes but also realize they can't do it all themselves. When they only produce five speech pathologists a year, they know they're never going to catch up, so they have to find other ways - whether it's teachers who take on some of these skills or volunteers in the communities."

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