Leong Centre Rounds: Interact-North Virtual Parenting Program

DATE: May 26, 2025
TIME: 1:00 – 2:00pm (ET) 
METHOD: Hybrid
REGISTRATION: https://forms.office.com/r/5T6gLpaLGd

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SPEAKERS: 

• Sarah Cunningham, Family Advisory Chair, NeuroOutcomes Lab, Special Education Specialist
• Ashley Danguecan, Clinical Neuropsychologist, Neonatal Neurodevelopmental Follow-Up Program, SickKids
• Rivky Green, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Senior Interact-North Psychologist
• Tricia Williams, Associate Scientist, Neurosciences & Mental Health

TITLE: Voices of Impact: Advancing Accessible Family-Centered Mental Health Support in Pediatric Care through Interact-North 

DESCRIPTION: Children with early brain injuries and complex medical conditions often face significant mental health challenges. However, many struggle to access timely and appropriate services that consider both the child’s medical condition and, just as importantly, the family’s lived experience. The SickKids Interact-North virtual parenting program seeks to address this gap by integrating clinical care and research to provide family-centered care with a precision mental health strategy. 

This presentation will explore the journey of the program through four unique perspectives. By using an implementation framework, we will share how shareholders—from families to clinics, research teams to training programs—are working together to drive impact. The goal is to move the program towards long-term sustainability at SickKids and beyond. 

OBJECTIVES: 

• Share and amplify the perspectives of families in shaping accessible and tailored mental health support. 
• Review and discuss the evolution of the Interact-North (I-N) program, from initial research to real-world application at SickKids. 
• Examine the clinician's viewpoint on the need for mental health services and how I-N has been successfully integrated to provide increasingly precise care. 
• Explore the lasting impact of the program on the next generation of pediatric neuropsychologists, with a focus on the acceptability and effectiveness of its training model.