Call for Presentation Proposals 

Submit Proposal

Proposals must be submitted by May 20, 2022.

We are inviting Developmental Disability Professionals and other stakeholders to submit proposals to present at our 2022 DDP Conference.  

Proposals should fall into one of the five categories described below.  Note that while suggestions for each category are made, presenters are welcome to submit proposals that address different topic areas.     

1.  Program/Clinical Track:  Potential topics include successful day programs for supporting people with significant disabilities, contemporary approaches for dealing with challenging behaviors, creative sheltered workshop initiatives, using assessments, break-throughs in competitive employment, and enabling technology.  

2.  Medical/Health Track:  Potential topics include pharmaceutical advancements, serving people with dementia and memory loss, supporting people with complex medical needs, tips for serving people with obstructive sleep apnea, and health screening.  

3.  Person Centered Thinking & Planning Track:  Potential topics include effective planning tools, overcoming obstacles of person centered planning, risk-taking and the duty of care, maximixing engagement, success stories, and how to be an effective facilitator.  

4.  Leadership & Supervision Track:  Potential topics include confronting the reality of staff shortages, effective retention strategies, front-line supervisor training, creating a person-centered culture, employee feedback, perfomance evaluations, and the principles of positive psychology.  

5.  Round Table Discussions:  These facilitated group discussions of less than 30 people can focus on any contemporary issue.  Previous topics have included training young leaders, assistive technology, ensuring quality, and risk taking.  

Proposals should be submitted electronically (click on the link above to submit).  Please note that you will not be able to save incomplete proposals, so we recommend gathering all of your information ahead of time.  You will need the following:   

  1. Current biography for each speaker (approximately 200 words)
  2. Introduction for each speaker (short paragraph)
  3. Current photo (preferably a head shot) of each speaker
  4. Session title
  5. Length of session (1 hour 15 minutes or 2 hours)
  6. Session description (50 - 100 words that provide a clear description of the session content)
  7. Abstract that provides additional detail regarding your session content (1 - 2 pages) 

The NAQ advisory committee will review proposals for relevance to the conference theme and topics of interest, content quality/clarity, and compatibility with the overall program.  Speakers will be notified via email or phone of the advisory committee's decision regarding the status of their proposal.  Speakers with accepted proposals will receive a complimentary conference pass.