Keynote Speaker - Dr. Sandra VanderKaay

Sandra VanderKaay is an assistant professor in the School of Rehabilitation Science and a CanChild Scientist. Her current program of research involves developing and implementing trauma-informed pedagogical practices in MSc OT education, developing a theory of inclusive tiered models of occupational therapy in school settings, and clinical reasoning and ethical decision-making in occupational therapy. Sandra has been a registered occupational therapist since 1996 and has worked primarily in pediatric settings, including pediatric rehabilitation and school-based OT. ​

Keynote Speaker - Dr. Peter Rosenbaum

Dr. Peter Rosenbaum came to McMaster in 1973 as a Developmental Paediatrician. and have been a Professor of Pediatrics since 1984. I held of one of the inaugural Canada Research Chairs in Childhood Disability Research, Mentoring and Dissemination (2001-14). He is currently a clinical and health services researcher, author of >400 peer-reviewed papers and 5 books, supervisor of >75 graduate students at several universities around the world, and an invited lecturer in >30 countries. 

Workshop Speaker - Dr. Vivian Lee

Dr. Vivian Lee is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Carleton University. Her research focuses on the emotional and mental health of children and youth with autism and other neurodevelopmental disabilities. Her work includes the investigations of child-, parent-, and system-level characteristics, and the relationship between these factors, that either support healthy emotional development or exacerbates difficulties in the child and for the family. She is also interested in the impact of these factors on overall parent and family wellbeing. Additionally, she has an interest in implementation science and program evaluations, and working alongside community-based autism providers and advocacy groups, she is investigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as participation in psychosocial interventions on the mental health and wellbeing of autistic youth and their caregivers. 

Workshop Speaker - Dr. Ann Fudge Schormans

Ann Fudge Schormans is an Associate Professor in the School of Social Work at McMaster University (Ontario, Canada). Drawing on critical disability studies and employing (and exploring the potential and challenges of) inclusive, co-researcher methodologies and knowledge production, along with arts-based methods, current and recent research projects include explorations into the intersection of intellectual disability with education, employment and experiences of homelessness; disability and masculinity, the use of city space by people labelled/with intellectual disabilities; parenting experiences and aspirations of people labelled/with intellectual disabilities; and mobilizing disability studies and scholarship. A current project involves working with survivors of Canada’s large-scale institutions, alongside younger generations of people labelled/with intellectual disabilities to collaboratively develop teaching materials related to institutionalization, contemporary forms of institutional care, ongoing marginalization, discrimination, and oppression, as well as self-advocacy and activism.

Workshop Speaker - Dr. Christopher Anand 

Dr. Anand has developed outreach activities for more than a decade, and this experience is leading to rapid program growth. Of the 15000 children taught, over 12000 have been taught since 2016. Involvement with Outreach has led to new collaborations with experts in Design Thinking, and new research involving Human Computer Interfaces. In addition to outreach, he maintains research programs in optimization applied to Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Scanning Electron Microscopy, and Compilers. He has eleven patents in MRI and computer hardware. He was IBM Centre for Advanced Studies Fellow of the Year in 2017, leader of the Project of the Year 2018, and won a best paper award at CASCON 2019 for work on Elliptic Curve Cryptography. We are excited to hear about Dr Anand’s extensive experience teaching at various levels, adapting to an online format, and some of the challenges that have come as a result of COVID-19. In this workshop, you will also have an opportunity to learn some Elm coding!