This year has been one of progress for the Down SIRG. The Down Affinity group has moved to SIRG status as originally agreed under the IASSID/DSi Agreement, an event much anticipated and appreciated by its members. The membership involves 27 registered colleagues from IASSID and an additional number from DSi. Many members belong to both organisations.

Meetings of the SIRG have been held during the year, in June in Singapore at the IASSID Asia Regional Congress where 20 members attended, and in August at the World Down Syndrome Congress in Dublin where 44 individuals attended.

Items of note are: -

• The setting up of a Scientific Advisory Committee within DSi.

• A call for papers for Down Syndrome Quarterly. A pleasing number of responses have now been received and we anticipate 2 issues during 2010.

• The development of a Down Syndrome Special Interest Research Group Wiki site, a 2.0 technology that allows members to contribute to a web page.

• An invitation to members to become involved in responding to the Australian Inquiry into immigration treatment of disability, an issue which is highly relevant to families with children who have Down syndrome or other intellectual and developmental disabilities.

• The SIRG, on invitation, forwarded a series of research issues relating to the field of Down syndrome and ageing for the IASSID Ageing SIRG meeting in Edinburgh in October, where we were represented by Karen Watchman. For further details of the submission contact Karen Watchman. karenwatchman@hotmail.com

Full details of the minutes from the meetings and the submission to the meeting in Edinburgh can be obtained from SIRG Secretary Rhonda Faragher rhonda.faragher@acu.edu.au or on the Down Syndrome Special Interest Research Group Wiki site.

Members are also encouraged to submit proposals for papers and symposia to the IASSID European Regional Congress in Rome in October 2010.

Submitted by:-
Rhonda Faragher - Secretary/Treasurer
Roy Brown - Chair
January 2010