Each summer as school lets out and the weather starts to get warmer, there’s an excitement in the air felt all the way from Long Beach, California to the shores of Long Island, New York. There are always good reasons to be excited for some time off, but for many children, teens, young adults and their families affected by juvenile arthritis and related rheumatic diseases – theArthritis Foundation’s National Juvenile Arthritis Conferencehas become the summer event to look forward to.
Over two long weekends in late June and early August, more than 1,800 attendees made their way to Seattle, Washington and Washington, DC to take part the 2018 JA Conference. As done in previous years, the Arthritis Foundation hostedtwo JA Conference locationsto serve even more kids, families and young adults affected by childhood rheumatic diseases across the country, while also welcoming home returning veteran families.
在这两个城市，超过一半的与会者是首次参加JA会议，体验了为期四天的会议所提供的一切。孩子们和青少年们被安排了他们自己的专业节目，包括同龄人主导的活动、教育课程和有趣的社交活动。与此同时，家长们在一天中选择自己的分组会议——从由顶级医生和卫生保健专家主持的特定疾病会议，到学校的教育权利和从青少年医学到成人医学的过渡等话题。今年，我们还对两个最受欢迎的会议进行了现场直播，以方便那些无法亲身参与的人。
