Foreword

Welcome to Montreal and the 57* meeting of the American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine. Montreal is a truly cosmopolitan city with great street life and great food and entertainment. It is also a city that celebrates difference - the theme of our meeting. The collision of the English and French cultures and the mixing in of cultures from around the world makes for a virtual gold mine of opportunity for innovation and excitement.

And that is what we want you to get out of this meeting. Our job is to examine differences, learn from others’ experience and work to challenge each others assumptions. Our Scientific Program Committee has worked hard over the year to bring you the right mix of peer reviewed presentations and instructional courses and state-of-the art plenary sessions.

Our meeting also celebrates difference through the range of professionals we bring together to understand better, describe and treat children who have developmental disorders. It is our strength and we hope that you will find in the program the opportunity to see the differences in the way our various disciplines contribute to solutions that are good for the children and youth we care about.

The real opportunity to celebrate difference is what happens to you during this meeting. We want you to take in the Montreal environment, to mix it with good science and quality time with new and old friends, and come away with something different - a new idea for practice, an opportunity to collaborate on research, an educational gem. It is this opportunity to create and expe- rience difference that leads us to improve. Celebrating difference is what it is all about!

So, on behalf of all those who have worked to bring this meeting to you, welcome and enjoy.

Robert Armstrong, President Scott Hoffingec Program Chair

Tbese abstracts areprinted In the order of theirpresentation. The name of the presenting author is underlined, and an index ofpresenting authors isgiven onpage55.

2 AACPDMAbstracts2003