Australian Cerebral Palsy Impact Webinar

Save the date for an online event presenting the Australian 2022 Impact report hosted by the A&NZ  

In summary,

• There are a wide range of projects that are currently achieving Strategy goal areas,
• However, more support can be provided to further the research, projects and opportunities improving the environment of cerebral palsy in Australia.
• Ultimately, the report guides key decision makers to deliver support, promote excellence in research, leverage funding avenues and enhance community knowledge

Date: 16 August - 16 August

Location: Register for the link to this webinar

AusACPDM Listening and Sharing session: 26th July 2023

Preterm infants and participation: insights into conceptualisation, assessment and intervention

Wednesday July 26th, 4.30-5.30 Australian EST

Join us in our free listening and sharing session.

Topic information: Participation is the ultimate health outcome in childhood rehabilitation. Despite our recent gains in understanding participation of older children, there has been a distinct lack of research on infant participation. Join Dr Chelsea Mobbs has she shares the insights on infant participation from her recently completed PhD thesis, including the results of a feasibility study of ‘PreEMPT’ a participation-grounded and participation-enhancing early physiotherapy intervention for preterm infants. Hear about:

• Why participation matters for infants
• What is infant participation and what does it look like?
• How can we measure it?
• Can we direct our intervention towards an infant’s participation?

This session would interest allied health professionals working in early intervention, preterm infant follow-up and those who provide services under NDIS, and parents of infants and young children.

Speaker: Dr Chelsea Mobbs (PhD, Physiotherapist)

Faciliator: Alicia Spittle

Date: 26 July - 26 July

Location: Zoom, register for link

AusACPDM Listening and Sharing session: 30th August 2023

The National Disability Research Partnership

Wednesday August 30th, 4.30-5.30 Australian EST

Join us in our free listening and sharing session.

Topic information: From late 2023, t he National Disability Research Partnership (NDRP) will facilitate a collaborative and inclusive disability research program that builds the evidence for developing policy and practice decisions. It will do this by funding re search done by and with people with disability, implementing the NDRP research agenda, strengthening disability research capacity and making findings accessible to the disability community and policy and decision makers. This Listening & Sharing session will give an update on the NDRP and the opportunities it presents for people with disability, researchers and clinicians.

Speaker: Tessa de Vries, NDRP Coordinator

Date: 30 August - 30 August

Location: Zoom, register for the link

AusACPDM Listening and Sharing session: 28th June 2023

Identifying and responding to the diverse factors that affect sleep in people with cerebral palsy

Wednesday June 28th, 4.30-5.30 Australian EST

Join us in our free listening and sharing session.

Topic information: It is well known that people with CP are vulnerable to sleep difficulties, with often severe impact on their health, wellbeing and participation, and that of their families. It can be challenging to understand  the diverse factors that affect sleep of people with cp, and to identify solutions which suit each person – the right combinations of supports, at the right time. In this session we will use case studies to illustrate and discuss individual and contextual approaches to sleep support.  We will refer to the ICF, complex systems theory and the SleepLinks ‘sleep comfort’ model to illustrate how we consider the whole picture for best sleep support.

Speakers include: Perth based clinicians Liam Carter (physiotherapist) and Sue McCabe (occupational therapist) work with people of all ages with CP and like conditions, seeing them in their own homes, and working with multi-disciplinary teams for client and family-centred solutions.

The session will be facilitated by: Associate Professor Leanne Johnston

Date: 28 June - 28 June

Location: Zoom, register for the link

AusACPDM Listening and Sharing session: 30th May 2023

What do we know about CP in Aotearoa NZ? Drawing on Lived Experience and International Knowledge

Tuesday May 30th 4.30pm Australian EST

Join us in our free listening and sharing session.

Topic information: The CP Society (CPS) of New Zealand and the NZ CP Register will present on how they are working to weave together expertise from lived experience of CP, Registry information and Research for advocacy and improved health outcomes in NZ. With presentations on recent CPS membership survey; NZCPR first data report; Respiratory Health in CP (NZ) project outcomes, in comparison to Australian findings. Discussion will also include future directions and priorities.

Speakers include: Amy Hogan, Alexandra Sorhage, Woroud Alzaher, Dr Emily Webster, Prof Sue Stott

The session will be facilitated by: Dr Anna Mackey

Date: 30 May - 30 May

Location: Zoom, register for link

Hugh Williamson Gait Analysis Laboratory Clinical Gait Analysis Course

PROGRAM DETAILS
Days 1,2 & 3
The program has been designed to appeal to a broad range of professionals involved in the varied aspects of clinical gait assessment. The teaching approach draws on the experience of gait analysis for children with cerebral palsy to help plan complex orthopaedic surgery, but the course will be informative to anyone interested in instrumented clinical gait analysis.

This three-day course is an introduction to understanding and interpreting gait analysis data to guide clinicians to a better understanding of the impairments affecting their patient’s walking ability.

Day 1 focuses on the understanding of normal gait and introduces the basic concepts and terminology used in instrumented gait analysis. The principles of interpretation of clinical gait analysis data will be presented.
Days 2 and 3 explore the interpretation of clinical gait data and the identification of impairments affecting gait. There will be small group activities giving participants the opportunity to experience and learn data analysis techniques and interpretation. Mock gait analysis reporting sessions will be included with a panel of surgeons, engineers and physiotherapists discussing cases to establish the impairments affecting gait and management recommendations

There will be ample opportunity for audience participation in these discussions!

Learning objectives:

• To develop an understanding of the requirements for normal gait and normal gait analysis data
• To gain an understanding of the impairment-focused approach to data interpretation
• To identify common impairments associated with gait abnormalities seen in children with cerebral palsy
• To develop skills of gait analysis data interpretation and reporting
  

Day 4

This one-day stand-alone course explores the assessment and interventions for management of musculoskeletal problems in ambulant children with cerebral palsy throughout their growing years.
Through case-based learning we will build on knowledge by integrating evidence and clinical reasoning into practise in the real world.

We will reflect on outcomes and the lived experience of children and their families.

This day is suitable for physiotherapists, orthotists, rehabilitation physicians and orthopaedic surgeons or trainees.

Learning Objectives:

• To gain an understanding of current management options to improve walking in ambulant children with cerebral palsy
• To understand the musculoskeletal impacts of growth on children with cerebral palsy
• To enhance clinical reasoning and evaluation skills in the management in ambulant children with cerebral palsy

Date: 22 August - 25 August

Location: The RACV club, Melbourne

IAACD Global Professional Education Committee Listening and Sharing Sessions 2023

Travel the globe with us for 24 hours of virtual Listening and Sharing sessions to celebrate International Day of People with Disabilities: 1st December 2023

The topic for this global event is “What do adults with disability tell us about their childhood?

Nearly 30 different sessions are available for you to join, at a time that suits you! View the timetable and register for the sessions in your time zone.

IAACD Global Listening and Sharing Sessions Timetable

Date: 1 December - 1 December

Location: Zoom-

AusACPDM Listening and Sharing session: 26th April 2023

Addressing health inequities in childhood disability

April 26th 4pm Australian EST

Join us in our free listening and sharing session.

This session will be of interest to clinicians, researchers, students  and people with lived experience.

Topic information: The AusACPDM is currently developing an Equity Statement to guide the Academy’s efforts to achieve health equity, and to become an equitable, diverse and inclusive organisation. Facilitators will seek input from the audience about what equity means to them, and what principles should underpin our efforts. Speakers will then share insights from EPIC-CP, a NSW-based research project that aims to address health inequities in children with CP through a co-designed integrated pathway to help clinicians link families to the social care services they need

Speakers include: A/Prof Sue Woolfenden, University of New South Wales / Sydney Local Health District, Dr Katarina Ostojic, University of New South Wales

The session will be facilitated by: Amy Hogan, CP Society of New Zealand and Dr Rachel Toovey, The University of Melbourne

Date: 26 April - 26 April

Location: Zoom, register for the link

CP-Achieve and AusACPDM 2023 Symposium: Linking Health, Wellbeing and Participation

Registration is now open for the CP-Achieve and Australasian Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine (AusACPDM) 2023 Symposium which will be held in Melbourne, Australia from 3^rd-4^th August.

The 2023 CP-Achieve and AusACPDM Symposium focus of Linking Health, Wellbeing and Participation will bring together the CP-Achieve team, collaborators, invited researchers, thought leaders, people with living experience and other advocates to explore and share new knowledge about maximising health, participation and social opportunities for adolescents and young adults living with cerebral palsy.

The symposium will be an in-person event held over two days exploring two themes:

• Day 1: ‘mental and physical health of adolescents and young adults with cerebral palsy’
• Day 2: ‘building supportive family, community, and service environments’.

In these themes, we will cover life situations that people with CP have told us are important including healthcare, home life, education and employment, fitness for life, relationships and friendships, and community participation.

Date: 3 August - 4 August

Location: Melbourne