JDRF’s Type One Summit is Coming to Melbourne

Whether you are dealing with a new diagnosis, have lived with type 1 diabetes (T1D) for many years, or care for someone with T1D, you’ll find value (and some new friends) at the JDRF Type One Summit.

Summit is a one-day event which caters for children, teens and adults with T1D, as well as parents, grandparents and carers.

We have secured some amazing experts in the T1D field to share insights at the event. Here’s a short preview of just some of the sessions you can catch on the day.

For adults living with type 1 diabetes 

Getting into the game: Tips for nutrition and exercise
Dr Kirstine Bell and Dr Sybil McAuley

This session will help you understand your nutritional needs for physical activity and how to manage your blood glucose levels and prevent hypos with sport and exercise. This session will cover commonly asked questions for all forms of exercise, from incidental activity to getting back to the gym to weekend warriors and elite athletes. We will discuss different types of exercise, fueling for sport and strategies to help manage changes in blood glucose levels.

Internal narratives and external worlds. 
Dr Lisa Engel

Using stories from her clinical practice, Lisa will explore how the meaning we give to diabetes influences our mental and physical health. Strategies to help people develop a wise relationship with themselves, living with diabetes, will be identified and discussed.

For parents and carers of children and teens living with type 1 diabetes 

Unpacking the diabetes parenting myth. Practical ways to support emotion regulations and build resilience.
Simone Collins

Parenting is the toughest, most rewarding, thankless job you will ever do, guilt is your constant companion especially when it comes to the all important question…..“am I doing the right thing”. Well the simple answer is, ‘yes’! We all are, because we are all individuals with our own strengths, resources and unique way of making ‘our’ family….work. So why does this change when diabetes arrives unannounced? A diagnosis of a chronic condition is a destabilising event that can, for some families, be the most catastrophic event that they have experienced. With this event comes a loss of confidence, newfound fear and worry or a reawakening of long silenced anxieties. Diabetes has an uncanny ability of making parents second guess themselves and the limits and boundaries that have long held fast.

Getting into the game: Tips for nutrition and exercise
Dr Carmel Smart & Prof Paul Fournier

This session will help you understand your child’s nutritional needs for physical activity and how to prevent hypos with sport. We will discuss strategies to help manage changes in blood glucose levels for different types of exercise. Commonly asked questions about fuelling for sport and dealing with high and low blood glucose levels during and after exercise will be presented. We will explore why exercise not only decreases, but also sometime increases blood glucose levels. We will discuss some of the limitations with current blood glucose management guidelines.

Parenting a teen has its challenges, but parenting a teen with type 1 diabetes can make things even more complicated
Dr Adriana Ventura

Around one third of Australian parents of children with type 1 diabetes report impaired emotional well-being (for themselves), and almost half frequently worry about their child experiencing hypoglycemia.  This presentation will share the latest research on the health and well-being of parents of teens with type 1 diabetes, including the unique challenges associated with parenting. It will also offer tips and strategies for parents in working with, rather than against, their teen as they gain more independence.

Something for the kids!

For parents and carers who want to attend the sessions stress-free, you can enrol your kids in our free and fully-supervised kids’ and teens’ activity program. The program, for ages 5-17, runs concurrently to the adult sessions, both morning and afternoon. Kids and teens will enjoy a mix of age-appropriate educational and fun activities. In 2017, these included science demonstrations, interactive quiz games and plenty more!

The program caters for young people with and without type 1 diabetes. More information will be available closer to the event.

Ready to book your seat for this fantastic day out?
Adult tickets are $20 and children are FREE. Lunch is included. Buy tickets.

We would like to acknowledge and thank Abbott for generously supporting the JDRF Type One Summit as our 2018 presenting sponsor.