Abstract Submission
Abstract Submission Invitation
The scientific committee of the 38th Annual Congress of the European Academy of Childhood-onset Disability (EACD) invites you to submit abstracts for an oral communication, poster, mini symposium and/or instructional course. Be aware that only abstracts following the Guidelines for Abstract Submission will be accepted.
Good reasons to submit your abstract:
-
Be part of the leading multi- and interdisciplinary scientific congress in Europe about childhood-onset disabilities.
-
Earn international recognition for the work you do
-
Boost your career while participating in the Mac Keith Press Best Abstract Award, EACD Best Poster Award, the EACD Early Career Researchers’ Award, the EACD Technology & Innovation Award and/or Nestlé Health Science Clinical Research Award
-
Receive the feedback that helps you progress
-
Meet the leading experts in the field and make the connections you need
Main Themes
In 2026, we take inspiration from the Irish proverb “Mol an Óige agus Tiocfaidh Siad” – Encourage the young and they will flourish.
This year’s conference embraces a strengths-based approach to childhood-onset disability, rooted in respect, empowerment, and opportunity.
We are proud to announce that conference tracks will align with the internationally recognised “F-words for Child Development”, offering a holistic lens through which to support children and young people with disabilities, and their families:
We welcome submissions on a wide range of topics including:
-
Early detection, intervention, and prevention
-
Transition and lifespan planning
-
Family and sibling experiences
-
Technology, digital health, and innovation
-
Ethics, advocacy, and policy
-
Research across all neurodevelopmental and childhood-onset conditions
EACD Europe 2026 will provide a vital platform to share innovation, learn from lived experiences, and collaboratively shape inclusive and empowering systems of care. Join us to celebrate strengths, spark ideas, and support people with childhood-onset disabilities and their families to flourish.
The following topics are a non-exclusive list of topics suggested by the scientific committee for free communications:
Assessment
-
Neuroimaging
-
Neurophysiology
-
Musculoskeletal imaging, modelling and physiology
-
Movement analysis and biomechanics
-
Measures of activities and participation
-
Functional assessment, incl. cognition and communication
-
PROMs (Patient Reported Outcome Measures) and PREMs (Patient Reported Experience Measures)
-
Data Science, causal analysis, and Artificial Intelligence
-
Mobility
-
Nutrition
Management
-
Motor and non-motor interventions (physiotherapy, occupational therapy,speech language therapy, environment)
-
Technology-assisted rehabilitation (robotics, augmentative and alternative
-
communication, tele-rehabilitation, low-tech innovation)
-
Surgery (orthopaedic surgery, neurosurgery)
-
Psychological/Psychiatric Intervention
-
Pharmacology and medicine
-
Pain management
-
Palliative care
-
Gene therapy, stem cell therapy, neuroprotection
-
Service design and provision
-
Prevention (from primary to quaternary)
Health, well-being and participation
-
Child and family centred research and care
-
Communicative participation
-
Diversity, equity and inclusion
-
Epidemiology, registry based research
-
Global perspectives
-
Health issues
-
Healthcare models research
-
Lifespan perspectives
-
Mobility
-
Nutrition
-
Sexuality and parenthood
-
Sports, leisure and community inclusion
Abstract Submission Guidelines
Before you begin with the online abstract form please take notice of the following guidelines for abstract submission. Only abstracts following the guidelines will be accepted.
-
Abstracts should be submitted via the online Abstract Submission Portal. Mandatory fields are marked with a red asterisk (*)
-
There is no limit to the number of abstracts an individual may submit. Please note that the scientific committee may limit the number of oral presentations for one individual. And please note that the maximum number of abstracts that can be presented by the same presenter will be limited to max. three per presentation type.
-
All abstracts must be submitted in English, and all presentations must be given in English.
-
All authors have consented to be included as co-authors, have read and approved the abstract and its contents, and agree with the results stated. Please note that after your submission further changes cannot be accepted.
-
The work described is original to the authors and was conducted in accordance with current ethical standards and regulations in biomedical and clinical research.
-
It is expected that all research involving human subjects or animals has been approved by the appropriate ethical review authorities.
-
Abstracts must be unbiased and conflicts of interest shall be disclosed. Papers that are written in a manner that promotes a company, service, or product will not be considered.
-
Submitting authors can select a preferred type of presentation (Oral communication, Scientific Poster, Technology & Innovation Pitch, Instructional course, or Mini symposium) in the online submission platform. The final decision, however, lies upon the EACD Scientific Congress Committee and its Reviewing Panel.
-
The abstract body text for a Mini-Symposium, and Instructional Course is limited to a maximum of 500 words (excl. references), excluding title and author information. Figures and tables are not allowed. The use of references is allowed and encouraged. Use Times New Roman 11 font and avoid using other fonts for special characters. Please use exactly the structural lay-out of your selected preferred presentation type (see: Presentation types).
-
The abstract body text for an Oral Communication, Scientific Poster/Pitch, and Technology & Innovation Pitch is limited to a maximum of 250 words, excluding title and author information. Figures and tables are not allowed. The use of references is discouraged and should be limited to a minimum. Please use exactly the structural lay-out of your selected preferred presentation type (see: Presentation types).
-
Provide the following details of all authors: first name, last name, institute, city, country. Please tick the name of the presenting author.
Abstract Deadlines
Abstract Submission
Opens
30 June 2025
Mini Symposia
30 June 2025
Oral Communications
Instructional Courses
Scientific Posters
Technology & Innovation Pitches
Abstract Submission
Closes
Abstract
Notifications
Speaker
Registration
5 September 2025
Mini Symposia
7 November 2025
Oral Communications
Instructional Courses
Scientific Posters
Technology & Innovation Pitches
20 October 2025
Mini Symposia
12 January 2026
Oral Communications
Instructional Courses
Scientific Posters
Technology & Innovation Pitches
6 February 2026
All Speakers
Review Process
Mini symposia
The abstract submission deadline for mini symposia is on 5 September 2025, 23:59 Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). The Scientific Congress Committee and its Reviewing panel will review all submitted abstracts. The committee will contact authors by 20 October 2025 with formal acceptance or rejection notices in order to allow presenters sufficient time to register for the conference and make travel arrangements. In addition, as the number of submissions that can be accepted is limited, this would allow submitting authors to take into account the outcome of the reviewing process of these presentation types in their consideration of submitting an abstract for an Oral Communication, Instructional Course, Scientific Poster/Pitch and/or Technology & Innovation Pitch. All notifications will be sent to the email address provided during the abstract submission process.
Oral communications, Instructional Courses, Scientific posters/pitches and Technology & Innovation pitches
The abstract submission deadline for oral communications, instructional courses, scientific posters/pitches and technology & innovation pitches is on 7 November 2025. The Scientific Congress Committee and its Reviewing panel will review the abstracts. The committee will contact authors by 12 January 2026 with formal acceptance or rejection notices in order to allow presenters sufficient time to register for the conference and make travel arrangements. All notifications will be sent to the e-mail address provided during the abstract submission process. The number of submissions that can be accepted is limited. As such, it is possible that you will be assigned a different presentation type than your preferred.
Registration
Important information:
All accepted presenters must register for the Annual Meeting before 6th February 2026. Presenters not registered by this date will not be included in the scientific programme.
Dissemination of Abstracts
250 Selected abstracts (accepted for an oral communication and/or scientific poster presentation) will be published in Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology. Following the conference, the selected abstracts will be made publicly available on the DMCN website in pdf-format. All accepted abstracts will be published on the EACD Education website after the Annual Meeting. On the online submission platform submitting authors for an oral communication or poster can also provide consent for the publication of their presentation slides or poster on the EACD Education site.
Cancellation Policy
Please do not submit an abstract if you are not confident that you will be able to attend the conference and make the presentation. If your presentation has been accepted but extenuating circumstances prevent your attendance, we kindly ask that you attempt to find another individual to make the presentation and notify us of this change as soon as possible at eacd2026@abbeyconferences.com. If cancellation becomes absolutely unavoidable, please contact us immediately at the aforementioned email address so we can remove your presentation from the conference programme.