Programme - Down Syndrome Research Forum 2021

The Down Syndrome Research Forum 2021 is being hosted online. All times stated are UK (GMT/UTC/+00:00) time.

Abstracts will published shortly and registration will also open shortly. The registration fee will be GBP £40.00 (or USD $60.00 or EUR €50.00) and includes access to both days, the live poster sessions, and subsequent access to recorded sessions for a period of one month after the event.

Day 1: Education, services, and health across the life span

09:00 Welcome

09:05 Papers: Issues and perspectives on education

Chair: Kelly Burgoyne, University of Manchester, UK.

Educational experiences of pupils with Down syndrome in the UK: A parent and educators survey (Stephanie Hargreaves, Sarah Holton, Rebecca Baxter and Kelly Burgoyne. University of Manchester, UCL London, Let's Go, Hampshire, UK)

Teachers' attitudes towards the inclusion of children with Down syndrome within mainstream schools and the influencing factors (Natasha Krause, Cardiff University, Wales, UK)

Parent's Experiences with the Inclusion of their Children with Down syndrome in Mainstream Primary Schools in the Republic of Ireland (Fidelma Brady, Down Syndrome Ireland, Dublin, Ireland)

What works to support school placements for children and young people with Down syndrome? (Sarah Geiger, UCL London, UK)

10.25 Break

10.35 Symposium: Understanding and meeting the needs of children with Down syndrome and autism

Chair: Joanna Moss, University of Surrey, UK.

Autism in Down syndrome: prevalence, profile and clinical implications (Invited keynote: Joanna Moss, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK)

Positive Behaviour Support changes lives (Debbie Austin, Parent and Trainer, Cumbria, UK)

Meeting the SLT needs of children with Down syndrome and autism (Wendy Uttley, Down Syndrome Bradford, UK)

11:45 Break

11:55 Papers: The needs of and services for adults with Down syndrome

Chair: Sue Buckley, Down Syndrome Education International, UK.

The importance of friends (Sheila Glenn, Liverpool John Mooores University, UK)

The development of DSA's well-being resources (Jane Mitchell and Stuart Mills, Down's Syndrome Association, UK)

Effective Supported Employment Provision for People who have Down's Syndrome (Alison Thwaite, Down's Syndrome Association, UK)

Ability Online: Supporting adults with Down syndrome (Lisa Martin, Aoife Gaffney, Down Syndrome Ireland, Dublin, Ireland)

13:15 LUNCH

13:45 Papers: Service provisions and family uptake

Chair: Jo Van Herwegen, University College London, UK.

Service use patterns by children and youth with Down syndrome in a Canadian region served by a specialty medical service (John D. McLennan, Casey Fulford, Sophia Hrycko, Virginie Cobigo and Munazza Tahir, University of Calgary, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Canada)

Parental survey: availability, type and frequency of early intervention support for children with Down Syndrome aged 0-5, living in the UK (Deborah Thompson, Oubklic Health Consultant, North Lancs Down Syndrome Support Group, UK)

Providing services to people with Down syndrome: ethical norms and family experience (Tatyina Nechaeva and Alexander Borovykh, Downside Up, Moscow, Russia)

Empowering parents to implement early intervention toilet training for children with Down syndrome (June Rogers and Nicola Enoch, PADS Positive about Down Syndrome, UK)

15:05 Break

15:15 Papers: What do we know about technology use?

Chair: Emily Farran, University of Surrey, UK.

Examining the prevalence and type of technology-use in the Down syndrome population (Su Morris, Emily K. Farran, Katie A. Gilligan-Lee, University of Surrey, UK)

The evolution of digital autonomy in young adults with Down syndrome #socialparticipation (Isabelle Simonato, Dany Lussier-Desrochers, Claude L. Normand, & Alejandro Romero-Torres. University of Quebec at Trois-Rivieres, Outaouais, Montreal, Canada)

15:55 Break

16:05 Symposium: Hearing Loss and Down Syndrome: Assessment and Rehabilitation

Chair: Siobhán Brennan, Manchester Centre for Audiology and Deafness, University of Manchester, UK.

Tympanometry and Temporal Integration (Siobhán Brennan, Marie Kirkland, Eleanor Nunns, University of Manchester, UK)

A mixed-methods study of the management of hearing loss associated with otitis media with effusion in children with Down syndrome (Amanda Hall, Helen Pryce, Iain Bruce, Peter Callery, Monica Lakhanpaul, Anne Schilde, Aston University, UK)

Auditory Eurhythmic Programmes (Jane Douglas, Seashell Trust, UK)

Supporting Parents to Check Listening (Sarah Hogan, Noel Kenely, Auditory Verbal UK)

17:25 Break

17:35 Live Poster session

(See below for poster details)

18:45 Close


Day 2: Speech and language - research and services

09:00 Welcome

09:05 Invited keynote: How to increase vocabulary in children with Down syndrome

Kari-Anne B. Næss, University of Oslo, Norway.

Please note: this session will not be recorded.

10:00 Break

10:10 Papers: Speech and language interventions

Chair: Vesna Stojanovik, University of Reading, UK.

Down Syndrome Ireland See and Learn initiative: Learning from a large-scale project (Nicola Hart, Down Syndrome Ireland, Dublin, Ireland)

Shared book reading interventions to promote language development in children with Down Syndrome: where are we and where should we go? (Laura Diprossimo and Kate Cain, University of Lancaster, UK)

An effectiveness study of a parent-child interaction therapy with children with Down syndrome (Ciara O'Toole, Sarah Cronin & Pauline Frizelle, University College Cork, Ireland)

11:10 Break

11:20 Papers: Speech and language issues

Chair: Kate Cain, University of Lancaster, UK.

We need to talk! Insights from Mothers' and Fathers' speech to their children with Down Syndrome (Desiree Grafton-Clarke, Linda Kelly, Elizabeth Nixon and Jean Quigley, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland)

Stuttering in Children with Down syndrome (Silje Hokstad, Kari-Anne B. Næss, J. Scott Yaruss, Karoline Hoff and Ane H. Melle, University of Oslo, The National Service for Special Educational Needs Education, Statped, Norway, Michigan State University USA)

The Stuttering and Language Link in Children with Down syndrome Kari-Anne B. Næss, Egil Nygaard, Hilde Hofslundsengen, J. Scott Yaruss University of Oslo, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Michigan State University USA)

Grammar comprehension abilities in individuals with Down syndrome - Cross-sectional and longitudinal data (Bernadette Witecy, Isabel Neitzel, Eva Wimmer and Martina Penk, University of Cologne, TU Dortmund University, Germany)

Speaking within limits: exploring the effects of cognitive load on voice and speech in 4 young adults with Down Syndrome (Tracy Jeffery, Bishops Grosseteste University, Lincoln UK)

13:00 Lunch

13:30 Symposium: What works? - building the evidence base for speech and language therapy for children with Down syndrome

Chair: Vesna Stojanovik, University of Reading, UK.

A systematic review of speech and language interventions for children with Down syndrome from 0 to 6 years (Vesna Stojanovik, Emily Seager, Sarah Sampson, Jacqueline Sin and Emma Pagnamenta, University of Reading, UK)

Intensive telehealth vocabulary therapy: a 15-week single case study trial (Alys Mathers, Specialist Speech and Language therapist, Speakaboo, UK)

Syndrome specific speech and language therapy in the time of Covid (Leela Baksi, Specialist Speech and Language therapist, Symbol Connect, UK)

Developing NHS community speech and language therapy services to support the needs of children with Down syndrome and their families (Susan Chryssovergis, Lead Speech and Language Therapist, Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust, UK)

14:50 Break

15:00 Symposium: The challenges of providing services and support in the digital age

Chair: Sue Buckley, Down Syndrome Education International, UK.

Delivering online early development groups: the PEGS project (Nicola Enoch and Rebecca Baxter, PADS Positive about Down Syndrome, Let's Go, Hampshire UK)

Teach Me Too (Johanna Aiyathurai, Manager, 21 Together, Kent, UK, Lucy Clark, Julie Knight, Inclusively Down, Buckinghamshire UK)

Online group therapy sessions with children with Down syndrome: What we have learnt (Erica Ranzato, Downright Excellent, UK, UCL London, UK)

Is it possible to deliver effective Early Intervention Groups via live video link? (Isabel Ashman and Wendy Uttley, Down Syndrome Bradford, UK)

16:20 Break

16:30 General Discussion

17:00 Close


Posters

17.35 Live Poster Discussion, Day 1, Thursday 11th March

Each poster presenter will have a 5 minute slot in the order above to answer questions/discuss.

Chair: Sue Buckley, Down Syndrome Education International, UK.

The educative journey of children with Down Syndrome as experienced by their parents (Merelina Houghton, Bishops Grosseteste University, Lincoln, UK)

Utilizing TWI Job Instructions to Prepare Disabled Young Adults for School and Work Mid-Pandemic (Brent Ibata, Lee Health, Florida, USA)

Down Syndrome Ireland: Work Skills adult education course (Lisa Martin, Head of Adult Education, Down Syndrome Ireland)

The Impact of Childhood Disease on Hospital Visitation Timing; Down Syndrome and Other Chronic Diseases - A survey of pediatricians in Japan (Hanako Tajima, Juri Ogawa, Izuru Nose, Yutaka Momota, Morihisa Takarabe and Miki Kakinuma. Musashi Kosugi Hospital, Kanagawa, Nippon Veterinary and Life Science University, Tokyo, Minami-Kyusyu University, Miyazaki, Japan)

British Minority Parents' Experiences with Children with Down Syndrome in West Yorkshire (Mahasin Saleh, Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, Qatar)

Adaptive Functioning versus Cognitive Scores in Young Children with Down syndrome (Laura J. Mattie, Susan J. Loveall and Marie Moore Channell, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Nebraska-Lincoln)

Associations between spatial abilities and mathematics in people with Down syndrome (Katie A. Gilligan-Lee, Su Morris and Emily K. Farran, University of Surrey UK)

Speech and Language therapy delivered via teletherapy. Case studies and guidance for working with children with Down Syndrome (Alys Mathers, Specialist Speech and Language therapist, Speakaboo, UK)

Rhythmic accuracy in two young adults with Down Syndrome and hearing loss: what can we learn from them about using rhythmic music activities to support speech perception? (Tracy Jeffery, Bishop Grosseteste University, Lincoln, UK)

Making the most of music: how we can exploit music-making opportunities to support speech perception skills in children and young people with Down syndrome. (Tracy Jeffery, Bishop Grosseteste University, Lincoln, UK)

Language abilities in adults with Down syndrome: Searching for language markers of age-related cognitive changes in individuals with intellectual disabilities (Elisa Mattiauda, Angela Hassiotis and Alexandra Perovic, UCL, London, UK)