Lots of of individuals from all over the world attended the UC Davis MIND Institute’s Summer season Institute on Neurodevelopmental Disabilities this month. They joined the digital occasion to debate the transition to life after highschool for people with neurodevelopmental disabilities reminiscent of autism, Down syndrome and fragile X syndrome.
A complete of 624 individuals logged in to the four-hour studying program from 16 nations and 25 states. The presentation was in English, with translation companies obtainable in different languages, together with Spanish and Korean. The occasion, in its 17th yr, was traditionally held in particular person however shifted to a digital format in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The flexibility to carry collectively a bigger, extra various group by the digital format has strengthened and enhanced the Summer season Institute expertise for everybody concerned,” mentioned MIND Institute Director Leonard Abbeduto. “We respect the chance to interact with the group on rising analysis and to listen to from these with lived experiences about what issues most to them.”
We respect the chance to interact with the group on rising analysis and to listen to from these with lived experiences about what issues most to them.” —Leonard Abbeduto, director, UC Davis MIND Institute
A deal with the transition to life after highschool
Making ready for all times after highschool poses distinctive challenges for some people with autism, fragile X syndrome, ADHD and Down syndrome. The Summer season Institute theme, “We Belong: Making ready for group Life and Achievement After Excessive College,” was chosen to assist people and households determine private, organizational and societal obstacles to navigating the transition. There was additionally a heavy emphasis on methods to beat these obstacles and a deal with studying to self-advocate of their colleges and communities.
Highlights included a keynote tackle by Elizabeth McGhee Hassrick of Drexel College on analysis associated to the journey to maturity, in addition to panel discussions. The panels featured self-advocates, people with disabilities, relations and suppliers who talked about planning, assets and methods for an lively group life after highschool.
The MIND Institute is targeted on increasing the alternatives it gives for younger individuals as they transition to maturity. That features a new clinic that helps households coordinate care, assets, employment and group engagement as their teenagers transfer into maturity.
The Summer season Institute on Neurodevelopmental Disabilities is a free studying program hosted by the MIND Institute and open to the group. It has been held yearly for practically 20 years.
Watch a recorded model of the occasion on the MIND Institute’s YouTube channel.
The UC Davis MIND Institute in Sacramento, Calif. was based in 1998 as a singular interdisciplinary analysis middle the place households, group leaders, researchers, clinicians and volunteers work collectively towards a typical aim: researching causes, therapies and potential prevention of challenges related to neurodevelopmental disabilities. The institute has main analysis efforts in autism, fragile X syndrome, chromosome 22q11.2 deletion syndrome, attention-deficit/hyperactivity dysfunction (ADHD) and Down syndrome. Extra details about the institute and its Distinguished Lecturer Collection, together with earlier displays on this collection, is offered on the Internet at mindinstitute.ucdavis.edu.
