The Tennessee Adult Brothers and Sisters of people with disabilities (TABS) group will hold its annual conference at the Holiday Inn Vanderbilt on April 4-5, 2014.
The theme of this year’s conference is “Relationships,” and sessions will focus on the dynamics of relationships between siblings with and without disabilities, relationships with other family members, relationships with spouses or partners affected by the sibling relationship, relationships with community care providers and professionals in your sibling’s life, and more.
Author, blogger and sister of a younger brother with autism, Caroline McGraw (who writes at A Wish Come Clear and Autism After 16) will provide a keynote address about her experiences growing up with her brother and the lessons she has learned.
Sibling relationships are often the longest-lasting relationships that a person has in their lifetime, lasting from childhood throughout adulthood and into old age. For siblings of people with disabilities, especially disabilities that require a high level of care, many siblings take on some type of support or caregiving role for their brother or sister as aging parents are no longer able to provide the same level of care. Brothers and sisters of individuals with disabilities can greatly benefit from opportunities to connect and share stories with one another about the rewards and challenges that can come from having a sibling with a disability.
The TABS conference, sponsored by the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center and the TN Council on Developmental Disabilities, will empower and educate adult siblings who have a brother or a sister with a disability with information and resources, and will develop local and statewide support networks of siblings. Attendees can learn how to support their brother and sister with a disability to live meaningful lives in the community, plan for future family financial needs, practice “self-care” in their own lives and much more.
For a complete agenda and list of speakers for the 2014 conference, visit http://kc.vanderbilt.edu/tabs .
Conference details:
April 4-5, 2014
Holiday Inn Vanderbilt, Nashville, TN
$50 ($25 for students); Fees include meals, conference materials, and a TABS tote bag.
Limited financial assistance is available. Deadline to register is March 22.
Register at http://kc.vanderbilt.edu/
Download the full 2014 TABS Agenda as a pdf here!
For more information, contact 615.343.0545 or info.tabs@vanderbilt.edu
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