The Gatlinburg Conference is an annual scientific meeting intended primarily for behavioral and bio-behavioral researchers, their graduate students, research-oriented clinicians, and others interested in research and theory in the field of developmental disabilities. The Conference focuses mainly on scientific analyses of intellectual disabilities and their potential impact on the functioning of individuals with disabilities, families, and other social groups. Presentations span a broad topical range and address basic, translational, and applied scientific dimensions. The first major aim of the Conference is to promote exchange of scientific research information regarding the latest findings of behavioral and bio-behavioral science on causes, prevention, and interventions for mental retardation and related developmental disabilities.
The second aim i s to promote collaborative research on behavioral aspects of developmental disabilities ~ among behavioral scientists with similar interests, among scientists from sub-disciplines of the behavioral sciences that do not often interact, and, increasingly, among behavioral scientists, bio-behavioral scientists, and biomedical scientists.
The third aim i s to provide a highly valuable training and career-development resource for graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and other junior scientists entering the field of developmental disabilities research. The requested funds will provide the main financial support for a conference of national/international scope that is unique in its (a) exclusive focus on behavioral and bio-behavioral science and research relevant to intellectual disabilities and (b) explicit goal of supporting scientific networking and career-development activities of researchers interested in developmental disabilities, especially those in the beginning stages of their professional careers.
