The Young Child Expo & Conference began in 2003 as a joint professional development project of Fordham University's Graduate School of Education and Los Niños Services. Our goal is simple – to provide useful information to professionals and parents in order to help all young children learn, grow and reach their full potential.

We aim to bring everyone who works with young children together to learn and grow: teachers, psychologists, special education teachers, social workers, physical, occupational and speech therapists, pediatricians, nurses, educators, academics and students.

April 22nd to 24th, New York City

Sponsored by TACinterconnections

Keynote Speakers

Sister Tesa Fitzgerald, MSEd, CSJ, (Excellence in Early Childhood Award Recipient), Executive Director, Hour Children, NY

Speaking on: From the Inside: A Prison-Based Perspective on Early Childhood Education

Dan Zanes, President/Founder, Festival Five Records, NY

Speaking on: Songs and Stories from America's Neighborhoods: How We Can Make Music Part of Children's Everyday Lives

Temple Grandin, PhD, Professor of the Department of Animal Science, Colorado State University, CO

Speaking on: My Experience with Autism

Diane Craft, PhD, Professor, State University of New York (SUNY) Cortland, NY

Speaking on: Active Play! Fun Physical Activities for Young Children

Maggie Doyne, Founder and CEO, BlinkNow Foundation, Nepal

Speaking on: Why the Human Family Can Do Better: Change and Improvements in a Rural Village in Nepal

Nicholas Kristof, Author, A Path Appears, and Columnist, New York Times, NY

Speaking on: A Path Appears: Transforming Lives, Creating Opportunity

More information: http://youngchildexpo.com/nyc-conference/

Over half a million Canadian children and youth have a disability that compromises their physical, social and/or emotional health and developmental capacities. A generation ago most children with severe disabilities died before reaching maturity; now, due in large part to advances in diagnostics and medical technology, more than 90% survive to adulthood.

Higher survival rates have been linked to longer wait lists, shortages in available appropriate services, and a lack of coordinated care after transfer from pediatric to adult care, and have highlighted training needs in the adult system to manage young adults with complex care needs.

In Canada, many people with complex care needs and their families attest that they are in crisis because there are not enough of the right services and supports to facilitate their care and life journey. Further, services that do exist are often difficult to navigate and community support programs are commonly associated with impenetrable wait lists and extremely high costs.

In 2013, The Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement (CFHI) prepared a report with an aim to:

1. Develop a better understanding of the profile of youth and young adults with complex care needs;

2. Illuminate the required interventions for youth and young adults with complex care needs to successfully transition to adult services that will continue to meet their needs.

Information obtained through this work is being used to help Ontario ministries better understand the youth (aged 14-17 years) and young adults (aged 18-29 years) with complex care needs who will require or are waiting for transition to adult services.

Report here: http://www.cfhi-fcass.ca/sf-docs/default-source/reports/care-in-the-long-term-major-e.pdf?sfvrsn=4

They write: We at CanChild are proud to announce the launch of our new section on Autism. It will provide updates on the latest autism research being conducted at CanChild, up-to-date evidence in the field of autism, and other resources that will be valuable to families, students, clinicians and researchers.

This new section will differ from other autism websites by communicating research most important and relevant to individuals with ASD across the lifespan and their families.

Go to: http://www.canchild.ca/en/autism.asp?utm_source=January+2015+CanChild+Today&utm_campaign=CanChild+Today+-+Jan+2015&utm_medium=email

CanChild: http://www.canchild.ca/en/aboutcanchild/whoweare.asp