11 March 2007

Psychology conference is a hit

Dundee University's School of Psychology will this week host a conference designed to help improve the social abilities of people who have profound difficulties in communicating.

Such difficulties often arise from conditions such as autism, learning disabilities, sensory impairment, severe neglect, and dementia. The aim of the conference is to highlight interventions that have been shown to be helpful to professional carers and loved ones, aiding them in interacting more successfully with individuals with such conditions.

The unique aspect of the conference is that all five of these conditions feature on the programme. It is unusual for such apparently diverse conditions to be tackled at the same event, often because the conditions are seen as leading to very different types of problems. That view has led professionals and researchers to overlook important similarities in the conditions. This realisation led the conference team, headed by Dr. Suzanne Zeedyk, to take the unusual step of hosting an event that featured all of the conditions.

The conference was originally expected to appeal primarily to local organisations, but it has proven highly successful, with 150 delegates now attending from cities across the UK. Attendees include health care professionals, educational workers, social workers, speech and language therapists, parents, and students.

There are 14 speakers, many of whom are leaders in their field.

Dr Zeedyk feels that "the high response rate we have received suggests that there is a real hunger for these kind of interventions, and I am delighted that we can help meet that need." It is intended that a book will be published later this year, describing all of the interventions discussed on the day. It is also hoped that, by increasing awareness that even extremely severely impaired people retain significant communicative abilities, that professionals and carers will seek out further information about interventions.

"So many people with communicative impairments live lives of confusion and isolation, and result to aggression in coping with their frustration. We want to help those who love and care for them to realise that there is a way to help them move out of that place."

Promoting social interaction for individuals with profound communication needs.

15 March 2007
9.30am - 4.30pm
West Park Conference Centre, Dundee