Bringing the 'F-Words' to Life: How are families and service providers using the 'F-words' in practice?

A  webinar highlighting F-word resources and strategies for implementing the concept at home and in clinical practice.

The journey of the “F-words in Childhood Disability” first began in 2012, when CP-NET researchers Peter Rosenbaum and Jan Willem Gorter developed six “F-words” that they believed should be the focus of childhood disability:

FITNESS – FUNCTION – FUN – FAMILY – FRIENDS – FUTURE

This holistic approach to life – and especially to childhood disability – has since taken flight with families, researchers and clinicians around the world, while inspiring a growing list of parent- and clinician-produced resources. 

ABOUT THE PRESENTERS

Danijela Grahovac is a Parent Researcher with CanChild and the mother of a fourteen-year-old boy with cerebral palsy. She has an engineering/research background (M.Sc. IT Engineer, PhD Candidate), and brings extensive expertise in computer technology. Danijela is involved in the school systems in Ontario and has been a member of the CanChild F-words in Childhood Disability Research Team since February 2014.

Peter Rosenbaum, MD, FRCP(C) is the Co-Founder of CanChild, CP-NET Knowledge Translation Platform Leader and a Professor of Paediatrics at McMaster University. He held a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair from 2001 – 14. Dr. Rosenbaum has held over 80 peer-reviewed grants; is a contributing author to over 320 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters. His research interests include studies of the processes of care research program, the evaluation of family-centred functional approaches to care, how to describe and measure functional status and the development and implementation of a database system for gross motor disability.

Rachel Teplicky is a Research Coordinator who works on projects related to child and youth participation, family-centred service and the MPOC Measurement and Analysis Service. She is an occupational therapist and has worked with preschool-aged children with special needs and their families. Rachel has a Master's degree in Rehabilitation Science.

ABOUT THE MODERATOR

Andrea Cross, MSc. is a PhD Candidate at CanChild and in the School of Rehabilitation Science at McMaster University. Her doctoral research focuses on family-research partnerships and knowledge translation. Working with a team of CanChild researchers and family partners, Andrea’s doctoral thesis aims to translate health research knowledge directly to families and support the uptake of a holistic and health affirming approach to childhood disability.