Program – KBHN Virtual Conference 2021

Opening Ceremony

Join KBHN Chief Executive Officer, Nicola Lewis, and Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. James Reynolds in the opening of the second Kids Brain Health Virtual Conference. With the participation of Elder Syexwaliya (Ann Whonnock), and this year’s conference Master of Ceremonies, Jody Carrington.

Watch: Opening Ceremony

Fraser Mustard Lecture

Failure of Imagination: Ableism in Medicine

Fraser Mustard Lecture is KBHN’s annual lecture dedicated to advancing knowledge about the importance of early child development.  Drawing on her background in Neonatal Perinatal Medicine and Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics and lived experience insights, Dr. Church will share her experience with ableism in medicine, both from the perspective of a provider and as a user of the healthcare system, and discuss her work highlighting the need to change the culture of medicine to one of respect, awareness of stigma.

Watch: Fraser Mustard Lecture – Failure of Imagination: Ableism in Medicine

Trainee Lightning Talks #1

Part 1

Lightning talks are concise presentations that highlight key research findings and/or knowledge mobilization activities and how they impact the neurodevelopmental disability community. Presentations were selected from trainee and community member abstracts to illuminate the breadth and exciting work of teams across our research and support communities. During these sessions, trainees and community advocates will take the “stage” to showcase their cutting-edge work and stimulate discussion.

Watch: Trainee Lightning Talks #1

Poster Session #1 – Family Partnership Community of Practice

Poster Session & Networking

With the theme of this year’s conference focusing on partnerships in research, the KBHN Family Partnership Community of Practice  offer an opportunity to showcase the evolution of research partnerships and how they impacted the research project. Community of Practice posters will  be co-presented by at least 1 family member/individual with lived experience and 1 researcher. The posters will focus on presenting on how the research engagement relationship has evolved and how joint decisions changed the research project.

The poster session(s) will take place in a virtual networking environment Presenters will have prepared a short poster walkthrough video that attendees should view prior to the poster session, piquing viewer interest and preparing for a deeper discussion of their work during the “live” poster sessions. During each virtual poster session, poster presenters will be assigned a time to “stand” by their poster and share research results, community engagement activities, and knowledge mobilization initiatives. Interested attendees are invited to visit the virtual KBHN2021 Networking space and the Virtual Poster Session “room”, where they can interact with presenters (via audio, webcam, and chat), ask questions and explore their posters together with other attendees.

Partnering in the co-creation of EDIT-CP (Early Detection and Intervention Toolkit- Cerebral Palsy)

Better together: Reflections on building strong partnerships in research

EDIT-CP toolkit is meant to rapidly mobilize existing evidence on early identification and early interventions for children diagnosed with cerebral palsy. It is being co-created in partnership with knowledge users (parents, frontline clinicians) to ensure it is accessible and user-friendly. It targets two groups: i) primary care/general population of young children (low risk), and ii) neonatal ICU graduates who are followed in neonatal follow-up programs (high risk). Authentic partnerships with families, clinicians, experts and programs have been instrumental in mobilizing new knowledge for rapid uptake, to optimize outcomes for children and families.

Watch: Partnering in the co-creation of EDIT-CP (Early Detection and Intervention Toolkit- Cerebral Palsy)

ABLE2’s Fetal Alcohol Resource Program – A stakeholder-driven project to support children and youth with FASD and their caregivers

Better together: Reflections on building strong partnerships in research

The Fetal Alcohol Resource Program (FARP) at ABLE2 is a stakeholder-driven program created in response to an identified need in the community to support children/youth with FASD, and their caregivers. The initial pillars of the program were navigation to community services, FASD training and research. FARP has grown from its initial program pillars to a multisystemic model of care that provides wraparound support to individuals with FASD (or suspected FASD) and their families, community capacity building and influencing public policy. The multisystemic model of care requires strong funding and in-kind partnerships to continue building capacity and increasing the impacts of FASD awareness and supports. This includes sharing evidence-based data on program success. The program seeks to constantly find new ways of responding to identified needs.

Watch: ABLE2’s Fetal Alcohol Resource Program – A stakeholder-driven project to support children and youth with FASD and their caregivers

It takes a village: Stakeholder engagement as a critical lens for the National Strategy Development and Implementation

The Canadian Autism Spectrum Disorder Alliance (CASDA) and Kids Brain Health Network (KBHN) Policy Fellow will present findings on their policy analysis and stakeholder mapping and consultation to inform next steps for implementation of the National Autism Strategy and the relevance to all developmental disabilities. Key findings and lessons learned on the policy development and stakeholder mapping and consultation process will be shared.

**Notice: immediately following this session will be the end of day emcee reflection by Dr. Jody Carrington.

Watch: It takes a village: Stakeholder engagement as a critical lens for the National Strategy Development and Implementation

Sponsor Showcase & Networking Session #1

A dedicated opportunity to meet and greet with fellow conference attendees, presenters, and to visit the many sponsor booths. To participate, please visit the “Sponsor Booth” tab located on the left side of the event platform.

Ask the Expert Session
Please visit the Networking tab to view the different Ask the Expert Group Discussion.

Sponsor Showcase & Networking Session #2

A dedicated opportunity to meet and greet with fellow conference attendees, presenters, and to visit the many sponsor booths. To participate, please visit the “Sponsor Booth” tab located on the left side of the event platform.

Welcome Remarks

Kick off Day 2 of the conference by joining Elder Syexwaliya (Ann Whonnock) and Emcee Jody Carrington as they start the day. We will also be hearing from Christine Chambers, Scientific Director at the Institute of Human Development, Child and Youth Health, CIHR, and The Honourable Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability and Paralympic athlete.

Watch: Welcome Remarks

#HowNotToDoPatientEngagement to #BuildingBackTrust: Envisioning a Future for Partnership and Engagement

In this panel discussion, we will present two examples that illustrate moments when patient and family engagement hasn’t gone quite as intended. Inspired from Twitter’s sometimes cringe-worthy hashtag, #HowNotToDoEngagement, Rachel Martens, KBHN Family Engagement Coordinator and parent, will facilitate a discussion about challenges and tensions in engagement with a panel of folks who engage in research, including a youth, a parent, a researcher, and a trainee. Through dialogue and reflection, they will talk about trust, communication, and the importance of building partnerships. You are invited to join us, get on Twitter, and help envision a future for partnership and engagement by #BuildingBackTrust.

Watch: #HowNotToDoPatientEngagement to #BuildingBackTrust: Envisioning a Future for Partnership and Engagement

Trainee Lightning Talks #2

Part 2

Lightning talks are concise presentations that highlight key research findings and/or knowledge mobilization activities and how they impact the neurodevelopmental disability community. Presentations were selected from trainee and community member abstracts to illuminate the breadth and exciting work of teams across our research and support communities. During these sessions, trainees and community advocates will take the “stage” to showcase their cutting-edge work and stimulate discussion.

This session is intended to be brief, 3-minute summaries that feature the major findings from your research study or project. The KBHN conference selection committee is particularly interested in, but not restricted to, lightning talks that align with one of the three overarching themes of the conference. Presenters will prepare pre-recorded videos of their slideshow presentations. These recordings will be aired during the lightning talk session and followed by a live Q & A session. KBHN will be hosting informational webinars to support lightning talk presenters in preparing their presentations.

Watch: Trainee Lightning Talks #2

Poster Session #2 & Networking

The posters presented during this session will focus on research impact and will feature presentations from our network trainees. This is an excellent opportunity to interact directly with these trainees and to learn more about their work.

The poster session(s) will take place in a virtual networking environment Presenters will have prepared a short poster walkthrough video that attendees should view prior to the poster session, piquing viewer interest and preparing for a deeper discussion of their work during the “live” poster sessions. During each virtual poster session, poster presenters will be assigned a time to “stand” by their poster and share research results, community engagement activities, and knowledge mobilization initiatives. Interested attendees are invited to visit the virtual KBHN2021 Networking space and the Virtual Poster Session “room”, where they can interact with presenters (via audio, webcam, and chat), ask questions, and explore their posters together with other attendees. 

Researcher-Provider Partnerships in Scaling Autism-related Socioemotional Supports in the Community

Better together: Reflections on building strong partnerships in research

There are major gaps in our knowledge that are preventing the successful implementation of mental health supports for children with autism in Canada. We focused on a specific socioemotional group intervention, the Secret Agent Society, which has been used in research contexts and is being delivered in communities in many countries. While efficacy trials exist, questions remain about program implementation by publicly funded community-based service providers and how this work can be integrated within a research context. Our discussions with partners indicate an ongoing need to ensure that the intervention is helpful, to document the degree of fidelity and the kinds of adaptations that occur, and to understand the degree of acceptability of the intervention for staff and clients alike. This research-community partnership involved 7 agencies from the Greater Toronto Hamilton Area. Creating research-practice partnerships are key to understanding the real-world realities of scaling up, implementing, and evaluating interventions in the community.

Watch: Researcher-Provider Partnerships in Scaling Autism-related Socioemotional Supports in the Community

Charting a Course for Infant and Early Mental Health in Canada: Reshaping How we Think and Support Mental Health in Canada

Better together: Reflections on building strong partnerships in research

Canada is lagging other developed countries in its policies, practices, and research in the area of infant and early mental health compromising the wellbeing of future generations. This panel will discuss how Infant and Early Mental Health Promotion at The Hospital for Sick Children is forging a path in Canada for the inclusion of infant and early mental health in policies, practices, and research focusing on mental health.  Panelists will discuss the core components needed for an infant and early mental health “friendly” organization, community or even practitioner and how IEMHP is developing and evaluating training, tools, and resources to lead and support this change in Canada’s approach to mental health.

Watch: Charting a Course for Infant and Early Mental Health in Canada: Reshaping How we Think and Support Mental Health in Canada

Participating in moving knowledge to action: Think ethically, behave intentionally and try

Closing Keynote

Participation is a human right.  Individuals with child-onset disability and their families, however, commonly experience exclusion or restriction in their participation across many life situations. You cannot participate if you cannot attend a situation, so virtual and physical places and spaces need to be both available and accessible. However, being able to ‘turn up’ to an activity is not enough; participation requires involvement. The experience of involvement is crucial to participation, to wellbeing and to life quality.

Research is a life situation of keen interest to those who produce it, those who use it, and those for whom there are intended benefits: that is, children and families. Is participation in this life situation a human right?  Using current evidence about participation, and experiences in family engagement in research, we will consider together how partnering to participate in research can help us to move knowledge to action in practice.

Watch: Participating in moving knowledge to action: Think ethically, behave intentionally and try

Award Ceremony

Join us for KBHN’s very first award ceremony! Nicky Lewis, CEO, and James Reynolds, CSO, will be conferring poster and lightning talk presenters with both adjudicated and people’s choice awards. Did your favourite presentation win a prize? Come find out!

Watch: Closing Remarks and Award Ceremony