International Symposium 2012

23rd International ALS/MND Symposium

The International Symposium on ALS/MND is organised each year by the MND Association of England, Northern Ireland and Wales and hosted annually by a national member of the Alliance. The Symposium is preceded by the Allied Professionals Forum, Ask the Experts and the Annual Meeting of the International Alliance of ALS/MND Associations.

The 2012 meetings were held in Chicago from 2 to 7 December and hosted by the Les Turner ALS Foundation http://www.lesturnerals.org/

Symposium overview by Carol Birks

Symposium report by Dr Bradley Turner.pdf

Symposium report by Kristina Dodds.pdf

Allied Professionals Forum presentations (YouTube)

Symposium MNDA research reporting

ALS/MND Research and Care Community Blog

Symposium presentation abstracts

Allied Professionals Forum (APF) - Chicago, 4 December

The APF is focused on practice based evidence. It is important for health and social care professionals to help each other by sharing good practice, reporting and discussing what they did and why, and the results and outcomes they achieved. The International Alliance of ALS/MND Associations invites health and social care professionals to come to Chicago and share experiences with their international peers.

The aim of the day is to foster the exchange of information about good practice and to facilitate the highest standard of care for people with ALS/MND and their carers.

Key themes 2012

The overriding theme for 2012 is practice based evidence. With that in mind, we want to hear about your responses to:

Changing Practice – What practice changes have you initiated that have improved outcomes for people with ALS/MND and their families? What were the changes? How were they implemented? Do you have supporting materials?

Blue sky thinking – Out of the box, way out there ideas that have been tried, with success or failure.

Caring for carers – How do you support carers when there are conflicts in the home? What are the ethics involved with decision making? Have you dealt with issues for long term carers and managing them? Do you have programs for younger carers/teenagers?

Support for Staff – How do we keep our staff and ourselves healthy? Practices to manage stress, workloads, or difficult clients. How do you address compassion fatigue or staff who are feeling overwhelmed by their work? Are psychological support and team building part of your work? How do you support the team members as they confront issues of death and dying?

E-solutions to improve outcomes for people living with ALS/MND – What are practical applications of e-solutions? How do people access their equipment? How can we improve independence and communication for people living with ALS/MND? Are there innovative e-solutions to improve outcomes for people living with ALS/MND and their families? What about online resources, e-learning, telehealth, Skype and web conferencing as solutions to issues?

Integration of palliative care – Has your team addressed the integration of palliative care and the palliative approach? Can family/patient conferencing integrate palliative care?

International and national exchanges – Have you participated in skills transfer and staff exchange? What were your objectives and strategies? What will lead to enhancing the exchange mindset? Have you done community outreach to impoverished or under-served areas and countries?

Allied Professionals Forum presentations (YouTube)

23rd International ALS/MND Symposium – Chicago, 5 to 7 December

Program available here

Program includes the following themes:

Multidisciplinary care and quality of life
Respiratory and nutritional management
Cognitive and psychological assessment and support
Imaging, electrophysiology and markers of disease progression
Therapeutic strategies
In vitro experimental models
In vivo experimental models
Genetics
Epidemiology
Human cell biology and pathology

International ALS/MND Meetings in 2011

The 2011 meetings were held in Sydney at the Hilton Hotel and hosted by MND Australia in partnership with MND NSW. Click here for more details.

International Alliance Meeting

The Annual Meeting of the International Alliance of ALS/MND Associations brings together ALS/MND Associations from around the world to share initiatives and develop strategies for fighting ALS/MND.

Ask the Experts

This session is an opportunity for people living with MND and their family to hear about the latest research from around the world.

The Allied Professional Forum

The Allied Professionals Forum focuses on practice and experience for health professionals in the care and support of people living with ALS/MND. It is hosted by the International Alliance and the UK Motor Neurone Disease Association

The International Symposium

The International Symposium on ALS/MND is a unique annual event, which brings together leading international researchers, and health and social care professionals to present and debate key innovations in their respective fields.

The Symposium is planned as two parallel meetings, one on biomedical science and the other on research and advances in the care and management of people affected by ALS/MND. Joint sessions consider issues of mutual concern, challenging current views and practice.

The Symposium is organised each year by:

MND Association, England, Wales & NI
P.O. Box 246
Northampton
NN1 2PR
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 1604 250505
Fax:+44 1604 611852

http://www.mndassociation.org

The International Symposium on ALS/MND is held in co-operation with:

The International Alliance of ALS/MND Associations
PO Box 246
Northampton NN1 2PR, UK
T: +44 1 604 811821
F: +44 1 604 624726
E: alliance@alsmndalliance.org
http://www.alsmndalliance.org