NDSC Convention

Are you attending the NDSC Conference in just a few weeks?   Have you browsed the schedule of sessions and list of presenters?  I am THRILLED to report that the adult crowd is well represented this year!  

Here’s a list of the titles and presenters that I found particularly interesting based on the ideas and topics we’ve been discussing here on The Road.   There’s also a few friends who will be in the exhibit hall!    If you are, or know any of these fine folks please drop us a line!   We’re hoping to set up a series of short radio interviews with as many as we can before the big weekend.  It would be a great opportunity to give a preview of your presentation to a target audience and let us know why we should be excited to hear more in person.   

  • Self-Care for Families  

Emily Davidson, MD, MPH, RYT, Clinical Director, Down Syndrome Program, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA

  • Aging, Disability and Caregiving: Continuing the Inclusion of People With Down Syndrome 

William Donohue, PhD, Retired University Professor and Special Needs Administrator and Deborah Woolard, NP, Piedmont Down Syndrome Support Network, parents of a son with DS, Winston Salem, NC

  • Preparing for Transitions: Parents and Future Caregivers 

Michael Gibbons, PhD, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Middle Georgia State College, brother with DS, Macon, GA                     

  • Latest Legislative Developments: How They Impact You

Susan Goodman, JD, Governmental Affairs Director, NDSC, son with autism, Olney, MD, Alison Wohl, Executive Director, Collaboration to Promote Self-Determination (CPSD), Washington, DC, Steve Beck, Board of Directors, Down Syndrome Association of Northern Virginia and National Down Syndrome Society, Burke, VA, and Michelle Livngston, Senior Director of Operations and Government Affairs, Global Down Syndrome Foundation, Denver, CO

  • Promoting Adolescent and Adult Health and Wellness   

Brian Chicoine, MD, Medical Director, Advocate Medical Group Adult Down Syndrome Center, Park Ridge, IL 

  • Adult Employment: Where Are We Now? How Can We Move Forward?

Libby Kumin, PhD, CCC-SLP, Professor of Speech-Language Pathology and Author, Loyola University, Baltimore, MD

  • Calm to Crisis at the Flip of a Switch! How to Prepare for a Family Emergency Even if They “Don’t” Want to Talk About It! 

Marianne Marts, Author, Adult Disability Consultant, Advocate Arena / Joey’s Ups with Downs, brother with DS, Tucson, AZ

  • Your Dependent With Special Needs: Making Their Future More Secure

David Klaus, CFP®, MBA, CASL®, Special Needs Financial Planner, MetLife Center for Special Needs Planning, Somerset, NJ

  • Thriving in Adulthood: Ingredients to Success

Melissa Hillock, PhD, Adolescent/Adult Program Director, Down Syndrome of Louisville, Louisville, KY

  • Biomedical Research on Down Syndrome and Alzheimer’s Disease : the Many Paths to Improved Futures

Tom Blumenthal, PhD, Executive Director, Linda Crnic Institute for DS, Professor, Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of Colorado, Denver, CO and Huntington Potter, MD, Director of Alzheimer’s Research, Linda Crnic Institute for DS, Department of Neurology, University of Colorado, Denver, CO

  • Special Needs Financial Planning

Hal Wright, CFP®, Author, father of a daughter with DS, Centennial, CO

  • Going to College!

Stephanie Smith Lee, Think College Chair, Accreditation Workgroup & Executive Committee Member, Think College, daughter with DS and Self Advocates: Laura Lee, David Saville, and Wils Van Bergen

  • Imagine the Possibilities: Independent Living for an Adult With a Disability

Hal Wright, CFP®, Author, father of a daughter with DS, Centennial, CO

  • Career Solutions: Progressive Employment for Adults with Down Syndrome

Melissa Hillock, PhD, Adolescent/Adult Program Director and Sara Tinker, Career Solutions Specialist, both from Down Syndrome of Louisville, Louisville, KY

  • Grief and Loss in Adults With Down Syndrome

Shannon Lee, MA, sister with DS, Portland, OR

  • Promoting Strengths and Resources in Teens and Adults with Down Syndrome

Dennis McGuire, PhD

  • When Things Get Serious: Supporting Healthy Sexuality in Adulthood

Terri Couwenhoven, MS, AASECT Certified Sex Educator, TC Services, daughter with DS, Port Washington, WI

Exhibitors

Buddy Cruise
Down’s Designs
Joey’s Ups with Downs
Pathfinder Village http://pathfindervillage.org/
Ruby’s Rainbow http://www.rubysrainbow.org/
Sarah’s Sewical Lounge http://sarahely8989.blogspot.com/
NIH Down syndrome registry

If you’d like to help us get there too, please consider purchasing one of our sleeveless t-shirts or contributing to our FundRazr campaign.

Booster Campaign