AADDM - Australian Association of Developmental Disability Medicine
- Contact Details
- Overview
- Highlights AADDM's activities
- Aims
- Committee
- Membership and Finances
- Membership Application form
- Educational Activities
- Links to other organisations
- AADDM Priorities for 2007 - 8
- First AADDM Newsletter (296kb pdf)
Contact Details
| President: | Associate Professor Bob Davis |
| Treasurer: | Dr Jean Graham |
| Address: | C/O Building 1, 270 Ferntree Gully Road, Notting Hill, Victoria, 3168 |
| Phone: | (03) 9501 2400 |
| Facsimile: | (03) 8575 2270 |
| Email: | margaret.graham@med.monash.edu.au |
Overview
The Australian Association of Developmental Disability Medicine (AADDM) was formed in September 2002 as a network of doctors with an interest in pursuing improvement in the disparity of the health status of people with intellectual and developmental disability (DD) compared with that of the general population of Australia. Its main focus is the professional development of its members and their clinical colleagues in their role to improve this disparity.
The committee has continued to hold quarterly teleconferences and directed energies into political advocacy. Members of the committee have met with Senators from all the major parties and in most states to inform them of the health issues of people with DD. We feel that the politicians have on the whole been supportive and welcomed our contributions as doctors concerned about this group.
Highlights of AADDM’s activities
Highlights of AADDM’s activities this financial year include:
- Continuing review of clinical guidelines – both health promotion and clinical management.
- Position statement development – transition from paediatric to adult services and hospitalization issues will be featured.
- Website development
- Pursuit of a national strategy for the health of people with disabilities.
- AADDM Annual National Conference, 12-14 September 2007, Adelaide (hosted by Centre for Intellectual Disability Health).
AADDM Aims
The aims of the Association are:
- Improvement in the health of people with developmental disability across the lifespan;
- Establishment of national standards for management of the health of people with disability;
- Endorsement of a national approach to delivery of health care in Australia for people with developmental disability;
- Continuing professional development of doctors with an interest in the health of people with developmental disability.
AADDM has adopted as its Principles the European Manifesto on Basic Standards of Health Care for People with Intellectual Disabilities , which are driven by principles of human rights. This Manifesto states that:
- People with intellectual disabilities are citizens of their country and they have an equal right to be included in society, whatever their level of disability.
- People with intellectual disabilities have many gifts and abilities, but they may also have special needs and may need a choice of services to support their needs.
- People with intellectual disabilities have the same human rights as other citizens.
- People with intellectual disabilities have the right to equal participation in society and to participate in all decisions that concern their lives…’
To achieve its aims AADDM will focus on:
- Engagement of members and governance;
- Medical workforce professional development;
- Guidelines and uptake of evidence for medical management of people with developmental disability;
- Standards for service provision;
- Collaborative health service evaluation research;
- Policy advocacy;
- Regional, national and international representation.
Meijer,M.M., Carpenter, S. and Scholte, F.A. (2004): European Manifesto on Basic Standards of Health Care for People with Intellectual Disabilities. Journal of Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disabilities 1(1): 10 - 15
AADDM Committee
The current committee executive comprises:
- Bob Davis as President; Director of CDDHV with background in academic, clinical and research work in DD.
- Nick Lennox as Vice President; Director of QCIDD, previously at University of Melbourne Developmental Disability Unit (DDU). Nick has a background of GP training with some psychiatry training and is involved in research, teaching, clinical work and advocacy in the field.
- Jean Graham as Treasurer; psychiatrist at CDDHV and GP.
- Lynette Lee as Secretary; Director of Clinical Services in Sydney as well as a consultant in Health Policy and development, specifically in disability.
The other general and co-opted committee members are:
- Roslyn Davis; GP at CDDS.
- Jenny Torr, psychiatrist at CDDHV.
- Seeta Durvasula; involved in clinical work and teaching at CDDS. Seeta has worked for 17 years in the disability field, initially in paediatrics but has worked in the adult field for last 10 years.
- John Entwistle; GP in rural South Australia, about 25% of John’s clinical work is related to DD, mainly ID. John has an adult daughter with DD and is currently on the National Advisory Council on Disability (NDAC) reporting to Minister Kay Patterson.
- Dave Harley; works at QCIDD and has a background in general practice.
- Anne Kynaston; general paediatrician in Brisbane with an interest in paediatric oncology. Anne has a son with DD.
- Margaret Kyrkou; GP in Adelaide with an interest in DD; also works at CIDH.
- Jane Law; GP at CDDS.
- Helen Leonard; physician and Clinical Senior Lecturer at The University of Western Australia.
- Michael Nugent; GP in rural SA and also at CIDH.
- Robyn Wallace; general physician, spends about 50% of time at Prince Alfred and 50% at Specialist Healthcare for Adults with ID (SHAID) clinic. Robyn also works in tertiary hospital setting in research and teaching.
Membership & Finances
Currently the association has over 40 financial members. Our membership is largely made up of colleagues that have had direct contact with the Centres in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane with others in key areas in each of the states. We still need to develop links with medical practitioners across Australia and build a membership of at least 100 medical practitioners. I would urge all members to recruit medical practitioners who work in the field to join. The annual membership fee for the 2007 – 8 financial year is $50. This membership fee is offset by significant discounts for members at National DD conferences.
Download Membership application formEducational activities
AADDM was involved in several other educational activities for health professionals including:
- gplearning site (on-line education site of RACGP); this is an opportunity to develop material accessible online for GPs nationally. Funding is required to modify current material into electronic format.
- August 2004 edition of RACGP’s Australian Family Physician (AFP) distributed to about 22,000 GPs around Australia was devoted to DD. The majority of the articles were written by AADDM members.
- Therapeutic Guidelines ‘Management Guidelines Developmental Disability’ Lennox N & Diggins J. originally published in 1999 has been revised. The new edition was published in March 2005; again many chapters were written by AADDM members.
Links to other organisations
AADDM has made strategic links to other organisations with common interests. These organisations include dental groups, multidisciplinary organisations and overseas groups.
The Australian Dental Foundation (ADF) is involved in education regarding health care needs of various populations, resources for dentists and lobbying for services; AADDM has made contact with ADF as well as the other more specific DD dental groups. Dentists with an interest in DD are represented by either (specifically) The Australian Society of Special Care in Dentistry ASSCID or (less specifically) the Special Interest Group in Geriatric Dentistry (SIGG). SIGG was historically involved in dental services for the geriatric population but also domiciliary services and has therefore taken in other populations such as those with mental health and disability issues. The main push of these dental groups has been in the education of the profession and the development of DD dentistry as a recognised specialty with specific qualifications, which is well underway (refer web site www.iadh.org for further information). Both SIGG and ASSCID have been less active politically, but feel that this is an important area for them to be involved in and are therefore keen to work with AADDM in this activity.
The Australasian Academy of Cerebral Palsy & Developmental Medicine (AACPDM) is a multidisciplinary group committed to advancing knowledge and awareness of the field of physical disability in childhood. AACPDM aims to do this by conducting scientific meetings, promoting educational activities, providing a forum for the sharing of information and knowledge, fostering research and evidence based practice, raising the awareness of the needs of young people with physical disabilities and becoming recognised in due course as a body available to provide information to the community at large. AACPDM has a wider membership than AADDM with strong uptake by allied health professionals. AADDM has made strategic contacts with AACPDM, acknowledging the commonalities between the two organisations as well as the mutual advantages in developing collaborative links.
The American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry (AADMD) is the American equivalent of AADDM. Links have again been made and we are on the mailing list for AADMD information.AADDM Priorities for 2007-2008
- Membership drive, organisational issues.
- Convenor appointed to progress the work of the standards agenda.
- Newsletter with clinical and organisational updates.
- Webpage.
- Annual Conference organisation.
- Item numbers for health assessments by all health care professionals.
- Establishment of Adult Intellectual Disability Health Evidence Collaborative.
