Jacinta Pennacchia is a speech pathologist completing her PhD at the University of Melbourne. Her clinical experience is in a specialist school setting for children and adolescents with disabilities, supporting students to have a means of autonomous communication and self-advocacy skills.

Jacinta is currently involved in research focusing on the mental health of young people with cerebral palsy. She looks forward to bringing her clinical knowledge on complex communication needs and AAC into her research around mental health assessment in this population.

Dr Robert (Robbie) Eres expertise largely surrounds the social determinants of health and how social factors, including loneliness and social exclusion, exacerbate mental health symptoms (e.g., social anxiety, depression, stress) and contribute to poor physical health outcomes. Dr Eres is experienced in the development and evaluation of digital applications targeting loneliness and mental health variables in vulnerable groups (e.g., young people with psychosis, social anxiety disorders, those identifying as LGBTQIA+). Prior to his current research trajectory, Dr Eres explored the neurobiological correlates related to empathy and moral judgment and decision making. He used neuroimaging techniques to differential functional and structural brain regions associated with empathizing with different group memberships.

Dr Iain Dutia is research officer at The University of Queensland, School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences. He is also a postdoctoral research fellow at CP-Achieve. His main interests are in enhancing physical and mental health in adolescents and young adults with disabilities, and his research to date has focused on increasing participation and enhancing performance in Para sport for athletes with high support needs. Iain also works clinically as a physiotherapist and has a background in sports injury prevention and rehabilitation.

One photo in each category will be selected as a winner, and the entrant will be awarded a prize of $100AUD.

Submitted images may be used to complement future online and published work by the AusACPDM and CP-Achieve. 

To submit your photos click the button below.

During the online submission process, entrants will be asked to agree to the exhibition terms and conditions. There is a maximum of three entries per person.

Entries close midnight 11.59pm 21 December 2021. The exhibition and voting will open on 31 January 2022 with winners to be announced on 4 March 2022.

Join the movement of World Cerebral Palsy Day to help create awareness and action around cerebral palsy, because every person living with cerebral palsy is a reason to strive for change.

Lucinda Fraser is a Family Support Practitioner at Very Special Kids, covering the Loddon Mallee region. She has previously worked in the areas of trauma, grief, loss, suicide prevention and postvention across paediatric and adult hospitals, and community settings.

As a social worker, she is drawn to areas such as palliative care that are often stigmatised, and enjoys the work that comes with bearing witness to vulnerability and allowing people to be seen and heard, particularly as they face their own mortality or are grieving.