WHAT: Sponsored by the University of Washington (UW) School of Law and the Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics, symposium attendees will discuss the ethical and policy implications of limiting growth in children with severe disabilities
WHEN: Wednesday, May 16, 2007 from 8 a.m. " 4:30 p.m. SCHEDULE:
8:30 a.m. Conference Welcome and Introduction to the SymposiumPaul Steven Miller, JD, Director, UW Disability Studies Program, Henry M. Jackson Professor of LawBenjamin S. Wilfond, MD, Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics, Seattle Children's Hospital
8:45 a.m. Historical Assumptions Underlying Growth Attenuation in Children with SevereDisabilitiesJeffrey P. Brosco, MD, PhD, Department of Pediatrics, University of Miami
9:15 a.m. A Conversation about the Seattle Children's CaseHow did this request unfold and how did the disability community respond to the case?Charles Cowen, MD, Genetics and Developmental Medicine, Seattle Children's Hospital(Moderator)Doug Diekema, MD, MPH, Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics, SeattleChildren's HospitalEmily Rogers, Arc of WashingtonCorinna Fale, People First (Discussant)David Woodrum, MD, Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics, Seattle Children'sHospital (Discussant)
10:45 a.m. Philosophical Perspectives About Growth AttenuationHow do concepts such as normality, dignity, convenience, intervention and naturalness guide our evaluation of parental desires and requests to influence the growth of their children?Joanne Woiak, PhD, Department of History, UW (Moderator)Anita Silvers, PhD, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CAErik Parens, PhD, The Hastings Center, Garrison, NYSara Goering, PhD, Department of Philosophy and Program on Values in Society,UW
1:30 p.m. Balancing Interests - Parental Decision-making, Doctors and the CommunityHow do parents and doctors negotiate health-care decisions for their children withdisabilities? How does the social context influence such decisions? What is the impact ofsuch decisions on communities? What is the role of the disabilities community?Kathleen Watson, RN, PhD, Center on Human Development and Disability, UW (Moderator)Joanne O'Neill, RN, Arc of King CountyTed Carter, MD, Pulmonology, Seattle Children's HospitalAlice Domurat Dreger, PhD, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL
3 p.m. Institutional, Legal and Policy Responses and the Impact on Families andCommunitiesWhat are the strengths and limitations of ethics committees and judicial review/guardian ad litem in providing safeguards for growth attenuation, and what is the impact of these approaches on families and the disability community?Sherrie Brown, JD, EdD, Center for Human Development and Disability, UW (Moderator)Greg Loeben, PhD, Midwestern University, Phoenix, AZDavid Carlson, JD, Washington Protection and Advocacy SystemEd Holen, Washington State Developmental Disabilities Council
4:15 p.m. Closing Observations and ConclusionsDenise Dudzinski, PhD, MTS, Department of Medical History and Ethics, UW
WHERE: UW School of Law, William H. Gates Hall Magnusson-Jackson Moot Court Room 138To watch the symposium web cast, please visit the following link on Wednesday, May 16 after 8 a.m.: http://bioethics.seattlechildrens.org/events/the_ethical_and_policy_implications_of_limiting_growth_in_children_with_severe_disabilities.asp#register WHY:This national symposium will provide a thoughtful discussion on the issue of restricting growth in children with profound cognitive disabilities, focusing on the role and limits of parental decision-making, the response of health-care providers to such requests, and the role of community stakeholders, including the disability community. While the primary focus of the symposium is on growth attenuation in children with severe disabilities, it may be useful to compare this to other interventions in children, to appreciate the similarities and differences.
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