WITH Grantee The American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry (AADMD) held its 16th Annual Conference in Seattle, CA June 29-July 1. This unique, international conference is a gathering of healthcare professionals who are passionate about building inclusive systems of care that are responsive to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

This year, AADMD teamed up with Special Olympics and the Golisano Foundation to co-locate the annual meeting with the US National Games for Special Olympics. The Golisano Foundation and its founder, businessman and philanthropist Tom Golisano committed $12 million in 2012 to launch Special Olympics Healthy Communities initiative and have since provided over 2.1 million health screenings and trained over 240,000 healthcare professionals in over 135 countries.

Read more about the Healthy Athletes Program here.

Not only did the WITH Foundation support this conference, we were there, and valued the opportunity to network and reconnect with our partners who are (almost) as passionate about inclusive health as we are.

Prior to the conference, The AADMD and the Special Olympics hosted a summit with over 200 CEO’s who are leading the charge for inclusive healthcare. More about the summit in a future blog.

Highlights and Takeaways

Inspiring presentations:

  • An opening presentation by the parent of a Special Olympics Athlete
  • Rick Rader MD on the Foundations of Developmental Medicine
  • VADM Jerome M. Adams, MD, MPH, Surgeon General

New Initiatives:

  • The launch of the Center for Inclusive Health by Mary Davis, CEO, Special Olympics and Tim Shriver, PhD, Chairman of the Board, Special Olympics International. The program aims to to strengthen the capacity of health organizations, providers, educators, and influencers to make policies, programming, services, research, trainings and funding streams inclusive and accommodating of people with intellectual disabilities. 

Expert Panel Discussions:

  • Healthcare Transitions for People with IDD, a panel discussion about ways to provide consistent and inclusive healthcare through the lifespan
  • The Importance & Impact of Inclusive Practices, a panel discussion moderated by AADMD President Elect Steve Sulkes
  • Emerging Champions of Inclusive Health, a panel moderated by Special Olympics CEO Mary Davis
  • Training the Next Generation of Healthcare Providers, a panel discussion moderated by Dr. Alicia Bazzano MD of the Achievable Foundation (yay! Previous grantee of the WITH Foundation).

Breakout sessions galore that focused on:

  • Improving healthcare systems for people with I/DD, including improving healthcare encounters for people with I/DD
  • Training, including a discussion about training direct support professionals as healthcare advocates. There was another terrific session about training providers about the healthcare needs of people with I/DD.
  • Medical and Dental Education. The Ohio State University College of Medicine talked about their efforts to transform the medical education continuum, training medical students to care for patients with disabilities. Another session, Lifelong Smiles for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities,  showcased a new resource and training program for Oral Health Professionals
  • Looking Ahead: Key lessons learned from efforts to improve acute care of people with intellectual disabilities: Outcomes & Future Challenges. Preparing for the Aging of the Population of People with ID/DD. A Focus on Mobility and Vision.

The Conference was concluded with Special Olympics US Games Opening Ceremony, which was spectacular.

Thank you #AADMD for a fantastic conference!

More About AADMD

The American Academy of Developmental Medicine & Dentistry (AADMD) is a non-profit organization of interdisciplinary medical professionals including physicians, dentists, optometrists, neurologists and other clinicians committed to improving the quality of healthcare for people with IDD. 

Since 2002, the AADMD has connected clinicians across the world and prepared them to face the unique challenges in caring for people with IDD. The organization provides curriculum to schools, IDD training for clinicians and specialized information to families and caretakers in language that is easy to understand. Above all, AADMD aims to make sure that no person with IDD is left without access to quality health services.