Focus: Improved Advocacy-Improved Lives Audience: Parents, whānau and professionals  How do we transform lived experience into political influence? In her talk, Juliana Carvalho will share the story and strategy behind the Access Matters campaign, a grassroots movement working to make accessibility a political priority in Aotearoa New Zealand. Drawing on lessons from collective action, community organising, and […]

Focus: Improved Information-Improved Lives Audience: Parents, whānau and professionals  A brief look at what the IHC Library is and how it can support parents, caregivers and anyone with an interest in intellectual disability.

Focus: Improved Communications-Improved Lives Audience: Parents, whānau and professionals  This presentation shares a pilot study of Babble Boot Camp, a caregiver-led programme that supports early speech and language development in infants with Down syndrome, offering insights into proactive strategies for lifelong communication

Focus: Improved Health-Improved Lives Audience: Parents, whānau and professionals  This talk will cover the unfair health outcomes faced by people with Down syndrome and intellectual disabilities, including findings from Down Syndrome International's 'Our Say in Our Health' report. We will also discuss work happening on this topic from the World Health Organization, and actions that […]

Focus: Improved Aging-Improved Lives Audience: Parents, whānau and professionals  Navigating Ever-Changing Seas is a new model for understanding the experiences of ageing people with intellectual (learning) disabilities and the family/whānau who support them. These relationships can be complex and change over time, often involving multiple generations. Everyone’s experience is shaped by their identity, relationships, past […]

Focus: Improved Aging-Improved Lives Audience: Parents, whānau and professionals   People with Down syndrome are at increased risk of Alzheimer's disease. This talk will discuss common symptoms of dementia, and how medical specialists can assess memory and brain health. It will cover current and emerging treatments. Lastly, it will cover how to optimise brain health across […]

Focus: Improved Wellbeing and Resilience–Improved Lives Audience: Parents, whānau and professionals   Dr Maree Kirk’s presentation situates the World Down Syndrome 2025 theme — Improved Support, Improved Lives — within the New Zealand context. Drawing on her PhD research, she developed the theory of wellbeing for children with a disability, which identified three principles of acceptance, recognition, and […]

Focus: Improved Supported Decision-Making-Improved Lives Audience: All Having choice and control in your life starts with knowing what is important to you and then telling others. This session will walk through Volition, a new app that empowers Decision Makers to work with their Supporters to understand and communicate the things that matter to them.