Down Syndrome Research Forum 2026

The 2026 Down Syndrome Research Forum will be held online from 16 to 18 March.

The Down Syndrome Research Forum is an annual event that brings together researchers, students, practitioners and families from around the world to discuss current research and practice and learn from each other.

In 2026, we are extending the event over 3 shorter days with staggered presentation times to better support presenters and delegates from across the world.

We welcome a variety of presentations from researchers, practitioners and families, including research findings, project proposals, work in progress, reports of practical experience of different service models or interventions, or discussion of issues of significant interest to attendees. We also welcome submissions for symposia bringing together 3 or 4 related presentations. Presentations may not exceed 20 minutes, including a few minutes for questions.

Presentations are delivered live online (via Zoom) and are recorded. Recordings are made available to registered participants only for a limited period of time following the live event.

Keynotes

The following keynotes are planned for this year:

• Language interventions for children and young people with Down syndrome
  Professor Lizbeth Finestack
  Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences, College of Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota, USA
• The International Summit on Health benefits of Physical Fitness: methods and outcomes
  Dr Nicolas Oreskovic
  Harvard Internal Medicine & Pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, USA
• Dual Diagnosis – Down syndrome and autism: what we know and what we do not know
  Dr. Noemi Spinazzi
  Director of the Down Syndrome Center of Excellence at Children's Specialized Hospital, Princeton, NJ, USA

Submissions

We are now accepting submissions via our online submission system. The deadline for submissions is 9 January 2026.

Research Forum Community

If you have any questions about the forum, please get in touch via the Research Forum section on the DSE Community site.