Relevant facts of 2023
The vanguard in scientific and technological advances in neurodevelopmental pathologies
The II Days of Integrated Care in Cerebral Palsy and other Neurodevelopmental Pathologies are organized by the Aspace Catalunya Foundation in collaboration with Sant Joan de Déu Hospital and Vall d'Hebron Hospital.
The conferences will show the great advances made at a scientific, technological and social level in the field of neurodevelopmental pathologies by national and international speakers.
Barcelona March 14, 2023. – On March 17 and 18, the II Conference on Integrated Care in Cerebral Palsy and other Neurodevelopmental Pathologies will be held, organized by the Aspace Catalunya Foundation, with the collaboration of the Sant Joan de Déu Hospital and Vall d'Hebron Hospital, in the Aspace CIM centre. After the success of the last meeting, despite the difficulties of the pandemic, this series of conferences focused on professionals in the mental health, neurorehabilitation and occupational therapy sectors is taking place once again. In these days, the integrated approach to neurodevelopmental pathologies will be shared from different complementary points of view, providing an innovative view of clinical and research advances.
Conferences and speakers
Support technologies have become a tool that is integrated in the fields of rehabilitation and in the daily life of people with functional diversity to promote their autonomy. In this sense, Ángel Aguilar, Engineer and Director of the Support Technology and Resources Service of the Fundació Aspace Catalunya, will perform a practical demonstration of the use of the latest technological advances in the control of the environment, of adaptation on activities rehabilitators, in increased communication, in displacement and in functional rehabilitation. The following will participate in this presentation:
- Rhoda Nieves, Occupational Therapist of the Aspace Catalunya Foundation, which will explain the operation of the support technology workshop that he carries out at the Aspace Occupational Therapy Center in Badalona and the success it is having among the users.
- Oriol Roqueta, retired lawyer fighting for the rights of people with functional diversity and user of Fundació Aspace Catalunya, who, with a very pronounced spastic tetraplegia, will talk about how he manages to live only thanks to the help of technology.
- And, finally, Joel Bueno, a 15-year-old user of the Aspace Catalunya Foundation, who will give his presentation using the augmented communication tool Tobii, dedicated to the difficulties in moving and obtaining customized orthopedic equipment and how, thanks to the support technology, he is able to make music.
Internationally will be attended by Iona Novak, world leader in cerebral palsy, Professor at the University of Sydney and Co-Founder of the Cerebral Palsy Alliance Research Institute. Professor Iona Novak will present the different guides made for families and professionals in the field of cerebral palsy and the effectiveness of their implementation. The Cerebral Palsy Alliance of Australia offers person-centred therapies and provides skills programs for people with cerebral palsy, with the priority of helping to lead more comfortable, inclusive and independent lives and maximizing their participation in the community The international clinical practice guidelines help to improve the participation of the group in the important activities of life.
For its part, the Dr. Gloria Soto, professor in the Department of Special Education at San Francisco State University and expert in augmentative and alternative communication systems (AAC), will describe access to these communication systems, about language as a fundamental right and the characteristics of AAC systems for to facilitate the development of people.
Likewise, another outstanding conference will be held by Nora Sanz, Physiotherapist and director of the Nipace Foundation, in the context of the use of exoskeletons in cerebral palsy and its scientific evidence. At the Nipace Foundation of Guadalajara are already being put into practice the use of exoskeletons to promote neurorehabilitation and will show successful cases and how this technology can help in neurodevelopmental disorders.
Finally, the Mental Health area of the Aspace Catalunya Foundation will also participate in several presentations, emphasizing the mental functioning of cerebral palsy and the different effective psychotherapeutic care interventions they carry out with different groups of specific profiles. In this Mental Health Panel, two psychiatrists from Sant Joan de Déu Hospital will close the intervention, giving a presentation on ADHD and Autism in children with cerebral palsy.
