Conference FAQ

Each conference, attendees from all over the world gather to listen and participate in presentations from our expert speakers, discuss concerns and issues, and meet other families. Attendees learn from educators, researchers and medical professionals, and each other. They strive to better understand their children and what they can do to help them. They gain knowledge, perspective and hope. And of course, they also have a lot of fun meeting new friends and catching up with old ones.

The goals of the conference include:

• To provide an educational experience by sharing the most recent advances in diagnosis, treatments and management of SMS throughout the lifespan. 
•  To facilitate family-to-family support, prioritizing time to interact, network and discuss issues regarding SMS. 
•  To recognize the psychosocial aspects impacting SMS families and the role of PRISMS as a network. 
•  To bring together families and professionals to foster partnerships to advance the awareness and understanding of Smith-Magenis syndrome. 

Everyone is invited to attend the conference. This includes parents, their children, extended relatives, friends and professionals. Many siblings also look forward to attending conferences. In fact, we have a special sibling program with sessions, games, and activities for siblings only.

Many of our speakers are professionals in their field and very willing to chat with you about your child and discuss general aspects of current research. But please remember that this is not a clinical setting and they cannot dispense individual medical care. We will have Q&A with many of our speakers and we hope they can address many questions in a broad setting.

Unfortunately, it is very costly to stream and/or record all of the in-person sessions offered throughout the conference. To ensure our costs to attendees are kept to a minimum, we cannot, at this time, offer a virtual option for our in-person conferences.

Conference registration will begin on March 11.

Please register by May 15, 2024, for a discounted rate. Registration closes June 11, 2024.

With the help of our conference donors and sponsors, PRISMS is able to generously subsidize the conference. For every attendee, PRISMS absorbs nearly 70% of the registration cost.  The registration fee our attendees pay includes a welcome reception on Thursday evening, continental breakfast, coffee breaks/snacks, and lunch on Friday and Saturday. We also host an Ice Cream Social on Saturday.  The fee also covers the cost of the facility, speaker costs, subsidized childcare, related supplies, and printed materials.

Each family is responsible for the cost of their hotel room at the Hyatt Regency Dallas. Lodging is not included in our registration. PRISMS is dedicated to making it financially possible for as many families to attend the conference as possible, so registration fees are kept at the lowest possible cost. Parent volunteers serve on the conference committee and have generously donated their time over the past two years to plan and organize this conference.

Yes. PRISMS has a limited amount of financial assistance to help defer conference costs. Consideration is given to first-time attendees. Financial aid will only cover registration and hotel fees, not travel. We do encourage families to also seek funding through local resources such as: Developmental Disabilities Councils, The Shriners, (www.shriners.com), Knights of Columbus, (www.kofc.org), Lions Club International, (www.lionsclhttps://www.shriners.comubs.org), and Salvation Army, (www.salvationarmyusa.org).

Families may also request funding through their child’s IEP process. For more information on how to obtain funding for the conference see the following blog posting How to Obtain Conference Funding through the IEP Process.

For additional information please email: financialaid@prisms.org.

No. PRISMS cannot prorate registration fees for any days you are not able to attend. The registration fee remains the same whether you attend the conference for one, two, or three days.

Under most circumstances, there will be no refund. If the conditions are extremely serious, feel free to contact PRISMS to discuss the issue.

If your infant/toddler will NOT be going to daycare and/or will NOT be eating food provided at the conference, it is not necessary to register or pay for them to attend. However, if they go just once to daycare or eat a meal, then you are expected to pay for them to attend. You are welcome to bring your infant with you to the sessions; however, please respect others in the group by taking your infant out if he or she is causing a distraction.

Yes. If your family member or caregiver will attend, even a portion, of any of the conference events, including social events and meals, you will need to register them for the conference.

All professionals are expected to pay the full registration fee. We are offering a Teacher Training workshop on Thursday, July 11th. We provide a number of grants for teachers/support staff to attend the conference so they may benefit from the training workshop. For more information, see our Teacher/Support Staff grant application.

We welcome your generosity, as PRISMS subsidizes nearly 70% of each individual registration for the conference. It is our goal to make the conference as affordable as possible for the SMS community. Your generous gift helps make that possible. Visit our Donate page or sign-up as a member of our 17p11.2 Society to contribute today.

Yes. Childcare is available for children from 4-18 years old and will be provided by Kiddie Corp. The childcare is for children with SMS and their siblings. Space is very limited, so please reserve your child’s spot early. For our special needs children, a 1:2 ratio is provided in childcare for added support and security. Watch the PRISMS website and social media channels for the opening of Childcare Registration.

Childcare (ages 4-18)

Childcare registration is a separate registration from conference registration. You will be charged separately for childcare registration.

Childcare is offered for children ages 4 to 18 in the childcare rooms. There are both typically developing children and children with Smith-Magenis Syndrome. There will be several rooms used for childcare, including a “quiet room.” Please note that we cannot and do not provide one-on-one childcare. Many times, families bring a relative or respite/caregiver person to help care for the child. Siblings are also welcome in the childcare and are often very helpful with their SMS sibs! If a child needs to be closely monitored, he/she will need to accompany a parent into the sessions or stay with their relative/caregiver. Of course, all children are welcome in the childcare room with their caregiver.

Yes. We will be offering The PRISMS Den, for young adults and adults with SMS, (ages 16 and up), on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, from 1:00pm – 5:00pm. Specific activities, geared towards older individuals, will be offered. Kiddie Corp will staff this session.

PRISMS Den (ages 16 and older)

Childcare registration is a separate registration from conference registration. You will be charged separately for childcare registration.

We strongly encourage all attendees to stay at Hyatt Regency Dallas to ensure the experience of camaraderie and fellowship with other attendees. Being together at the same hotel is so important and lends itself to the very purpose of our conference. Families spend these few days together and connect in a way that is life-long and supportive. Most people secure their hotel room first. We encourage you to do this early, as the hotel may be completely booked if you wait until the last minute. We encourage you to make your reservations as soon as possible. If you are planning to travel by airplane, airline costs are going up, so book early!

If you are planning to drive to the hotel, PRISMS guests are entitled to a $5 discount each day for self-parking with in and out privileges. Self-parking is $25 in the outdoor Radish Lot, conveniently located at the north end of the hotel, at the intersection of Hotel Street and Reunion Boulevard West.

The safety and well-being of our SMS Community is our top priority. PRISMS will continue to monitor federal, state, and local guidelines related to in-person events and COVID-19 mitigation. At this time, PRISMS will not be requiring proof of vaccination for any of our attendees. And while we encourage and welcome those who would like to wear a face covering, it will not be required of our attendees.

PRISMS reserves the right to update our safety protocols should COVID-19 conditions require it.

Please read our COVID-19 disclaimer below:

An inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 exists in any public place where people are present. COVID-19 is an extremely contagious disease that can lead to severe illness and death. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, senior citizens and guests with underlying medical conditions are especially vulnerable. Although PRISMS has instituted reasonable practices in an attempt to lessen or reduce the spread of COVID-19, PRISMS cannot guarantee that you will never get exposed to the virus or get sick from it. By attending any 2024 PRISMS International Conference events, you voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to COVID-19.

We will not provide on-site COVID-19 testing. To find a testing location, please visit www.cvs.com/content/coronavirus.

Please see the Dallas Hyatt Regency for updated information regarding the safety protocols that are being implemented.

We want attendees to feel comfortable and promote a casual environment. We would encourage dressing in layers, as the hotel keeps its conference rooms cooled, but keep in mind that it will be hot in Dallas in July!

There will be Wi-Fi in the meeting spaces. Information about the network and password will be provided to all attendees on-site.

Yes, included with your registration is access to the PRISMS 2024 Conference app. The app contains a schedule of events, a list of sponsors, maps, contact information, and more. As a registered attendee, you will be able to create an account on the Conference Platform that allows you to select events to build your own personal schedule, making it easy to prioritize your time by planning your activities in advance. The PRISMS 2024 Conference app will be available a few weeks before the beginning of the conference.

Yes. PRISMS will offer a “Family Connect/Quiet Room” for conference attendees. Families can use this room to step away from the conference for some quiet time, network with other families, and socialize in the evenings. You are welcome to bring snacks into the Family Connect/Quiet Room!

Please visit the 2024 Conference page on the PRISMS website for the most up-to-date information. The Conference Committee is happy to help with registration support, speaker support and general questions. Please email the conference committee at conference@prisms.org.