Part of being a parent is learning what you need to know in order to support your children. When something like Down syndrome is involved there’s much more to learn. Access to information can be very different from family to family based on a multitude of reasons. The 321 eConference levels the playing field a bit by providing access to experts at reasonable prices.
Perspective
We all want give our loved ones the best life possible. Information is key to opening a whole world of medical, social, and educational doors. As a young parent, unfamiliar with what Down syndrome was, I had no idea how much I didn’t know. The depth and breadth of my ignorance was tremendous. Luckily, my son was born in an area and time when I had access to experts. I often wonder how different our lives would have been if I didn’t.
Today, the internet can bring people together in ways that weren’t possible when my son was born in 1987. We have access to other parents, doctors, education and policy experts. There is so much information out there, sorting through it can be exhausting.
The 321 eConference brings experts into our homes. We don’t have to pay for travel or appointments. We don’t even have to juggle our schedules if we don’t want to – we can watch the recorded sessions when the kids have gone to bed or in the car while we’re driving to work. And, the conference fees are extremely affordable, especially compared to in-person events.
Community
The tagline used by 321 eLearning: Knowledge, Empowerment, Advocacy, is more than just a catchy publicity line. Founder Dr. Jennifer Smolka truly believes in her work and the power that comes with being educated about the issues we face as parents. She’s also a mom to four boys, the youngest, Jared, has Mosaic Down syndrome. She’s one of us. She gets it.
Since I’ve become involved as the “Adult Content Curator,” I’ve been able to focus on creating sessions for our community. Other conferences I’ve attended have had a few sessions sprinkled here and there for parents of adults. I’m proud to say that this year at the 321 eConference we have several tracks dedicated to issues of concern to parents whose children are past high school age. The ideas for the sessions, what to cover and who to ask, came directly from the community – questions and concerns that were posted in various groups on social media.
Learn With Us
This year, for the first time, sessions have been scheduled in “tracks.” Each track has a specific focus and offers attendees the ability to buy just the sessions they’re interested in. The full 3-day conference is reasonably priced at $75, and includes over 60 live webinars and access to the recorded sessions for 60 days. However, if you’re just interested in the sessions about work, for example, you can purchase the “Work For All” track for $21.00. Each track includes a variety of sessions held consecutively on the same day and gives you access to the recorded sessions. You can also purchase one live session for $7.21.
Conference Tracks 2016
- Mature Matters
- From the Beginning
- Work for All
- Advocacy
- Medical & Research Updates
- The Growing Years
- Born This Way: Building Support Systems
- Interventions & Accommodations
- Life After High School
- 321 en Español
To show you how much we believe in the 321 eConference, we’re offering a chance to win a full registration!