IAPFS 2026 Conference
Reaching New Heights in Evidence Based Collaborative Care
Denver, Colorado
September 24–26, 2026
Conference Location:
Children’s Hospital Colorado
13123 East 16th Avenue
Aurora, CO 80045
IAPFS Conference At-A-Glance:
Thursday, September 24
Welcome Reception 6:30 pm
Friday, September 25
Keynote Address 8:00 am – 9:00 am
Educational Sessions 9:15 am – 3:30 pm
Ask the Experts 11:45 am – 12:45 pm
Exhibits Open 11:00 am – 4:00 pm
Committee Meetings 3:30 pm
Poster Sessions 3:45 pm – 5:15 pm
Saturday, September 26
Annual Membership Meeting 7:30 am – 8:00 am
Educational Sessions 8:05 am – 12:45 pm
Exhibits Open 7:00 am – 1:00 pm
View Session Information
View Poster Information
Keynote Presentation
SPOON’s International Programs to Support Pediatric Feeding and Nutrition, presented by Douglas Taren, PhD and Miselle Rudzinski, MA, CCC-SLP
SPOON is an international non-profit organization (NGO) that works to ensure children with disabilities and children without family care are reached by systems that prioritize, include and meet their nutrition and feeding needs. SPOON provides training and mentoring to service providers to deliver disability-inclusive nutrition and feeding care; utilizes the Count Me In app to assist providers with assessing and monitoring children’s nutrition, feeding, and disability status; and uses its expertise to advocate for national and international policies, services and investments to meet the nutrition and feeding needs of all children. SPOON has worked in 22 countries, provided training to 7,000 people, and has reached 140,000 children since its inception in 2007.
An example of SPOON partnership with academics, local service provider and the national governments is its work in Zambia. SPOON partnered with Access to Health Zambia and the University of Colorado to understand the risk of malnutrition among children with disabilities and children without family care in Zambia. Using SPOON’s Count Me In app 400 children at 22 residential care facilities and nearly 500 children with disabilities at 3 health centers and 10 community-based rehabilitation clinics were assessed for their nutritional status and how feeding was provided. 63% of the children with disabilities were underweight, and nearly all (98%) were at risk of feeding difficulties. Results were published and results were disseminated at a national conference. This work has led to increasing the focus of infant and young feeding guidelines to include children with disabilities.
Registration
Physician, Psychologist
Dietitians/Diet Technicians, Feeding Specialists, Nurses, Physician Assistant, Physical Therapist, Occupational Therapist, Speech-Language Pathologist and Nurse Practitioners
Early Registration rates are available until August 9. After that time registration rates will increase.
Cancellation/Refund Policy
Cancellations accepted until September 9
Professional Conduct and Discrimination Policy
All participants are expected to conduct themselves in professional manor. Please review CSHA’s Professional Conduct and Discrimination Policy: https://iapfs.org/pdfs/Professional-Conduct-Discrimination-Policy.pdf
Complaint Policy
Questions and concerns should be emailed to the Association Office, admin@iapfs.org. Complaints arising during or after an event, can be filed using the post event evaluation form or by contacting the Association office.
Accessibility Policy
The Association is committed to providing an outstanding experience for all participants at its events. We strive for full access to the activities of these events and accommodations relating to mobility, hearing, vision or other areas may be provided. We ask that requests for reasonable accommodations at the event be made as early as possible, and well in advance of the event, so we may explore options to best meet the individual’s need or provide a resource/suggestion to help meet the individuals’ requirement.
Potential Barriers: Although we strive to make this event as accessible as possible to all members, some barriers may remain due to financial, logistical, facility, vendor or volunteer/staffing limitations.
If the association is unable to provide an accommodation due to one or more of the reasons stated above and the individual feels attendance is no longer an option, the Association will provide a full refund of the event registration fee.
IAPFS Conference Scholarship
The Conference Planning Committee is excited to announce that applications are now open for two scholarships to attend the IAPFS conference, in person, in September 2026. These scholarships will provide airfare or other travel cost, hotel for 2 nights and free conference registration. The scholarship is open to all current IAPFS members*.
The deadline for application is noon on July 8, 2026
Exhibitor Information:
Looking to exhibit? Download the following brochure for more information HERE.
Continuing Education:
Occupational Therapy Accreditation Statement
Hotel Information:
Springhill Suites at Anschutz Medical Campus
13400 E. Colfax Ave
Auroa, CO 80011
A special room rate of $139 for a king studio and $159 for a two Queen Studio has been obtained.
Reservation can be made by one of the following methods:
- Online Booking Link: Book Now
- Toll-Free Reservations: (844) 802-9826 – Reference Group Code: PFS
The room rate is available until August 28, 2026, or until the room block is filled. Which ever occurs first.