| |  | | | | | | Sydney sights: Penrith is about an hour’s drive from the city. | | | | More than a dozen UK families have already pledged their support for the International CdLS Conference in Australia next July and many more have expressed an interest. There will be four main focus areas – education, communication, behaviour and gastroenterology. The following speakers have confirmed their attendance and others are being lined up. - Genetics – Meredith Wilson (Sydney), Laird Jackson (USA)
- Ophthalmology – Maree Flaherty (Sydney), Alex Levin (Canada)
- General Health – Helen Beange (Sydney)
- Behaviour – Chris Oliver (UK)
- Education – Mary Morse (USA)
- Psychology – John Morse (USA)
- Speech and Language – Marjorie Goodban (USA)
- Sibling Issues – Bernadette Dalingwater (Canada)
- Recreation – Glenda von Wootten (Sydney)
- Coordinator/awareness training – CdLS USA
There will be general sessions, research updates and workshops. Families and carers will have the opportunity of private consultations with the specialists. “We aim to give parents the knowledge, confidence and skills necessary to greatly improve the lives of their CdLS charges, and their whole family situations,” said Australian coordinator, Jenny Rollo. During the Professionals Day, teachers, doctors, therapists and professional carers will have the opportunity to listen, learn and share their own experiences with their CdLS clients. Delegates will be able to use this information for the benefit of ALL their clients/students with disabilities. Childcare Childcare for those with CdLS and their young siblings will be catered for by the Girl Scouts from New Jersey, USA. Outings for siblings aged over 5 years – and some people with CdLS where appropriate – will be chaperoned by the students of Penrith TAFE College childcare course. CdLS people must have one-on-one supervision, and numbers are limited to the number of available chaperones. Registration papers will be available in February. Each national group will be sent copies. The UK Foundation will pay the cost of registration at the conference for all families and carers who are registered with CdLS UK and Ireland. Families have to pay for their own travel, accommodation and all other expenses. There is also a limited number of grants available for UK and Irish professionals who wish to register for the allied medical conference. | 
