CALL FOR ABSTRACTS UPDATE

The focus of this conference is on the effects of both ante-natal and post-natal stress on infants and what can be done to promote the most positive early experiences, as well as to address the effects of early stress to ensure that children don't have "frozen futures". So if you are working with families and babies or very young children in the areas of advocacy, health promotion, early education/care, therapy, policy, early intervention or research and have something you would like to contribute to the conference from any of these perspectives, you are invited to submit a paper for consideration by the conference committee. The closing date for submissions has been extended to Friday, 16 May.

Also an update on some of the overseas conference keynote speakers:

Dr Megan Gunnar
Dr Gunnar is Professor of Psychology at the Institute of Child Development at the University of Minnesota. She has received numerous honours in recognition of her work. Her current research interests are focused on the effects of early deprivation on children's social and emotional development. The goal of her work is to understad how and whether early experiences of deprivation alter the way that children process social information and influence the responsivity of stress sensitive physionlogical systems.

Professor Peter Hepper is professor of Psychology and director of the Wellcome Trust Fetal Behaviour Research Centre at Queen's University, Belfast. Professor Hepper's work focuses on measuring foetal stress and how can we get meaningful indicators of the stress the foetus is exposed to.

Pam Linke
Child and Youth Health
South Australia

Back to AICAFMHA Homepage / News in Brief Index / Back to Issue 14