The Association for Successful Parenting (TASP) is hosting the seventh biannual A Chance to Parent Conference with this year’s theme, “Promoting Change Through Advocacy, Policy and Practice.”
The international event will be held Oct. 11 and 12 in Memphis, Tennessee. Ashley Annestedt, LCSW, and Malissa Duckworth, LCSW, social workers at the Boling Center for Developmental Disabilities in the College of Medicine at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC), have been asked to lead the event. Expected to attract 150 to 200 participants, the conference will be held at a downtown Memphis hotel.
TASP is a collaborative community of parents, researchers, social workers, support providers and advocates working together to help families succeed. Through their website, TASP offers webinars on a variety of topics and keeps members informed of upcoming regional and international conferences, workshops or training opportunities, and shares resources, events, contacts and information for advocacy.
Due to its overwhelming past success, a track for parents with intellectual disabilities as well as for those who support them will be part of the 2015 conference.
“This conference represents an expansion of the work of TASP into the South, where we hope to tap into the community energy so strong in this region,” said Susan Yuan, TASP president. “The strategies for natural support from faith-based and other groups help make it possible for parents with learning difficulties to succeed with their children. We especially appreciate the support of the Boling Center in bringing this conference to Tennessee and adding a southern presence to the work of TASP. We hope to see many at this conference where we can learn from one another.”
The full conference is open to the public for a registration fee. Online registration is expected to be open by June 1 and details can be found at the TASP website: www.achancetoparent.net. For more conference information, please contact Ashley Annestedt at annested@uthsc.edu or (901) 448-6670; and Malissa Duckworth at mduckwo3@uthsc.edu or (901) 448- 6598.
The Association for Successful Parenting is dedicated to enhancing the well-being of at-risk parents with learning difficulties and their children. This primarily includes parents who may identify as persons with intellectual disabilities or borderline intellectual functioning. For more information, visit www.achancetoparent.net.