Abstracts

Guidelines for Abstract Submission 

1. Important dates & Deadlines
   
   
   • Submission start: September 2021
   • Submission deadline – Mini-symposia & Instructional courses: 18^th October 2021, midnight CET
   • Notifications to submitting authors – Mini-symposia & Instructional courses: 12^th November 2021
   • Extended Submission deadline – Oral communications & Poster presentations: 15^th November 2021,  30 November 2021, midnight CET
   • Notifications to submitting authors – Oral communications & Poster presentations: 17^th January 2022
2. Technical Information
   Recommended browsers: Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox or Safari.
3. General
   Abstracts can only be submitted online via the abstract submission form (find it on this tab, below the guidelines) here on the official EACD 2022 meeting website.
4. Publications
   On the EACD 2022 meeting website

1. Abstract submission invitation 

The scientific committee of the 34^th Annual Meeting of the European Academy of Childhood Disability (EACD) invites you to submit abstracts for a mini-symposium, instructional course, oral communication and/or poster presentation. Be aware that only abstracts following the Guidelines for Abstract Submission (see below) will be accepted.

Good reasons to submit your abstract:

• Get your abstract published in the special issue of Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology on the 34^th EACD Annual Meeting.
• Be part of the leading multi- and interdisciplinary scientific congress in Europe about childhood disabilities.
• Earn international recognition for the work you do.
• Boost your career while participating in the Mac Keith Press Best Abstract Award and/or EACD Early Career Researcher Award.
• Receive the feedback that helps you progress.
• Make the connections you need.

Mini-symposia and Instructional courses
Please note Abstract submission for mini-symposia and instructional courses closes on October 18^th, 2021, 23:59 Central European Time (CET). Abstracts arriving after this date will not be accepted. After undergoing the reviewing process, all authors will be informed by November 12^th, 2022 at latest on the formal acceptance or rejection of the submitted abstract(s).

Oral communications and posters
Please note Abstract submission for oral communications and posters closes on November 30^th, 2021, 23:59 Central European Time (CET). Abstracts arriving after this date will not be accepted. After undergoing the reviewing process, all authors will be informed by January 17^th, 2022 at latest on the formal acceptance or rejection of the submitted abstract(s).

2.Main themes 

With our motto “Networking knowledge into actions” we invite authors from all fields and professions surrounding children and adults with disabilities to submit their topics. People with childhood disabilities and their families are living in challenging times. By taking a truly European perspective, EACD Europe 2022 has the ideal timing for EACD to lead the discussion with local and European stakeholders on how to keep health services for people with childhood disabilities affordable with an acceptable quality and to place the most urgent challenges on the European agenda. We will look back on the direct and indirect effects of COVID-19 on the area of childhood disability, from the use of remote consultation methods and tele-medicine up to the mental health impact. We will also look forward to the newest trends in rehabilitation and care and the latest developments in technology and innovation.

With improving networks of care and better web connectivity collaborative working across boundaries has prospered within Europe and across our global community. We would welcome submissions where such collaborations has led to a change in practice, influenced outcomes, offered benefits or thrown up some challenges

All abstracts related to childhood-onset disabilities are welcome, including those on treatment, prevention, early detection, early intervention, transition and lifespan issues, parents’ and siblings’ experiences, adult research, health systems, engineering in disability, basic sciences, social science research and ethics.

We are interested in receiving submissions across a large number of conditions, including cerebral palsy, acquired brain injury (traumatic, stroke, cancer), neuromuscular disorders, musculoskeletal disorders, obstetrical brachial plexus palsy, spinal disorders, intellectual impairments, learning disabilities, profound intellectual and multiple disabilities, ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, sensory impairments, genetic syndromes (e.g. Down, Rett, …), rare diseases (e.g. neurometabolic, neurodegenerative, …) and all other neurodevelopmental conditions.

The following topics are a non-exclusive list of themes suggested by the scientific committee for free communications:

Treatment:

• Motor and non-motor interventions (physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech language therapy, environment, …)
• Technology-assisted rehabilitation (robotics, exergaming, tele-rehabilitation, …)
• Assistive devices (for mobility, movement, communication, learning, …)
• Muscle and movement
• Low-cost innovation
• Surgery (orthopaedic surgery, neurosurgery, …)
• Service provision
• Palliative care and pain
• Gene therapy, stem cell therapy, neuroprotection

Diagnostics and assessments

• Brain imagery
• Neurophysiology
• Musculoskeletal imagery, modelling and physiology
• Movement analysis and biomechanics
• Measures, especially of function and participation
• Cognitive and language assessments
• Deep Learning and Big data

Health, well-being and participation

• Nutrition
• Global partnerships and initiatives
• Child and family centered research and care
• Healthcare models research
• Epidemiology, registry based research
• Mobility
• Lifespan perspectives
• Sports, leisure and community inclusion
• Preventive medicine
• Health issues in child disability
• Covid-19 and child disability
• User experience – family experience

3. Guidelines for abstract submission 

Before you begin with the online abstract form please take notice of the following guidelines for abstract submission. Only abstracts following the guidelines will be accepted.

1. Abstracts should be submitted via the online submission platform. Mandatory fields are marked with a red asterisk (*)
2. There is no limit to the number of abstracts an individual may submit. Please note that the scientific committee may limit the number of oral presentations for one individual.
3. All abstracts must be submitted in English.
4. Submission of an abstract constitutes a commitment by the presenting author to attend the conference and present the findings, i.e., that each one of the proposed participants has given his/her consent for the proposal and is committed to participate. If accepted, the presenting author is required to pay all costs associated with the conference.
5. All authors have consented to be included as co-authors, have read and approved the abstract and its contents, and agree with the results stated. Please note that after the submission deadline further changes cannot be accepted.You can make changes to your submitted abstract(s) until the abstract submission deadline. After the abstract submission deadline further changes to your submitted abstract(s) are not accepted
6. The work described is original to the authors and was conducted in accordance with current ethical standards and regulations in biomedical and clinical research.
7. It is expected that all research involving human subjects or animals has been approved by the appropriate ethical review authorities.
8. Abstracts must be unbiased and conflicts of interest shall be disclosed. Papers that are written in a manner that promotes a company, service, or product will not be considered.
9. Submitting authors can select a preferred type of presentation (Mini-symposium, Instructional Course, Oral communication, Poster) in the online submission platform. The final decision, however, lies upon the EACD Scientific Committee and its Reviewing Panel.
10. The abstract body text is limited to a maximum of 250 words, excluding title and author information. Figures and tables are not allowed. The use of references is discouraged and should be limited to a minimum. Avoid using special characters. Please use exactly the structural lay-out of your selected preferred presentation type (see 4. Presentation types).
11. Provide the following details of all authors: family name, first name, institute, city, country. Please select the name of the presenting author in the abstract submission tool and provide his/her email address.

4.Presentation types 

Oral communication

Oral communication sessions consist of a group of talks within a theme by individual participants. Presentations of 7 minutes each will be scheduled in concurrent sessions of 30-60 minutes. At the end of each oral communication session there will be a 10-15 minute live discussion/ Q&A with all speakers of the session, led by a scientific/clinical moderator.

Please structure your abstract for an oral communication using the following headings:

• Introduction
• Patients and methods
• Results
• Conclusion

Posters // e-Poster

Poster presentations provide the opportunity for presenting novel methods and findings, and include discussion on-site and online. To get the most out of your Poster presentation, EACD Barcelona 2022 will give you the opportunity for both an on-site poster presentation and an e-Poster via our virtual platform.

Please structure your abstract for a poster presentation using the following headings:

• Introduction
• Patients and methods
• Results
• Conclusion

POSTER PRESENTATION GUIDELINES:

Coming soon

Instructional course

Instructional courses are didactic sessions of 75-90 min in the morning with at least 2 instructors addressing a focused theme or method with appeal to a targeted audience. Examples are new assessments, investigations, techniques, treatments etc. The courses shall be interactive and practical.

Please structure your abstract for an instructional course using the following headings:

• Objective
• Learning objectives of the course
• Target audience
• Summary
• Outline of the course

Mini symposium

Mini symposia provide a state-of-the-art overview of research evidence and clinical application of a theme that is relevant and innovative. At least 3 presenters with a multidisciplinary background will present in a 60-90 min session that includes 15 minutes for discussion with the audience. Mini symposia that have scheduled users and/or families presenting their perspectives on the discussed theme will be prioritized.

Please structure your abstract for a mini-symposium using the following headings:

• Objectives
• Summary
• Outline of the symposium

5.Review process 

Mini symposia and instructional courses

The abstract submission deadline for mini symposia and instructional courses is on October 18^th, 2021. The Scientific Committee and its Reviewing panel will review al submitted abstracts. The committee will contact authors by November 12^th, 2021 at the latest with formal acceptance or rejection notices in order to allow presenters sufficient time to register for the conference and make travel arrangements. In addition, as the number of submissions that can be accepted is limited, this would allow submitting authors to take into account the outcome of the reviewing process of these presentation types in their consideration of submitting an abstract for an Oral communication and/or Poster. All notifications will be sent to the e-mail address provided during the abstract submission process.

Oral communications and poster presentations

The abstract submission deadline for Oral communications and e-Posters is on November 30^th, 2021. The Scientific Committee and its Reviewing panel will review the abstracts. The committee will contact authors by January 17^th, 2022 at the latest with formal acceptance or rejection notices in order to allow presenters sufficient time to register for the conference and make travel arrangements. All notifications will be sent to the e-mail address provided during the abstract submission process. The number of submissions that can be accepted is limited. As such, it is possible that you will be assigned a different presentation type than your preferred presentation.

6.Registration 

Important information: All accepted presenters must register for the Annual Meeting before January 31^st, 2022. Presenters not registered by this date will not be included in the scientific program

7.Dissemination of abstracts 

250 Selected abstracts (oral communications and posters) will be published in Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology. Following the conference, the selected abstracts will be made publicly available on the DMCN website in pdf-format. On the online submission platform submitting authors for an oral communication or poster can also provide consent for the publication of their presentation slides or poster on the EACD Education site.

8.Cancellation Policy 

Please do not submit an abstract if you are not confident that you will be able to attend the conference and make the presentation. If your presentation has been accepted but extenuating circumstances prevent your attendance, we kindly ask that you attempt to find another individual to make the presentation and notify us of this change as soon as possible at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
If cancellation becomes absolutely unavoidable, please contact us immediately at the aforementioned email address so we can remove your presentation from the conference program.

9.Contact  

For questions and information, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..