Clinicians and researchers who focus on cerebral palsy (CP) gather in Las Vegas, Nevada, this week for the meeting of the American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine (AACPDM). It is the first in-person meeting in three years, and the CP Research Network will be there in force. Our work will be spotlighted in three mini-symposia and three morning seminars, as well as one paper presentation and one scientific poster. All are geared toward spotlighting not only the results of our research, but also how engagement in our network can facilitate continued research and the implementation of evidence-based practices to improve outcomes for people with CP.

The mini symposia will be two hours in length total with a short discussion after. Topics include:

• Building a Center of Excellence in Cerebral Palsy: Care Delivery Models Across Cerebral Palsy Research Network Sites – Laurie Glader, MD, a developmental pediatrician, CP Research Network Steering Committee member and Scientific Co-chair for the AACPDM meeting, will lead a presentation and discussion of different “models of care” from leading centers in the CP Research Network.
• The State of Tone Management in Children with CP in North America: What Can We Learn from Each Other? CP Research Network investigator Sruthi Thomas, MD, PhD, is leading a session with other physicians from the network to discuss different strategies for tone management.
• Using Quality Improvement (QI) to Change Systems and Improve Care in Cerebral Palsy – Amy Bailes, PT, PhD, and CP Research Network QI coach, will lead a discussion including clinical leaders and consumers about three of our active quality improvement initiatives including adult care, dystonia diagnosis, and hip surveillance.

Our morning seminars, each of which are one hour in length, include:

• How to Participate in Multi-center Clinical Research and Quality Improvement (QI) with the CP Research Network
• NINDS Cerebral Palsy Common Data Elements for Lower Extremity Orthopedic Interventions
• Communication is a Gateway to Participation: State of the Science and Future Directions

And our free papers and posters include:

• The Development and Sensibility Evaluation of the CPCHECKList© – A Comorbidity Index for Severe Cerebral Palsy and;
• an Update from the Cerebral Palsy Research Network Registry.

These symposia, seminars, posters, and papers all seek to improve care and advance research at the national level. The breadth and depth of the network’s activities are very visible at this annual meeting and will draw new clinician researchers into our circle, eventually expanding our impact.