Disability in Pediatrics: changing perceptions from research outcomes to clinical care pipelines

Chair(s)

• NM

  Nathalie Maitre, MD, PhD (she/her/hers)

  Neonatologist, Principal Investigator
  Emory University and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta
  Atlanta, Georgia, United States
• RB

  Rachel Byrne, BA (she/her/hers)

  Executive Director
  Cerebral Palsy Foundation, United States

Session

Description: Medicine holds a unique supportive role in the care of those with disabilities, as conditions associated with disability often require clinical diagnoses and care. However, medicine has also contributed to a long history of ableism: recent surveys of physicians demonstrate a common perception that disabling conditions (physical, mental/behavioral or intellectual) are less desirable to care for and result in diminished quality of life. Ableism is present in the vernacular of pediatric clinical care and in pediatric research strategies that amalgamate outcomes of death and disability. The consultation between a pediatrician and a patient is then a critical opportunity to provide essential information about a diagnosis, to learn about one’s patient and how this diagnosis affects them. The experiences of children and youth and living with disability are also impacted by various axes of their identity, including gender, race, language proficiency, immigration status and socio-economic profile. This intersection can create further marginalization. There is almost no training for clinicians on strategies to eliminate ableism not only for their patients, but also for a trainee pipeline of pediatric physicians, who may often hide their own disability. However, there is hope: new key community stakeholder information is available, complemented by emerging research and trainee supports.
Through four educational and scientific presentations and a panel, attendees will learn about awareness and opportunities to combat ableism in Pediatrics, from experts and advocates, three of whom are individuals living with disabilities.

Presentations:

• 8:00 AM – 8:05 AM ET

  Introduction to the topic and the speakers
  

  Speaker: Nathalie L. Maitre, MD, PhD (she/her/hers) – Emory University and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta
• 8:05 AM – 8:20 AM ET

  Community stakeholders perspectives and social media research on ableism in healthcare
  

  Speaker: Ashley Harris-Whaley, MA (she/her/hers) – Cerebral Palsy Foundation
• 8:20 AM – 8:35 AM ET

  Considering Equity and Access for Intersectionally Marginalized Children and Youth Living with Disability
  

  Speaker: Ripudaman Singh Minhas, MD MPH FRCPC FAAP (he/him/his) – St. Michael's Hospital, University of Toronto
• 8:35 AM – 8:50 AM ET

  The importance of language in pediatric disability outcomes from research to clinical care
  

  Speaker: Paige Terrien Church, MD (she/her/hers) – Harvard Medical School
• 8:50 AM – 9:05 AM ET

  Supporting the pediatric trainee pipeline with disabilities: what we know and what we could accomplish.
  

  Speaker: Amy Rule, MD MPH (she/her/hers) – Emory University School of Medicine