MDA Engage Offers Free Educational Events

Through a program called MDA Engage, the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) is offering virtual educational events for people affected by muscular dystrophy and other neuromuscular diseases. The events are aimed at people living with these conditions, as well as their loved ones.

MDA Engage offers three types of events: Community Education Seminars, Disease Symposia, and Community Webinars.

MDA Engage Community Education Seminars are day-long educational events in which experts share relevant information related to caring for people with neuromuscular conditions, developments in research, useful resources, and more.

Each Community Education Seminar focuses on a specific topic. For example, an April 10 seminar will focus on transitioning from pediatric to adult care. Areas of discussion will include the physiological impact of aging for people with neuromuscular disorders, as well as advice about how patients can advocate effectively for themselves in a healthcare setting.

Whereas Community Education Seminars focus on broad topics relating to neuromuscular disease, MDA Disease Symposia are one- or two-day educational events at which experts discuss details concerning particular conditions.

Upcoming symposia of note include one on myotonic dystrophy taking place April 28–29, another about limb-girdle muscular dystrophy on June 5, and one on Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) Aug. 14.

In turn, MDA Engage Community Webinars offer people with neuromuscular disease and their loved ones opportunities to learn about topics that are relevant to these disease communities. The events are comparatively more brief — the longest currently scheduled lasts 90 minutes — and they focus on specific topics of interest.

For instance, a March 23 webinar will discuss gene therapy and its implications for neuromuscular disease. A May 20 webinar will focus specifically on gene therapy related to DMD.

Other webinars will discuss how people with neuromuscular disorders can best maintain their breathing function (March 30), and what factors people with these conditions should be aware of when making decisions about pursuing college education or entering the workforce (May 5).

All of the events are free and offer attendees the chance to ask questions of experts; registration for each event is available online.

MDA Engage also offers a video archive of previous events.