National Down syndrome congress

Please Read Before You Register - Registration Opens on April 10!

We feel the excitement building as April 10th approaches and families can finally register for the 2017 NDSC Annual Convention! We also know families are anxious to make hotel reservations. As was the case last year, convention registration is required before families can reserve their rooms. We strongly recommend reading over the following information NOW, so that on April 10th you are informed and prepared to complete your family’s registration.

First - do you have your username (account holder email) and password handy from last year to login into the registration system? If you are a first-time attendee, you'll need to create an account before you get started. You might also want to watch this online tutorial about the registration process. The system has been made "mobile-ready" this year, so you can register from your tablet or smartphone, as well as a computer. Next - Once you are logged into the system, you can begin registering each member of your family for whichever program they are attending. Remember you will have to "add a person" for EACH person you are registering. It's best to start with anyone who is attending the general convention. This means anyone in your immediate family wanting to attend workshops, receptions, sharing sessions, exhibitors and the film festival too! After you get each person registered for the general convention, you'll want to consider selecting a pre-conference session to attend. These sessions are an additional fee and have to be pre-selected when you register. Pre-conferences are amazing opportunities to dive deeper into one topic presented by world-renowned experts.Once you have all of the general convention attendees registered and pre-cons selected, you can move on to the other conferences: Youth & Adults, Brothers & Sisters and Kids' Camp.

The Youth & Adults Conference is for self-advocates with Down syndrome, ages 15 and up. In order to provide appropriate support for those attending, there are a number of questions that need to be answered during registration. You will also be asked to select your self-advocate’s programming choice for Sunday. Sunday is the always-popular talent show; however, there are specialized workshops offered during that time for those who prefer not to watch the show or participate in it. We strongly recommend discussing these choices with your self-advocate before you register. Click here for the list of questions asked during registration as well as the Sunday programming options. If your self-advocate is bringing a volunteer to support them throughout the conference weekend, make sure that volunteer registers as a 3-day Y&A volunteer and indicates the self-advocate they are supporting.

The Brothers & Sisters Conference is for rising 4th grade thru 12th grade siblings. The conference is led by college-aged siblings and provides a variety of activities and learning throughout the weekend. Programming for this conference will take place at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. Siblings will go off-site on Sunday to a Sacramento-area attraction. You'll need to know your child's t-shirt size when registering.

Kids' Camp was created for children 6 months to 10 years without DS and up to 14 years with DS. It is broken into 5 separate sessions. You must select and register for each session you want for each child. Some families like to review the workshop schedule prior to selecting Kids' Camp sessions (keep in mind, this schedule is subject to change). We recommend reviewing the Kids' Camp FAQ's and other information about this program. You'll also need to provide your child's t-shirt size when registering.

Now that you have your whole family registered for one conference or another. You'll want to consider some the following convention options.

• Compendium Format - Flash Drive is complimentary; Paper Copy can be purchased
• Sapphire Celebration - Tickets will NOT be sold on-site
• African-American Lunch and Learn - Pre-registration is required
• Conference Recordings – Online access to the recordings is complimentary with each registration; other formats can be purchased
• Convention T-shirt - $15 in advance; $18 on-site (limited availability)
• Simultaneous Interpretation in Spanish - Pre-registration required for headsets

You can read more in-depth on "all things convention" on our website!

Thank you for your interest in our giant family reunion, we look forward to seeing you in July!

Our Contact Information
National Down Syndrome Congress
30 Mansell Court, Suite 108
Roswell, GA 30076
800.232.6372
ndsccenter.org