The 3rd Health & Wellbeing in Children, Youth and Adults with Developmental Disabilities Conference

Challenging Behaviour – The Tip of the Iceberg

Conference Updates:

Conference Brochure and Registration NOW AVAILABLE

Conference Dates:

Main Conference: November 15 – 16, 2012

Focused Workshops: November 17, 2012

Conference Location:

The Coast Plaza Hotel and Suites
Vancouver, BC, Canada

Conference Description:

The term Developmental Disabilities (DD) refers to individuals with Intellectual Disability, Autism, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and other Neurodevelopmental Syndromes. Children, youth and adults with DD are vulnerable to high rates of general health and mental health concerns. These concerns impact significantly on the affected individual’s quality of life as well as their families, caregivers and the community.

This conference will provide educational and informative updates on psychiatric, behavioural and complex health components specific to individuals with DD, and showcase best practices in the field. Specifically, the conference will focus on approaches to complex challenging behaviours, contributing medical issues and new developments in medication and behavioural treatment. In addition, the conference will address important health and mental health issues and will review common genetic syndromes such as Down Syndrome. This conference will engage health care providers and educators from a wide range of professional disciplines in knowledge transfer and interprofessional collaboration in order to maximize health and wellbeing so as to minimize disability and improve quality of life. The format will include plenaries, breakout sessions and poster sessions.

Learning Objectives:

• To promote best practices in physical and mental health for individuals with developmental disabilities
• Recognize the multifactorial determinants of challenging behaviour
• Recognize the role of traumatic experiences in understanding challenging behaviour
• Maximize health and wellbeing in order to minimize disability and improve quality of life
• Share knowledge and common experiences with others working in the field.

Who Should Attend:

The conference will be of interest to an interdisciplinary audience including:

ABA therapists, audiologists, behaviour therapists, caregivers, case managers/planners, CLBC staff, counselors, direct service professionals, dentists, dental hygienists, educators, families, FASD keyworkers, health authority staff, interdisciplinary teams, lawyers, mental health therapists, MCFD Staff, nutritionists, nurses, occupational therapists, pharmacists, physical therapists, physicians, policy makers, program managers, psychologists, public guardians and trustees, researchers, self-advocates, social workers, speech and language therapists, university and college programs, and anyone who is interested in the field of mental health and developmental disabilities.