“In light of the outbreak of COV-19, Dyspraxia / DCD Ireland have taken the decision to postpone our Summit which was due to take place on 28th March . Given the very high levels of uncertainty of how the situation will evolve in the coming weeks, we believe this is a prudent and necessary step. Our primary concern is to ensure the wellbeing of our members, volunteers, speakers and all attendees, and of course to cooperate fully with the advice of public health experts.

We have rescheduled the Summit for Saturday 3rd October 2020 in the ‘Sheraton Hotel ‘ Athlone .

We are delighted to announce that our key note speaker Helene Polatajko will be joining us on the 3rd of October 2020.

WE ARE EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE DETAILS OF OUR SUMMIT 2020

From Practice to Research and Back Again:

Addressing the needs of children with DCD

When: Saturday, 3rd October 2020

Where: The Sheraton, Athlone.

Time: 9.15am – 4.15pm

OUR SPEAKERS:

Our keynote speaker is Professor Helene Polatajko

Prof. Helene Polatajko is a Professor at the University of Toronto, in the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy Faculty.

Dr.Sharon Drew University of South Wales

Sharon Drew PhD MA (SEN) DipRCOT DipSpLD PGCE

Sharon Drew has over 25 years of experience of working with children, young people and adults with Special Educational Needs. Although her professional background is in children’s Occupational Therapy, Sharon works independently as an Educational Consultant, trainer and author with a special interest in children with developmental co-ordination disorders (DCD) and physical skills development. Sharon has written and published a number of books and resources in relation to DCD and early years for teachers and parents.

In addition to her independent work, Sharon is a Senior Lecturer at the University of South Wales where she co-teaches on the Masters Programme for Special Educational Needs and Post Graduate Certificate in Specific Learning Difficulties.

Sharon's presentation will be on The Importance of Listening to Children and Parents: Learning together to enable children with DCD/Dyspraxia

Victoria Biggs

Dr Victoria Biggs is a specialist teacher at Red Balloon, a school for teenagers with trauma-related mental health problems. She completed her PhD on the experiences of children living through war, and has worked extensively in an adolescent psychiatric care. She is dyspraxic and autistic, and her award-winning first book for teenagers, Caged in Chaos: A Dyspraxic Guide to Breaking Free, was published by JKP when she was 16 years old. She is a regular guest speaker and trainer on the subject of specific learning difficulties."Dr Victoria Biggs is a specialist teacher at Red Balloon, a school for teenagers with trauma-related mental health problems. She completed her PhD on the experiences of children living through war, and has worked extensively in an adolescent psychiatric care. She is dyspraxic and autistic, and her award-winning first book for teenagers, Caged in Chaos: A Dyspraxic Guide to Breaking Free, was published by JKP when she was 16 years old. She is a regular guest speaker and trainer on the subject of specific learning difficulties."

Aine O'Dea

Occupational Therapy; MSc. Clinical Therapy (OT)

Áine is a highly skilled clinical occupational therapist and PhD research scholar. She has combined her clinical and research skills to examine what interventions are most effective to improve children and young people with DCD’s participation in everyday life.

Áine was awarded a full-time PhD scholarship from the Health Research Board as part of the SPHeRE programme in 2016. This innovative research-training programme aims to build capacity in Ireland of Population Health and Health Services Researchers. Áine has also worked in private practice providing clinical supervision services; she is passionate about knowledge translation for health professionals sharing research evidence and how to implement the findings in health service settings.

Áine will present her research examining children and young people’s experiences of living with a developmental coordination disorder. Children and young people with DCD require resilience to participate in daily activities in the face of complex daily challenges across school, home and leisure contexts. The findings of this study highlight numerous resilience-based strengths that young people use to navigate these experiences.

Dr Stacey Ball

We are delighted to have Dr Stacey Ball BSc MSc DClinPsychol CPsychol speaking at our Dyspraxia/DCD Ireland Summit on Saturday, March 28th.

Dr Stacey is a Clinical Psychologist and Director of The Insight Centre, which she opened in 2016. Dr Stacey will present on "Understanding and responding to anxiety in children with special educational needs"

Prof. Johann Issartel and Dr. Jamie McGann

Prof.Johann Issartel is an associate professor in the School of Health and Human Performance, in DCU, with an expertise in motor control and motor and cognitive development in children and Dr.Jamie McGann Dr. Jamie McGann has extensive experience in the field having worked as a primary teacher for ten years. His current research is concerned with relationships between movement skills and cognitive skills as well as design/development of educational technology to support Physical Literacy.

They will be speaking on 'Applied Physical Literacy for ALL children

Dr. Ríon O'Farrell-Walsh

Ríon is a clinical psychologist who has a diagnosis of Dyspraxia. Ríon received her BA in psychology from UCD, her MSc in Applied psychology from Trinity College and her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the University of Leeds.

Ríon carried out her MSc research on Dypraxia, conducting a phenomenological exploration of the social experiences of adults with Dyspraxia, as well as an investigation levels of social anxiety detected in Dyspraxic adults when compared to controls. In addition to a clinical interest in the social challenges and hurdles faced by individuals with Dyspraxia, Ríon is interested in using compassion-focused approaches to enhance wellbeing in individuals with neurodiverse profiles, including those with Dyspraxia.

Ríon is going to speak today about her experiences of being a practicing clinician who has Dyspraxia and will reflect upon her experiences of navigating third level education as someone with significant executive function difficulties.

To Purchase your tickets click this link. https://bit.ly/2rhrBoa