Abstract Submission Guidelines
General Guidelines
The scientific committee of the 39 th Annual Congress of the European Academy of
Childhood-onset Disability (EACD) invites you to submit abstracts for an oral communication, poster, mini symposium and/or instructional course. Be aware that only abstracts following the Guidelines for Abstract Submission will be accepted.
The Abstract Submission Process begins on June 7th
Congress deadlines:
4 September 2026: Mini Symposia submission deadline
16 October 2026: Mini Symposia notification of acceptance
16 November 2026: Oral Communications, Scientific Poster Pitches, Technology & Innovation Poster
Pitches, Instructional Courses submission deadline
16 December 2026: Oral Communications, Scientific Poster Pitches, Technology & Innovation Poster
Pitches, Instructional Courses notification of acceptance
16 December 2026: Oral Communications, Scientific Poster Pitches, Technology & Innovation Poster
Pitches, Instructional Courses notification of presentation type
8 February 2027: Authors registration deadline
Before you begin with the online abstract form please take notice of the following guidelines for abstract submission. Only abstracts following the guidelines will be accepted.
• Abstracts should be submitted via the online Abstract Submission Form.
• There is no limit to the number of abstracts an individual may submit. Please note that the scientific committee may limit the number of oral presentations for one individual, and that the maximum number of abstracts that can be presented by the same presenter will be limited to three per presentation type.
•All abstracts must be submitted in English, and all presentations must be given in English.
•All authors have consented to be included as co-authors, have read and approved the abstract and its contents, and agree with the results stated. Please note that changes cannot be accepted after the submission deadline.
•The work described is original to the authors and was conducted in accordance with current ethical standards and regulations in biomedical and clinical research.
• It is expected that all research involving human subjects or animals has been approved by the appropriate ethical review authorities.
• Abstracts must be unbiased and conflicts of interest shall be disclosed. Papers that are written in a manner that promotes a company, service, or product will not be considered.
• Submitting authors can select a preferred type of presentation (Oral communication, Scientific Poster, Technology & Innovation Pitch, Instructional course, or Mini symposium) in the online submission platform. The final decision, however, lies upon the EACD Scientific Congress Committee and its Reviewing Panel.
• The abstract body text for a Mini-Symposium, and Instructional Course is limited to a maximum of 500 words (excl. references), excluding title and author information. Figures and tables are not allowed. The use of references is allowed and encouraged. Please use exactly the structural lay out of your selected preferred presentation type (see: Presentation types).
•The abstract body text for an Oral Communication, Scientific Poster/Pitch, and Technology & Innovation Pitch is limited to a maximum of 250 words, excluding title and author information. Figures and tables are not allowed. The use of references is discouraged and should be limited to a minimum. Please use exactly the structural lay-out of your selected preferred presentation type (see: Presentation types).
• Provide the following details of all authors: first name, last name, institute, city, country. Please tick the name of the presenting author.
Oral Communication
Oral Communication sessions consist of a group of talks within a theme by individual participants (including questions and answers) and will be scheduled in concurrent sessions of 60-minutes. On submission of the abstract, authors are required to mention their own preference for Oral Communication or Scientific Poster presentation, but the final decision will be at the discretion of the Scientific Congress committee.
The maximum word count of an abstract is 250 words. Abstract content should be consistent by scientific and ethical standards, and the writing style should be clear and grammatically sound. The information presented should be self-contained. Please note that abstracts reporting Results or Conclusions without reporting data will be rejected. Authors are encouraged to include persons with lived experience in the authorship.
A selection of the best 250 abstracts will be published and archived in Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, the official journal of the EACD.
Please structure your abstract using the following headings:
• Introduction (background and research question)
• Participants and methods (providing explicit information)
• Results (including actual data and statistical significance if appropriate)
• Conclusion (interpretation and perspectives: ‘So what?’, ‘What now?’)
If your abstract is an innovative study protocol, please structure it with Introduction and Participants and Methods of the study, and include Study Protocol in the title.
Technology & Innovation Pitch
The Technology & Innovation Pitch Presentation format provides the opportunity to present a new, innovative product, tool or concept and/or technology relevant to the area of childhood- onset disability and include discussion on-site. Ideally, these should be solutions that can be quickly implemented in routine practice and/or in daily life. Products, tools, concepts and/or technologies that have been piloted or implemented are encouraged. The abstracts should include information that allows session attendees to evaluate the usability and effectiveness of such a product, tool, concepts or technology. This category is intended for descriptive abstracts as well as products with more rigorous evaluations. Submissions should be factual and without product commercial information (no bias). Presenters will be able to present a 3 minute pitch (2 minute presentation + 1 minute Q&A) presentation in dedicated Technology & Innovation Pitch sessions. The maximum word count of a Technology & Innovation Pitch Poster abstract is 250 words.
Please structure your abstract for a Technology & Innovative Product poster presentation using the following headings:
• Statement of problem
• Description of the product or technology
• Findings to date
• Practical applications
Scientific Poster Pitch
Scientific Posters Pitch Presentations provide the opportunity to present novel methods and findings and include discussion on-site. Scientific Posters Pitch Presentations will be sorted by theme. Depending on the venue constraints and possibilities, presenters of Scientific Posters Pitch Presentations will be allocated to present their Scientific Poster / Pitch Presentations as any of the following: A) a pitch presentation (2-min) in a dedicated pitch poster session with time for moderated discussion; B) as a physical, printed poster that will be on display 1 full day of the conference, preferably with guided poster tours; C) as e- Poster available electronically throughout the conference. The final decision on the presentation format will be at the discretion of the Scientific Congress committee.
The maximum word count of an abstract is 250 words. Abstract content should be consistent scientific and ethical standards, and the writing style should be clear and grammatically sound. The information presented should be self-contained (have in mind that many people may only read the abstract, not actually see the presentation). Please note that abstracts reporting Results or Conclusions without reporting data will be rejected. Authors are encouraged to include persons with lived experience in the authorship. Please do not include references, figures or tables in the abstract.
A selection of the best 250 abstracts will be published and archived in Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, the official journal of the EACD.
Please structure your abstract using the following headings:
Introduction (background and research question)
• Participants and methods (providing explicit information)
• Results (including actual data and statistical significance if appropriate)
• Conclusion (interpretation and perspectives: ‘So what?’, ‘What now?’)
If your abstract is an innovative study protocol, please structure it with Introduction and Participants and Methods of the study, and include Study Protocol in the title.
Instructional Course
Instructional courses are interactive, didactic sessions lasting 60-minutes covering a broad range of topics, typically scheduled in the early morning, with at least two instructors addressing a targeted audience. Examples of instructional courses include new assessments, investigations, techniques, treatments, etc. Content should be current, evidence-based, practical, applicable, and provide a balanced perspective.
There is a strict maximum word count of 500 words for an Instructional Course abstract (excl. references). Please structure your abstract for an Instructional Course using the following headings:
Structure
- Chair and 2 to 4 speakers per 60 minutes
Objectives
- Indicate the overall goal and learning objectives of your Instructional Course
Target Audience
- Please indicate the audience that content is geared toward, such as physicians, allied health, researchers, persons with lived experience, etc.
Background and Summary
- Provide context for the importance of the Instructional Course and describe why it is an important topic for learning and discussion at the Annual Meeting. If the presenters bring a unique expertise or point of view, indicate that here
Course Format
- Due to the multidisciplinary nature of our community and range of topics, there may be a variety of ways that presenters use their 60 minutes. The plan for time usage during the session should be clearly outlined with times and names of the speakers allotted for individual sections. It should be clear from the abstract, who will be actively contributing during the course as speaker, chair, moderator, etc. We encourage presenters to reserve sufficient time (10-15 min) of interactive discussion with the audience.
References
- Provide a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 3 current and relevant bibliographic references. References are not included in your word count. If this is not possible for your instructional course, please indicate why.
Mini Symposium
Mini symposia provide a state-of-the-art overview of the latest research evidence and clinical application of a theme that is relevant and innovative to the EACD community lasting 60-90 minutes. Content should be current, evidence-based, and provide a balanced perspective. At least 3 presenters (maximum 5) with a multidisciplinary background will present in a session that includes at least 15 minutes for discussion with the audience. We highly encourage the inclusion of those with lived experience with childhood onset disability (including family members) as co-presenters, as well as international collaborations.
There is a strict maximal word count of 500 words for a Mini Symposium abstract (excl. references). Please structure your abstract for a Mini Symposium using the following headings:
Structure
- Chair and 2 to 4 speakers per 60-90 minute
Objectives
- Indicate the overall goal and learning objectives of your Mini-Symposium
Background and Summary
- Provide context for the importance of the Mini-Symposium and describe why it is an important topic for learning and discussion at the Annual Congress. If the presenters bring a unique expertise or point of view, indicate that here
Mini-Symposium Format
- Due to the multidisciplinary nature of our community and range of topics, there may be a variety of ways that presenters use their 60 90 minutes. The plan for time usage during the session should be clearly outlined with times and names of speakers allotted for individual sections. It should be clear from the abstract, who will be actively contributing during the symposium as speaker, chair, moderator, etc. We encourage presenters to reserve sufficient time (10-15 min) of interactive discussion with the audience
References
- Provide a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 5 current and relevant bibliographic references. References are not included in your word count. If this is not possible for your presentation, please indicate why.