la rabida children's hospital

La Rabida Presents 14th Annual Symposium - A Collaborative Approach to Cerebral Palsy

Thursday January 21st, 2010

La Rabida's Perspectives in Care Symposium will take place on Friday, April 9 at 8:30 a.m. in Chicago.  This continuing education opportunity is designed for medical and ancillary healthcare professionals and educators.
 
Cerebral palsy is a general term used to capture a group of neurological disorders that appear in the first few years of life and affect a child’s ability to coordinate body movements.  The condition impacts the lives of some 500,000 Americans.
 
About the Symposium
The day-long program features a line up of 14 healthcare professionals and other experts, including keynote speaker Janice E. Brunstrom-Hernandez, MD.  A Cerebral palsy advocate and Pediatric Neurologist, Brunstrom-Hernandez is Associate Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics at Washington University and Founder and Director of the Pediatric Neurology Cerebral Palsy Center at Washington University School of Medicine and St. Louis Children’s Hospital.
 
The purpose of this year’s symposium is to increase the target audience’s understanding of cerebral palsy with its accompanying disabilities.  We will also offer practitioners tools for working with individuals and families to maximize their child’s functional abilities. 
 
The goal of treatment is to help the child become as independent as possible.  "Because CP can affect so many aspects of a child's development, treatment requires a team approach.  A team approach is an intrinsic part of the way we work with patients and families at La Rabida.  We feel very pleased to be able to offer this educational day to professionals working in the Chicagoland area," said Lauren Krause, MS, CCC-SLP, La Rabida’s Chief of Speech-Language Pathology and symposium chair.
 
Symposium speakers will present across three tracks – Topics in Medical Care; Topics in Therapy; and Topics for Home and Community.
 
A lunchtime program will highlight the journey of an actor with cerebral palsy and a choreographer who was inspired to work with him and cast him in a dance piece.  The collaboration of Tamar Rogoff, a choreographer, and Gregg Mozgala, an actor and writer, has been featured nationally for their groundbreaking work in “Diagnosis of a Faun.”
 
Who Should Attend
An interdisciplinary team of pediatric professionals designed the conference for a target audience of:
                                                                                 

  • Case managers
  • Program specialists
  • Developmental therapists
  • Psychologists
  • Educators
  • Service coordinators
  • Nursing professionals
  • Social emotional coordinators
  • Occupational therapists
  • Social workers
  • Pediatricians
  • Speech language pathologists
  • Physical therapists
 

 
Continuing Education Credits Available
Continuing education credits for this symposium have been approved by:
 

Approval is pending by:


Event Location
The symposium will be held at the Gleacher Center, University of Chicago Booth School of Business, at 450 North Cityfront Plaza Drive, near NBC Tower in Chicago. 
 
Other Details
For more details about this program: 
 
About Keynote Speaker Janice E. Brunstrom-Hernandez, MD
In St. Louis, Brunstrom-Hernandez and her colleagues have provided comprehensive, multidisciplinary care to more than 2,000 infant, adolescents, and young adults from across the US and around the world since the Pediatric Neurology Cerebral Palsy Center at Washington University opened in 1998.
 
She is working to develop and test new treatment strategies for the management of the spasticity common to children with cerebral palsy.  To help the children with mobility, Brunstrom-Hernandez has created physical fitness programs, including martial arts, swim, and basketball camps to combat the motor disorder.  Brunstrom-Hernandez’s passion and innovative approach are born of her own life-long struggles with Cerebral palsy.  Her life defies doctors’ predictions that she would never walk, talk, attend college, or have children.
 
About La Rabida
La Rabida Children’s Hospital is a pediatric specialty hospital in Chicago that offers programs and services for chronic illness, developmental disabilities, and abuse.  Each year, the hospital hosts a conference that brings together health and education professionals to increase understanding about an important health issue.

La Rabida Children’s Hospital is dedicated to caring for children with chronic illnesses and disabilities, or those who have been abused or neglected.  La Rabida also specializes in transitional, rehabilitative, and interventional care subsequent to NICU, PICU or surgical treatment at another hospital.  More than 500 children with the diagnosis of Cerebral palsy are seen by the hospital’s pediatricians, case managers, dieticians, and rehabilitation specialists each year.  Some of the programs offered these children include: