State of the Science Symposium on Aging and Developmental Disabilities

The overall goal of the 2007 State of the Science Symposium on Aging with Developmental Disabilities: Charting Lifespan Trajectories and Supportive Environments for Healthy Community Living (held in Atlanta, Georgia, U. S. A.) was to increase the understanding and definition of how to improve the health, psychosocial well-being, and community participation of older adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The symposium consisted of four main tracks (neurodevelopmental conditions; health care services, health promotion needs, and health literacy; family support and intergenerational caregiving; and environmental barriers and supports to community living). The symposium's participants recommended a greater focus on a research agenda that would serve to increase the knowledge on the lifespan trajectory for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and on identifying methods for developing and assessing effectiveness of practices and policies for individuals with developmental disabilities, their families, and their service providers.