Call for Papers for Online Selective Mutism Association Annual Conference 2021
October 2 and October 3, 2021
Virtual Conference
Selective Mutism Association Call for Papers 2021
Deadline 5/16/2021
Visit the Selective Mutism Association Annual Conference Event Page
Program Overview
The Selective Mutism Association is excited to announce our annual conference designed to disseminate new and beneficial evidence-based information about many aspects of selective mutism (SM). This year, we will be holding the conference in a fully-virtual format in the interest of public health. This move will allow us to continue to offer innovative content, to share advancements in the assessment and treatment of SM, and to connect with a wider audience of participants from across the world. The target audience includes parents and relatives of individuals with selective mutism, mental health professionals, speech and language pathologists, other allied health professionals, and educators. We are pleased to share that, for the first time, the SMA 2021 conference will include a dedicated track of content intended for individuals with SM (ages 17 and up).
The conference aims to increase public awareness and understanding of SM. We invite oral session presentations and poster presentations that address all aspects of SM, including, but not limited to, practical applications and advances in assessment and treatment, conceptualization of the disorder, advocacy, and strategies for parents. Special consideration will be given to presentations that are derived from empirical evidence, that incorporate generalization of gains to real world settings, and that address strategies to support and encourage individuals with SM. SMA is committed to thinking critically about the ways in which our diverse backgrounds and experiences may impact the diagnostic process and/or intervention for SM, thus an additional area of interest for the 2021 annual conference is presentations that focus on issues of diversity. Presentations submitted, but not accepted, for oral presentations may be considered for poster presentations.
Keynote Address: The long and winding path to emerging adulthood, Anne Marie Albano, Ph.D.
Dr. Anne Marie Albano is a professor of medical psychology, a clinical psychologist and board certified in clinical child and adolescent psychology. She serves as Director of the Columbia University Clinic for Anxiety and Related Disorders in NYC, that provides services for children, adolescents, young adults, and adults, with specialized programs, such as the Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) program for young children (ages 3-8), and the “Launching Emerging Adults Program” (ages 18-28) focus on treatment from a developmentally sensitive perspective. Dr. Albano devotes her career to the study and treatment of anxiety and mood disorders in children, adolescents, and young adults. She is an expert diagnostician and cognitive behavioral therapist. Dr. Albano co-developed a cognitive behavioral treatment program for adolescents with social phobia and is the co-author of a treatment manual and parent guide for school refusal behavior and of the treatment of depression in adolescents. In addition, she is the co-author of the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule for Children. Her book for parents “You and Your Anxious Child: Free Your Child from Fears and Worries and Create a Joyful Family Life” with Leslie Pepper, was published in 2013 by the Avery/Penguin Press. Dr. Albano authored or co-authored over 90 articles and chapters, conducts clinical research, supervises the research and clinical development of interns and postdoctoral fellows in psychology and psychiatry, and is involved in advanced training of senior clinicians in CBT. Her research is focused on the development and testing of psychosocial treatments for anxiety and mood disorders, and in understanding the impact of these disorders on the developing youth. She was a primary investigator of the “Child/Adolescent Anxiety Multimodal Study (CAMS)”, a randomized clinical trial evaluating treatments for childhood anxiety disorders and for the “Treatments for Adolescents with Depression (TADS)” randomized clinical trial. She also serves as Editor of the journal “Evidence-Based Practice in Child and Adolescent Mental Health”, is a past member of the Board of Directors of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, and past president of both the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies and the Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology of the APA.
Date and Location
The online virtual conference will begin on Saturday, October 2, 2021 at 9:00 am (Eastern Standard Time) and conclude on Sunday, October 3 by 1:00 pm. The conference program is only a half day on Sunday. Presenters should be prepared to present live, and presentations will be recorded for later viewing by conference registrants.
Abstract and Submission Details
The conference includes three tracks for oral session presentations:
1) Professional track
2) Parent track
3) Individuals with SM track
Potential presenters may submit to any track but should designate preference. Please note that all presenters are required to register for the conference in advance; day-of registration is not permitted for presenters.
Additional Abstract Submission Information
• All abstracts must be received by midnight EST 05/16/2021. Call for Papers abstracts are peer-reviewed, based on quality of presentation and relevance to the conference. Notification of acceptance to present will be via email on or before 06/06/2021.
• Abstracts must include contact information and title for each author presenting and must identify the primary author.
• Abstracts should be no more than 500 words.
• Abstracts must be sent to Google docs submission form.
• Abstracts must indicate preference for consideration for the professional track, the parent track, and/or the individuals with SM track.
Types of Oral Presentation Submissions
Focused Address – These 60-minute sessions consist of presentations based on a focused topic, although more than one individual may present within that specific topic. Typically, these sessions are lecture format and address the specific target audience (i.e., professional, parent, individuals with SM).
Workshops – These 60-90-minute sessions promote evidence-based clinical skills and hands on training and application of such skills. May be introductory and moderate level skill. You will be asked to specify primary target audience and proposed session length.
Clinical Round Tables – These sessions include informed discussions (or debates) on a current and/or significant clinical topic. These are organized by one moderator and include between three and five panelists for discussion (may have range of viewpoints for debate). You will be asked to specify primary target audience.
Symposia – These sessions typically are data driven, examining the findings of clinical trials or a compilation of empirical papers based on a similar issue (e.g., minority status and anxiety). These sessions have one chair, one discussant, and 3-4 papers being reviewed. There may be 3-5 presentations. Symposium can be either 60 or 90 minutes. Please note the length of symposium at end of your abstract.
Poster Sessions – Informal demonstrations by researchers who present the result of their studies, or provide information of interest to the community. Posters typically are appropriate for smaller studies or student projects.
Acceptance Criteria
All abstracts will be reviewed blindly by a review board composed of SMA member professionals, individuals with histories of SM, and parents. Reviews conducted by parents and individuals with SM histories will be limited to readability and interest level, not scientific merit. These blinded scores will constitute the primary acceptance criteria, though final presentation selections are made at the discretion of the SMA Board of Directors. Additional factors to be considered in the final selection include the balance and variety of the content for all tracks, the evidence-base for proposed topics, as well as diversity of program and organizational representation. Presentations may be invited if a particular topic of interest to conference registrants is lacking in the submission process.
Selective Mutism Association Outstanding Research Awards
The Selective Mutism Association (SMA) is pleased to invite students to apply to our student poster awards. The Selective Mutism Outstanding Research Award and the Thomas J. Kehle Award were created to highlight excellent student work that contributes to selective mutism research and to alleviate some of the costs to present at the SMA national conference. Two awardees will receive $500 each and will be recognized at the national conference and in the newsletter. To qualify, applicants must submit their poster to the SMA national conference; attend the SMA national conference; and be a current undergraduate or graduate student at the time of the conference.
To apply, submit the following:
1. Poster abstract that was submitted to the SMA national conference, should not exceed 500 words;
2. Curriculum vitae;
3. Bio to be included in the newsletter, should not exceed 150 words;
4. Headshot or picture to be included in the newsletter.
All applications for the Selective Mutism Association Outstanding Research Award must be received by May 16, 2021 at midnight EST. Application materials should be submitted using the following form https://forms.gle/CgHCnmVVTCAC7Zfq6. If you have questions about eligibility, application materials, or any other parts of the process please e-mail info@selectivemutism.org.
Questions?
Please email info@selectivemutism.org
