Healthcare conference to tackle children’s issues

CNS Editor | 07/10/2016

Sophia Chandler

(CNS Local Life): The seventh annual Cayman Islands Healthcare Conference, set for 20-22 October and focusing on “The Chapters of a Healthy Life”, will feature local and international speakers addressing a range of topics targeting all different age groups, with several presenters planning to deal specifically with issues affecting childhood and adolescence.

One of the speakers, Sophia Chandler of the Cayman Islands Hospital, will be discussing the serious and long-lasting consequences for children’s physical and mental health caused by violence and trauma as well as the emotional, social and financial cost to families, communities and nations.

Chandler works as a child psychologist in the hospital’s outpatient department of psychiatry and behavioural health services.

She represents the Health Services Authority (HSA) on the “Protection Starts Here” child abuse awareness campaign and the Child Safeguarding Board, and is the chair of the HSA child abuse resource and evaluation team.

Michael Reist, an author and educator in Canada, will speak about “Promoting Emotional Health Through Childhood and Adolescence”, focusing on encouraging healthy emotional expression in children as well as strategies for developing positive communication between children and adults.

Caymanian Chelsea Rivers will talk about “Children with Disabilities: When Hugs and Band-Aids are not Enough”, offering a glimpse into the challenging world of disability, through the eyes of the mother of a differently abled child.

As the founder of The Blue Spot – a campaign to bring awareness to the disabled in Cayman by “calling out” those who park in the designated handicapped, or “blue”, spots – Rivers has been speaking out about the many frustrations of society’s complacency in the face of disability.

In her quest to make a difference in the lives of Cayman’s less fortunate and mobility-challenged, she has served as chairperson, member and advisor to several boards, committees and associations, including the Cayman Islands Human Rights Commission.