Danijela Grahovac

Danijela is a Technical Support Specialist at CanChild and a point person for websites design/maintenance and IT issues. Danijela is also a mother of a twenty-one years old son with cerebral palsy. She has an engineering/research background (M.Sc. IT Engineer), and brings extensive expertise in computer technology. She developed and launched the website for International Alliance of Academies of Childhood Disability - www.iaacd.net, as well as GMFM Criterion Test and ENVISAGE moodle sites. In 2022 she developed online Learning Management System - F-words Training Program, and in 2023 Family Engagement in Research (FER) Training Program.

Danijela was involved in the school systems in Ontario and has previously done research on the use of SMART boards for children with development dificulties. Danijela has been a member of the F-words in Childhood Disability Research Team since February 2014. She was involved in the F-words Awareness Video Project (2014) and in 2015 created the F-words Photo Collage. Danijela has co-presented on the F-words on multiple occasions (including poster presentations, oral/panel presentations, and invited workshops) and has been involved in developing the Knowledge Hub.  

Contributions to Knowledge Translation

• Co-Presenter at American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine (AACPDM) 2022; Las Vegas; Mini Symposium - F-words implementation
• Co-Presenter at European Academy of Childhood Disability –2022 MiniSymposium; Strategies and Case Examples of the Implementation of the F-wordsfor Child Development at an Organizational Level
• Co-Presenter at AusACPDM/IAACD 2022 “Better Together” Conference – F-words implementation at an organizational level
• Co-Author: Cross, A., Soper, A. K., Tomas, V., Grahovac, D., Brocklehurst,J., Kay, D., Baptiste, S., Gorter, J. W., & Rosenbaum, P. (2022). Exploring 10 years of dissemination of the F-words for Child Development: A multifaceted case study. Child: Care, Health and Development, 48(5), 751–762.
• Co-Author: Pozniak, K., Buchanan, C., Cross, A., Crowson, J., Galuppi, B.,Grahovac, D., Gorter, J., Hlyva, O., Ketelaar, M., Kraus de Camargo, O., KrpanMesic, M., Martens, R. McCauley, D., Nguyen, L., Palisano, R., Phoenix M.,Putterman, C., Rosenbaum, P., Sprung, J., Strohm, S., Teplicky, R., Thomson, D.,Wright, M. (2021). Building a culture of engagement at a research centre forchildhood disability. Research Involvement & Engagement. DOI: 10.1186/s40900-021-00319-5
• Co - Author: Kinga Pozniak, Geil Astorga, Genevieve Currie, Danijela Grahovac, Rachel Martens, Amanda Doherty-Kirby and Olaf Kraus de Camargo (2021): No One Size Fits All: Back to School for Kids with Disabilities. Health Insight. 
• Co-Presenter: Global Professional Education Committee (GPEC) Session; IAACDGPEC Session at the 32nd European Academy Of Childhood Disability Annual Meeting (Virtual/Poznan, Poland); 2020 - ICF in practice: Implementing the F-words in context
• Contribution to a Presentation: Bootsma, J., Gorter, J.W., Kraus de Camargo, O.,Geytenbeek, J.J., Oostrom, K., McCauley, D., Hopmans, S., Campbell, F., Chau,T., Grahovac, D., Phoenix, M., Cunningham, B.J., Kertoy, M. (2019). Involving children in the cultural and linguistic adaptation process of a language comprehension assessment instrument.
• Cross A, Rosenbaum P, Grahovac D, Brocklehurst J, Kay D, Baptiste S, Gorter J; A Web-Based Knowledge Translation Resource for Families and Service Providers (The “F-Words” in Childhood Disability Knowledge Hub): Developmental and Pilot Evaluation Study; JMIR Rehabil Assist Technol 2018; 5(2):e10439; 
• Panel Speaker - OBI Public Talk on “The F-Words‟: Finding the Ability in Disability,”
• Co-Author: Cross, A., Rosenbaum, P., Grahovac, D., Kay, D., Gorter, J.W.(2015). Knowledge mobilization to spread awareness of the „F-words‟ in childhood disability: lessons from a family-researcher partnership: Spreading awareness of the „F-words‟ in childhood disability. Child: Care, Health and Development. 41. 10.1111/cch.12249.

Highlighted Presentations:

• Pediatric Academic Hour, McMaster University ("It Takes Two to Tango" - a Parent's and a Professional's Perspective on the F-Words in Childhood Disability”)
• Ontario Association of Children’s Rehabilitation Services Conference (“A family-researcher partnership: Working together to spread awareness on the ‘F-words’ in childhood disability”)
• CanChild 25 Years Celebration Event (“A family-researcher partnership: Working together to spread awareness on the ‘F-words’ in childhood disability”)
• Ontario Association on Developmental Disabilities Research Special Interest Group Conference (“A family-researcher partnership: Behind the scenes of the ‘F-words’ in childhood disability integrated knowledge translation journey”)
• Canadian Association of Paediatric Health Centres Conference (“A family-researcher partnership: Working together to spread awareness on the ‘F-words’ in childhood disability”)
• Health and Wellbeing in Developmental Disabilities Conference (“The ‘F-words’ in Childhood Disability: Helping families, health care practitioners, policy makers, and researchers to think holistically and work together”)
• CanChild Research Issue Presentation (“The ‘F-words in childhood disability: Should we think outside the box, or make the box bigger?”)
• Grandview Children’s Centre Interprofessional Day (“The ‘F-words in childhood disability: A family-centred framework focused on holistic and collaborative practices”)
• Ontario Association on Developmental Disabilities Research Special Interest Group (“The F-words in Childhood Disability: Embracing opportunities for knowledge translation”)
• CP-Net Science & Family Day (“The ‘F-words’ a framework for supporting family well-being”)