During the 75th Annual Meeting of the American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine (AACPDM) Oct. 6-9, 2021, Tom Novacheck, MD, an orthopedic surgeon, and one of the Gillette’s Children’s leading cerebral palsy researchers and physicians will be named the incoming President of the AACPDM for 2022. In addition to Novacheck’s appointment, more than 25 Gillette experts will present and share their expertise with medical providers from all over the country at the conference.

AACPDM is an organization made up of medical professionals devoted to the interdisciplinary education of clinicians interested in improving care for children who have cerebral palsy. The annual 2020 conference kicks off Wednesday, Oct. 6 and coincides with World CP Day.

“I’ve been a member of AACPDM since 1991, and it is the most important organization I belong to professionally,” Novacheck said. “It is the only organization that provides a venue for having multidisciplinary, intellectual conversations between CP specialists from all around the United States about new techniques and treatments, difficult patient cases and ongoing research. Being a member of AACPDM has been extremely important for those reasons, as it’s been an invaluable influence that has allowed me to grow in my practice and develop those relationships with other providers and researchers across the country.”

Gillette Children’s is a world leader in the diagnosis and treatment of children who have cerebral palsy, and in the decades that have passed since the first annual meeting of the AACPDM in 1948, numerous Gillette experts have served in key leadership roles within the organization.

Novacheck says the academy will be spending time working on and updating its strategic plan this year. One area of focus will be to help AACPDM evolve regarding diversity, equity and inclusion and addressing race-based health care disparity, he said.

Gillette’s contributions to the 75th AACPDM meeting are extensive. They include:

Presenters and Authors

• Rashmi Acharya
• Nanette Aldahondo
• Liz Boyer
• Supreet Deshpande
• Anahid Ebrahimi
• Tim Feyma
• Andy Georgiadis
• Jill Gettings
• Mark Gormley
• Patrick Graupman
• Mike Healy
• Devin Kennedy
• Linda Krach
• Jennie Nelson
• Stacy Ngwesse
• Tom Novacheck
• Madeline Palmer
• Andrea Paulson
• Andy Ries
• Rocio Riveros-Charry
• Michael Schwartz
• Britta Schwartzhoff
• Jean Stout
• Katie Walt
• Marcie Ward
• Jennifer Wilhelmy

Pre-Conference Symposia

• Cerebral Palsy Lower Extremity Surgical Indications: Expert Consensus Informed by the Delphi Process
• Development and Analysis of Upright Stabilit

Symposia

• Making a Difference with the GOAL Questionnaire: Incorporating Family Priorities into Practice
• Management of Difficult Clinical Presentations of Hypertonia and Complex Movement Disorders in Children with Disabilities
• Controversy in the Utility of Gait Analysis: Does it Matter if Interpretation Consistency Can Be Achieved?
• Atypical Rhizotomies: Outside the Box for Hemiplegia, Spasticity of Non-Cerebral Origin, Nonambulating and Adult Patients
• Pressure Injury and Wound Management in Children and Young Adults wiith Disabilities
• Innovations in Power Wheelchair Options: Benefits and Challenges

Podiums

• Selective Motor Control and Strength in Individuals with Spina Bifida
• The Risk of Scoliosis in Children with Dystonic Cerebral Palsy is Less than in Children with Spasticity
• Finding Consensus for Knee Surgery in Children with Cerebral Palsy using the Delphi Method
• International Consensus Regarding Surgical Indications for Distal Femoral Extension Osteotomy in Children with Cerebral Palsy
• The Gait Outcomes Assessment List (GOAL) Questionnaire Distinguishes Family and Patient  Priorities Across GMFCS Levels
• Muscle-Tendon Loading Measured via Non-invasive Sensor Shows Minimal Net Work Done by Triceps Surae in Children with Cerebral Palsy

Posters

• Association of Ankle Proprioception with Falls and 10-Meter Walk Test in Children with Cerebral Palsy
• Leg Length Discrepancy in Children with Hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy and Changes with Growth
• When Do I Prescribe a Hinged Ankle-Foot Orthosis (AFO) - and How Do I Assess Response?

“I think what makes CP care at Gillette special is that we have all of the specialties and resources that individuals with cerebral palsy need under one roof. This allows us to work in concert as a multidisciplinary team that is able to comprehensively communicate with one another and provide the very best patient care possible,” Novacheck said. “In terms of what we bring to the AACPDM, I really see the care at Gillette as being in lock-step with the collaborative nature of the AACPDM. If there is an organization that fits Gillette and CP care, it is the AACPDM.”