Six years ago, the report Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development issued a strong call to action for a new national dialogue focused on society’s shared responsibility for children and the wisdom of strategic social investment. This spring, the Northwest Early Childhood Institute together with the Oregon Commission on Children and Families brought together prominent experts from multiple disciplines to focus on local and national momentum brought forward toward this goal nearly seven years later.
The conference was attended by participants from pediatric primary care, early childhood care and education, social work, parent education, psychology, public health and psychiatry from both the practitioner and policy perspectives. Featuring Ross Thompson, PhD, professor at Department of Psychology, UC Davis and contributor to Neurons to Neighborhoods; David Bergman, MD, Stanford Department of Pediatrics, Packard Children's Hospital, and David Willis, MD, Director of the Early Childhood Institute. Attendees were challenged to view their contribution through the filter of the best available science guiding our formation of an integrated child health development system for our state.
Keynote speaker’s themes of transforming well-child care to include social-emotional growth, of developmental assurance, the creation of an integrated child health development system, and the current neuroscience of early childhood were well received by the audience. Keynote addresses were followed by afternoon panels that provided practical application by two local communities who are created integrated early childhood initiatives that effectively weave in primary care.
Equally encouraging and inspiring was the physician lunch breakout session which fostered a lively discussion of their expanding roles as pediatricians, their interest in undertaking more community health activities, and their eagerness to begin screening and monitoring the youngest children for social-emotional development.
The Northwest Early Childhood Institute was thrilled to have strong physician attendance at a multidisciplinary event such as this and was delighted to have the support of the American Academy of Pediatrics and its Council on Community Pediatrics, Docs for Tots, and the Oregon Commission on Children and Families for this catalytic community event.
http://www.hearingandspeech.org/NWECI/pastpresentations.asp
