Continuing Professional Development
The Developmental Disabilities Program is the national leader in Continuing Professional Education specific to developmental disabilities (DD). The Developmental Disabilities Clinical and Research Rounds happen on the second Wednesday of each month during the academic year. These rounds feature research presentations and clinical case presentations specific to DD. By bringing together science and clinical care, these rounds allow for cooperation across specialties, and contributes to innovate research and clinical care.
Each year the program hosts an Annual Spring CPD. This event focuses on medical issues in people with DD.
If you're interested in attending our events or clinical and research rounds please contact Jason Widdes.
For more information about our events, or to access videos of past events, check out our events below.
Developmental Disabilities Clinical and Research Rounds
2022-2023
October 12, 2022. Dr. Rob Nicolson, Department of Psychiatry, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University.
Pharmacological Treatment of Interfering Behaviours in Developmental Disabilities .
November 9, 2022. Dr. Jay Rao, Department of Psychiatry, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University
Multi Factor Assessments in Developmentally Disabled Individuals with Complex Needs.
December 14, 2022. Dr. Clare Mitchell, Department of Paediatrics, and Dr. Maha Saleh, Department of Medical Genetics, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University.
Approach to Overgrowth Syndromes Made Simple!
January 11, 2023. Dr. Robin Friedlander, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia.
Severe Self Injury in Children.
Bradley, E.A., Summers, J.A., Wood, H.L., & Bryson, S.E. (2004). Comparing Rates of Psychiatric and Behaviour Disorders in Adolescents and Young Adults with Severe Intellectual Disability With and Without Autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 34(2), 151-161.
February 8, 2023. Dr. Maryam Nouri. Department of Paediatrics (Paediatric Neurology), Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University.
Toward Comprehensive Epilepsy Care for Children: Focus on the future.
*A recording with ASL interpretation will be available for viewing soon.
March 8, 2023. Faraj Haddad, Ph.D. Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University.
Maternal Immune Activation During Pregnancy - An Environmental Risk Factor for Offspring Neurodevelopmental Disorders.
April 12, 2023. Dr. Ashan Veerakumar, PGY-4. Department of Psychiatry, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University.
Using The Phenomenology of Self-Injury In Individuals With Neurodevelopmental Disorders to Guide Treatment.
May 10, 2023. John Heng, Ph.D., and Dr. William Sullivan.
Ecology as a Public Health Ethics Issue for People with Developmental Disabilities.
June 14, 2023. Dr. Clare Mitchell.
A recording of this talk will be available here soon.
2021-2022
October 13, 2021. Dr. Rob Nicolson, Chair - Developmental Disabilities Program, Department of Psychiatry, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University.
The Developmental Disabilities Clinical and Research Rounds began again on Wednesday October 13, 2021 at 4pm.
Dr. Rob Nicolson gave the first talk of the academic year. This talk was titled: Ritual De Lo Habitual: Repetitive Behaviour in Autism Spectrum Disorder.
You can view this talk below.
November 10, 2021. Dr. Maha Saleh, Department of Paediatrics, Medical Genetics, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University.
Dr. Saleh's talk was entitled: "The Clinical Genetic Approach to Global Developmental Delay and Intellectual Disability: From Chromosome to Genome!"
You can view this talk below.
December 8 , 2021. Dr. Raymond Lee, DDS. Department of Paediatric Dental Surgery, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University.
Dr. Lee's talk was titled: "Special Needs Dentistry - Some Basic 🦷's".
(The image in the subtitle above is a tooth emoji).
You can view this talk below.
January 12, 2022. Dr. Julio Martinez-Truillo, Departments of Physiology and Pharmacology and Psychiatry, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University.
The title of Dr. Martinez-Trujillo's talk was Using Stem Cell Derived Models to Understand the Pathogenesis of Rett Syndrome.
You can view this talk below.
February 9, 2022. Dr. Jennifer McLean Department of Developmental Paediatrics, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University.
The title for Dr. McLean's talk was: F-words for Child Development: The ongoing need to "swear" for functioning and health.
You can view this talk below.
March 9, 2022. Ms. Richa Mehta, Master's Student, Western University.
Ms. Mehta is a Master's Student at Western University, studying under Dr. Jesse Wilson. Ms. Mehta is also a former Research Coordinator for the Nicolson lab at the Children's Hospital in London Ontario.
Ms. Mehta's research focuses on the transition to adulthood for young people with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Intellectual Disability.
The title of Ms. Mehta's talk was: Transitioning to Adulthood for Youth with ASD and ID
The recording of this talk will not be posted at this time as this presentation includes unpublished data.
April 13, 2022. Dr. Peter Cordell. Department of Psychiatry, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry.
Dr. Cordell's talk was titled: Diagnostic Disagreement in Autism Spectrum Disorder.
You can view this talk below.
May 11, 2022. Dr. Rob Nicolson
Dr. Nicolson's talk was titled: Assessment of Neurodevelopmental Disorders in Children with Severe Sensory Deficits.
You can view this talk below.
June 8, 2022. Dr. Ashley Galloway.
Dr. Galloway's talk was titled: Lessons learned in a year: management of severe behavioural problems in a medically complex patient.
You can view this talk below.
2020-2021
October 14, 2020. Dr. Cheril Clarson, Dr. Kierston Amos, Department of Paediatrics, and Dr. Rob Nicolson, Department of Psychiatry, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University.
"Endocrine Factors in Prader Willi Syndrome."
You can view this talk below.
November 18, 2020. Dr. Diane Seguin, Ph.D. Developing Brain Lab and Cognitive Neurophysiology Lab, Western University.
"Behavioural and Cognitive Effects of Low to Moderate Prenatal Alcohol Exposure: Evidence from human and animal studies."
You can view this talk below.
December 9, 2020. Dr. Michael Mak. Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto.
"Sleep Disorders in Developmental Disabilities."
You can view this talk below.
January 13, 2021. Dr. Susanne Schmid, Ph.D. Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University.
"Sensory Filtering Disruptions in Autism: A translational approach".
You can view this talk below.
February 10, 2021. Joan Gardiner, SLP, Department of Psychiatry, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, and Aimee Field, SLP, Child and Parent Resource Institute.
"Language Disorders: Facts and Implications".
You can view this talk below.
March 10, 2021. Dr. Jacqueline Ogilvie, MD. Departments of Pediatrics and Psychiatry, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University.
"Fit and Function: In search of key ingredients for enhancing school inclusion for children with NDD".
Unfortunately there is no vide for this presentation.
May 5, 2021. Dr. Sohail Makhdoom, MD. Developmental Disabilities Program, Department of Psychiatry, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University.
"Diagnosis of Autism in Girls".
There is no video for this presentation to protect patient identity/identities.
June 9, 2021. Jeff St. Pierre, Ph.D. (Clin. Psychology). Department of Psychology, Western University, and Clinical Psychologist, Child and Parent Resource Institute.
"Lessons From the Field: What have you learned from your clients?"
There is no video for this presentation to protect patient identity/identities.
2019-2020
October 9, 2019. Dr. Erin Heerey, Ph.D. Department of Psychology, Western University.
"Reward in the Social World."
You can view this talk below.
November 13, 2019. Dr. Tugce Balci. Department of Paediatrics and Medical Genetics, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University.
"A Guide for Pediatric Healthcare Providers Ordering Genetic Testing: How to read and interpret results."
You can view this talk below.
December 11, 2019. Dr. Madeline Burghardt, Ph.D. Disability Studies Program, Kings University College, Western University.
"It Wrecked Me Sadly: Revising Ontario's institutional history in the context of family narratives."
You can view this talk below.
January 8, 2020. Dr. Ruth Lanius. Department of Psychiatry, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University.
"Complex Adaptations to Developmental Trauma: Overcoming clinical challenges."
Unfortunately there is no video for this presentation.
February 12, 2020. Dr. Rob Nicolson, Department of Psychiatry, and Dr. Tugce Balci, Department of Paediatrics and Medical Genetics, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University.
"Angelman Syndrome: Behaviour, sleep, & genetics."
You can view this talk below.
March 11, 2020. Dr. Gail Teachman, Ph.D. School of Occupational Therapy, Western University.
"Rethinking Childhood Disability and Social Inclusion Perspectives from Young People Labeled as "Disabled".
Unfortunately there is no video for this presentation.
May 13, 2020. Dr. Rob Nicolson and Ms. Joan Gardiner, SLP. Department of Psychiatry, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University.
"Autism and Attachment Disorders: Separate but equal?"
You can view this talk below.
June 10, 2020. Dr. Fakhri Shafai, Ph.D. Department of Psychology, Western University.
"Emotion Processing in Autism: Insights from eye-tracking and pupillometry studies."
You can view this talk below.
2018-2019
October 10, 2018. Dr. Ingrid Johnsrude, Ph.D. School of Communications Sciences and Disorders. Western University.
"Knowledge-Guided Hearing: The benefit of familiar voices."
You can view this talk below.
November 14, 2018. Ms. Joan Gardiner, SLP, and Ms. Mandy Harloff, SLP. Department of Psychiatry, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry. Western University.
"Atypical Stutter".
There is no video for this presentation to protect patient identity/identities.
December 12, 2018. Dr. Emma Duerden, Ph.D. Faculty of Education, Western University.
"Early Adversity and the Association with Altered Brain Development and Functional Outcomes in Children Born Very Preterm."
You can view this talk below.
January 9, 2019. Dr. Jeff St. Pierre, Ph.D. Department of Psychology, Western University.
"The Perils of Single Source Assessments."
Unfortunately there is no video for this talk.
February 13, 2019. Dr. Laura Brunton, Ph.D. School of Occupational Therapy, Western University.
"Figuring out Fatigue in Cerebral Palsy: Impacts and opportunities."
Unfortunately there is no video for this talk.
March 20, 2019. Dr. Rob Nicolson. Department of Psychiatry, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western Unviversity.
"Uncertainties Abound."
There is no video for this presentation to protect patient identity/identities.
May 8, 2019. Dr. Jennifer McLean. Department of Paediatrics, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University.
"Syndromic Autism Spectrum Disorders: What in the world could this be?"
Unfortunately there is no video for this presentation.
June 12, 2019. Mr. Joshua Patenaude, MA. Department of Psychology, Western University.
"Social Cognition, Learning, & Their Relationship to Autism Spectrum Disorder."
You can view this talk below.
2017-2018
October 11, 2017. Dr. Jennifer McLean. Department of Paediatrics, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University.
"The Clumsy Child: The "interplay" of child psychiatry and developmental pediatrics."
You can view this talk below.
November 8, 2017. Dr. Caitlin Cassidy. Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry. Western University.
"Rett Syndrome: Care through the transition to adulthood and beyond."
You can view this talk below.
December 13, 2017. Dr. Rob Nicolson and Ms. Joan Gardiner, SLP. Department of Psychiatry, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry. Western University.
"Thought, Language, Autism, & Psychosis."
You can view this talk below.
January 10, 2018. Dr. Lisa Archibald, Ph.D. School of Communications Sciences and Disorders, Western University.
"Terminology & Other Challenges in the Diagnosis of Developmental Language Disorders."
You can view this talk below.
February 14, 2018. Dr. J. Bruce Morton, Ph.D. Department of Psychology, Western University.
"Measuring Executive Functioning in Children: Old challenges, new directions."
You can view this talk below.
March 21, 2018. Dr. Susanne Schmid, Ph.D. Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry. Western University.
"Sensory Processing and Filtering Disruption in Autism Spectrum Disorder."
You can view this talk below.
April 11, 2018. Ms. Sarah O'Flanagan. Department of Psychiatry, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry. Western University.
"Training in Developmental Disabilities in Canadian Psychiatry Residency Programs."
Unfortunately there is no video for this presentation.
May 9, 2018. Dr. Marc Joanisse, Ph.D. Department of Psychology, Western University.
"The Neural Signatures of Reading Disorders in Children."
You can view this talk below.
June 13, 2018. Dr. Sohail Makhdoom. Department of Psychiatry, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry. Western University.
"Complex Case Presentation for Discussion."
There is no video for this talk to protect patient identity/identities.
2016-2017
September 14, 2016. Dr. Julio Martinez-Trujillo. Department of Physiology and Pharmacology and Department of Psychiatry, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University.
"The Effect of Methylphenidate in Prefrontal Neuronal Activity During Shifts of Attention."
You can view this talk below.
October 12, 2016. Dr. Rob Nicolson, Department of Psychiatry, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, and Mr. Nolan D'Souza, Genetics Counselor, London Health Sciences Centre.
"Autism and PTEN."
Unfortunately there is no video for this talk.
November 9, 2016. Dr. Don Saklofske, Ph.D. Department of Psychology, Western University.
"Assessing Intelligence: Contemporary relevance... or passe?"
You can view this talk below.
December 14, 2016. Dr. Ryan Stevenson, Ph.D. Department of Psychology, Western University.
"The Role of Sensory Processing in ASD Symptomatology."
Unfortunately there is no video for this presentation.
January 11, 2017. Dr. Clare Mitchell, Department of Paediatrics and Department of Psychiatry, and Dr. Victoria Siu, Department of Medical Genetics, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University.
"Fragile X: The value of an etiologic diagnosis."
Unfortunately there is no video for this presentation.
February 8, 2017. Dr. Nicole Neil, Ph.D. Faculty of Education, Western University.
"It Works for Us Too: Applied behaviour analysis and children with down syndrome."
Unfortunately there is no video for this presentation.
March 8, 2017. Dr. Raymond Egan, Department of Psychiatry, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University.
"A Psychoanalytic Approach to Autism."
Unfortunately there is no video for this presentation.
April 12, 2017. Dr. Janis Cardy, Ph.D. School of Communications Sciences and Disorders, Western University.
"The Relation of Auditory Cortical Responses to Language Function in Childhood Language Disorders and Autism."
May 10, 2017. Dr. Jacqueline Ogilvie, Department of Paediatrics and Department of Psychiatry, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University.
"Developmental and Mental Health Sequelae of Traumatic Brain Injury".
Unfortunately there is no video for this presentation
June 14, 2017. Dr. Russell Schacher, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto.
"Spit for Science: Populations, endophenotypes, and quantitative traits in the search for ADHD genes".
Unfortunately there is no video for this presentation
Annual Developmental Disabilities Spring CPD
March 22, 2023
The 21st Annual Developmental Disabilities Spring CPD was held on March 22, 2023.
This educational event is dedicated to medical issues in people with developmental disabilities.
This year the Developmental Disabilities Program welcomed Dr. Mary Jenkins, MD, FRCPC, Dr. Caitlin Cassidy, MD, FRCPC, and Dr. Jennie Wells, MD, FRCPC.
The agenda for the event is available here: Agenda.
Dr. Mary Jenkins. "Movement Disorders Neurology - A Case Based Review."
Dr. Caitlin Cassidy. "Transition to Adulthood."
Dr. Jennie Wells. "Update on Diagnosis and Treatment of Alzheimer's Dementia (AD) in Persons with Down Syndrome."
If you have any questions, please email us at sarah.oflanagan@lhsc.on.ca
March 30, 2022
The 20th Annual Developmental Disabilities Spring CPD was held on March 30, 2022.
You can view the agenda for this event here: Agenda Spring CPD 2022
Our speakers for this event were:
Dr. Olaf Plotzke.
Dr. Plotzke is the Dental Director of the Cleft Lip and Palate and Craniofacial Anomoly Team as well as the President of the Canadian Society for Disability and Oral Health.
He is also a retired Adjunct Professor, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at Western University.
His talk was called Access to Oral Health for People ("Adults" with Disabilities: Is lack of management skills the only barrier?
Charles Walters and Rhonda Kearney
Charles Walters is Legal Counsel in the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee for the Province of Ontario.
Rhonda Kearney is a Substitute Decision Maker in the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee for the Province of Ontario.
Their talk was entitled The Public Guardian and Trustee's Role in Financial and Treatment Decisions.
Community Services Coordination Network
Judy Wright, Liane Cormier, Pat Weir, and Sandi Evans joined us to discuss the services that CSCN offers and how you can help your patients access and navigate these services.
Their talk was called Community Services Coordination Network (CSCN): Children's Services and Adult Services through Developmental Services Ontario.
April 1, 2021
The 19th Annual Developmental Disabilities Spring CPD was held on April 1, 2021, online. We were pleased to welcome the following speakers for this event: Dr. Clare Mitchell, Dr. Pam Frid, and Dr. Ana Suller Marti.
Dr. Pam Frid
Dr. Frid's talk was entitled: "Assessment of the Child With Suspected Developmental Delay".
You can view Dr. Frid's talk below:
Here are all the links Dr. Frid referenced in her talk:
www.rourkebabyrecord.ca/downloads
www.cps.ca/toolsoutils/greig-health-record
www.umassmed.edu/AutismRITA-T/
https://m-chat.org/en-us/page/take-m-chat-test/print-version
www.wpspublish.com/store/p/2696/childhood-autism-rating-scale-second-edition-cars-2
www.sdginfo.org/py/sdginfo/b0.py
www.tuftschildrenshospital.org/The-Survey-of-Wellbeing-of-Young-Children/Age-Specific-Forms
www.healthunit.com/hcp-programs-services-and-resource
Dr. Clare Mitchell, Department of Paediatrics, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University.
Dr. Mitchell's talk was entitled: "Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: Beyond a diagnosis".
To view Dr. Mitchell's handout, please click here: handout.
The link to the top FASD research articles is: https://canfasd.ca/2021/02/17/top-fasd-articles-of-2020/
You can view Dr. Mitchell's talk below.
Dr. Ana Suller-Marti
Dr. Suller-Marti's talk was entitled: "Epilepsy: More than a comorbidity for patients with intellectual disability.
You can view Dr. Suller-Marti's talk below.
April 18, 2019
The 17th Annual Developmental Disabilities Spring CPD was held on April 18, 2019 at the Windermere Manor.
This event featured talks by:
Ms. Mandy Harloff, SLP, Ms. Joan Gardiner, SLP, Ms. Erin Jefferies, OT, and Dr. Craig Ross, Ph.D.
Their talk was entitled: "Clinical Assessments and Reports: Understanding information from allied health professionals.
Dr. Mary Jenkins, Department of Clinical Neurological Sciences, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University.
Dr. Jenkin's talk was entitled: "Movement Disorders Overview."
April 18, 2018
The 16th Annual Developmental Disabilities Spring CPD was held on April 18, 2018 at the Windermere Manor.
This event featured talks by:
Dr. Joyce So, Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathobiology, University of Toronto.
Dr. So's talk was entitled: "Rare, or Rarely Diagnosed? Genetic syndromes in psychiatry."
Dr. Rob Nicolson, Department of Psychiatry, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University.
Dr. Nicolson's talk was entitled: "Pharmacotherapy of Interfering Behaviours in Developmental Disabilities."
Dr. Nicole Neil, Ph.D. Faculty of Education, Western University.
Dr. Neil's talk was entitled: "Behavioural Supports for People with Developmental Disabilities."
March 29, 2017
The 15th Annual Developmental Disabilities Spring CPD was held on March 29, 2017 at the Windermere Manor.
This event fatured talks by:
Dr. Amer Burhan, Geriatric Psychiatrist.
Dr. Burhan's talk was entitled: "From Neurodevelopment to Neurodegeneration: Behavioural issues."
Dr. Michael Mak, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto.
Dr. Mak's talk was entitled: "Sleep Issues and Developmental Disabilities."
Mr. Louis Busch. Louis Busch is a Behaviour Analyst, and his talk was entitled "Treatment of Life-Threatening Pica."
April 13, 2016
The 14th Annual Developmental Disabilities Spring CPD was held on April 13, 2016 at the Windermere Manor.
This event featured talks by:
Heather Bailey, Occupational Therapist in the Dual Diagnosis Service at the Central West Specialized Developmental Services.
Ms. Bailey's talk was entitled: "It Makes Sense! Understanding the impact of sensory impairments in people with developmental disabilities."
View Ms. Bailey's talk here.
Ms. Joan Gardiner, Speech-Language Pathologist at the Child and Parent Resource Institute, and Faculty member in the Developmental Disabiltieis Program in the Department of Psychiatry at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at Western University.
Ms. Gardiner's talk was entitled: "Communication Disorders."
You can view Ms. Gardiner's talk here.
Ms. Stephanie Gratton, Developmental Services Ontario (DSO).
Ms. Gratton's talk was entitled: "Developmental Services Ontario" and focused on navigating the DSO system.
You can view Ms. Gratton's talk here
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