Symposium to explore current cerebral palsy diagnosis, management

"Cerebral Palsy: State of the Art," a new symposium, will discuss the current status of cerebral palsy diagnosis and management. Cerebral palsy is a term used to describe a group of chronic conditions affecting body movement and muscle coordination. It is caused by damage to one or more specific areas of the brain, usually occurring during fetal development, before, during or shortly following birth, or during infancy. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta estimates that some 400,000 children and adults in the United States have some degree of cerebral palsy. In the New York City metropolitan area, an estimated 35,000 individuals have some form of cerebral palsy.

Presentations are aimed at clinicians such as physicians, psychologists, social workers, nurses, occupational and physical therapists, and speech pathologists who work with individuals who have cerebral palsy. Discussion topics include: basic neurological causes and classifications of cerebral palsy; evolution of treatment decisions involved in caring for a child with cerebral palsy; issues involving problems with feeding and augmentative communication; and controversies surrounding alternative and complementary therapies for cerebral palsy.

Featured speakers include Edward R. Matthews, MS, UCP/NYC executive director, and Dr. Murray Goldstein, DO, MPH, FANN, UCP Research and Educational Foundation medical director, while Dr. Dara P. Richardson-Heron, Chief Medical Officer and Assistant Executive Director at UCP/NYC, contributed to the program development. The other faculty members are: Richard Anderson, MD, Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery at Columbia University College of Physician & Surgery and Pediatric Neurosurgical Consultant at the Lamm Institue; Rita Battles, MS, MBNA, CEO & President of Long Island College Hospital; Harvey S. Bennet, MD, Medical Director of the Lamm Institute and Associate Clinical Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics at SUNY Health Science Center at Brooklyn; Joseph Dutkowsky, MD, Associate Clinical Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at Columbia College of Physicians & Surgery; Iris Fishman, MA, CCC-SLP, Augmentative Communication Specialist at UCP/NYC and President of USSAAC; Ellen Godwin, PT, PhD PES, Assistant Professor at Long Island University Division of Physical Therapy and Director of the Gait Analysis Laboratory at the Lamm Institute; Gina Healy, PT, Supervisor Physical Therapy at the Lamm Institute; Raymond Marx, CPO, FAAOP, President of Orthobionics; William McCarthy, MS, CCC-SLP, Speech Pathologist at the Lamm Institute; Julia Schuette, MA, OT/L, Supervisor of Occupational Therapy at the Lamm Institute; Steven Schwarz, MD, Director of Pediatrics & Pediatric Gastroenterology at Long Island College Hospital and Professor of Pediatrics at SUNY Downstate; and Sheldon Simon, MD, Director of Pediatric Orthopedics at Beth Israel Medical Center and Clinical Professor of Orthopedics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Presented by United Cerebral Palsy of New York (UCP/NYC) and the Stanley S. Lamm Institute for Child Neurology and Developmental Medicine, this public program is the eleventh annual continuing medical education (CME) symposium in the Lamm Institute's series, Neurological Basis of Developmental Disabilities. Participants will qualify for CME accreditation.

Date and location: Tuesday, May 17 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Brooklyn Museum at 200 Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn

UCP/NYC has a long history in the disability field and currently serves more than 13,000 consumers in over 80 programs. Its mission is to provide the highest quality services in health care, education, employment, housing and technology resources that support people with cerebral palsy and related disabilities in leading independent and productive lives. Further information about UCP/NYC can be found on its website: www.ucpnyc.org.The Lamm Institute, which had its beginnings in 1950 as a center for developmentally disabled children, now provides an array of services to clients with neurological and developmental disabilities.

Further information about the Lamm Institute can be found on its website: www.wehealny.org/directory/lammsite/index.html

For more information about the "Cerebral Palsy: State of the Art," contact Alison Holden, UCP/NYC, at (212) 683-6700 Ext. 212 or aholden@ucpnyc.org