Council on Children
with Disabilities Overview
What is the Council on Children
with Disabilities?
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Council on Children with Disabilities (COCWD) is composed of nearly 500 AAP Fellows who care for or have an interest in children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN). Members of the COCWD are dedicated to the optimal care and development of children with disabilities and to the support of their families within a medical home.
Mission
The mission of the COCWD specifically includes:
- Policy development related to children with disabilities and providing ways to implement that policy into practice;
- Development of a forum to enhance education of pediatricians caring for children with disabilities;
- Increasing the visibility of issues related to children with disabilities within the AAP;
- Collaboration with local and national organizations in advocacy for children and their families, and;
- Providing opportunities for COCWD members to engage in all the above.
Profile
COCWD members include neurodevelopmental pediatricians, developmental and behavioral pediatricians, geneticists, neurologists, orthopaedic surgeons, physiatrists, and general pediatricians. The COCWD Executive Committee is dedicated to providing members with a forum for education, communication, and advocacy.
The COCWD maintains liaison relationships with the federal Maternal and Child Health Bureau, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Family Voices. Through these partnerships, the COCWD has been able to expand their mission to help pediatricians implement policy into their practices.
The COCWD holds its organizational meetings (ie, council program, business meeting and award presentation) and hosts educational programs annually at the AAP's National Conference and Exhibition (NCE).
An annual award is sponsored by the COCWD (Arnold J. Capute Award) to recognize notable contributions to the field of children with disabilities.
Collaboration with the National Center for Medical Home Implementation (link back to home page) to ensure access to a medical home providing health care services that are accessible, family-centered, continuous, comprehensive, coordinated, compassionate, and culturally-competent.
Member Benefits
The COCWD connects with its members through a “members-only” Listserv®, a tri-annual e-Newsletter, a comprehensive Web site with resources that complement COCWD policies, and numerous educational offerings presented each year at the AAP’s National Conference and Exhibition as well as CME-bearing Webinars on COCWD topics. The COCWD offers members many exciting opportunities to participate in a variety of activities including: providing expert opinion and review on AAP publications, providing feedback on current policy, submitting ideas for educational topics, and serving as faculty on COCWD-sponsored education sessions. If you’d like to become a COCWD member, visit the Membership (link to that page) page for more details.
For more information about the COCWD, please contact Stephanie Skipper, MPH (sskipper@aap.org), Manager, Division of Children with Special Needs.
