2017 Chromosome 18 Registry Conference

Chicago Marriott Naperville at Naperville, IL

July 12th-15th

REGISTRATION STIPEND CLOSES

JUNE 15TH!

Welcome!

The 2017 Conference will be held at the Chicago Naperville Marriott Wednesday, July 12th through Saturday, July 15th. Naperville is located approx. 35 miles outside of Chicago and has a downtown Riverwalk, many great places to visit and is consistently voted as one of the best places to live.  Come and join us in what is sure to be a great conference where you'll get to see some old friends and meet many new friends. If this is your first time, we strongly encourage you to come with the whole family as we have lots of different programs and fun events for everybody.

Over the course of the three days many different speakers and events are available including four tracks of presentations for: the families of young children, the families of adolescents/young adults, siblings and self-advocates.  The sibling track is planned and run by our adult siblings trained in child development and facilitation.  The self-advocate track is for those affected individuals over the age of 16 who can function independently within the conference environment. There will be breakout discussion sessions for each syndrome group as well as for regional groups. A Men’s Night is scheduled for Thursday evening and Friday evening will be a Ladies' Night - a chance for the ladies and men to gather and socialize. A Sibling Outing and Self-Advocate Outing are planned as well. The conference culminates on Saturday evening with the Starfish Dinner and Dance and can guarantee that you will have so much fun, making it hard to say goodnight and goodbye to your Chromosome 18 family.

Conference check-in is from 3pm-6pm on Wednesday, July 12, 2017. The conference will conclude with the Starfish Dinner and Dance from 6-10pm on Saturday, July 15th.

Details

The countdown is on to the 2017 Chromosome 18 24th Annual Conference to be held July 12-15 at the Chicago Marriott Naperville in Naperville, IL.  This year there will be one conference price for all participants and you have the option to choose a stipend from Chromosome 18 or donate it back to the Registry.  Stipends are generated from funds raised throughout the year and distributed to help offset the price of conference fees.  Upon registering, you will notice the regular participant conference fees is $300 and you can choose to use the $125 stipend, bringing the conference fee to $175 per participant.  For those participants needing supervised care (baby, child and teen childcare by Corporate Kids) you will also find two registration options.  You can choose to register these participants with the stipend of $325, reducting your cost to $200 or at the full conference price with childcare fees at $525. Everyone must pre-register online. There will be no on-site registration. 

The conference check-in will begin on Wednesday July 12^th from 3pm-6pm. This will give you an opportunity to get your conference materials, find out the schedules of speakers, purchase merchandise and sign up for events and childcare. After registration has closed a opportunity will be available to get together and meet with some of the other families in a more social setting.

On Thursday morning the conference starts in earnest and childcare, provided by Corporate Kids, will be offered during the day Thursday through Saturday.  If you want to take advantage of this please make sure that you have registered and paid for this service. Times of childcare will be posted at the conference.

 Lodging

The Chicago Marriott Naperville is offering a discounted group rate of $124/night (Excluding Tax). This rate will be available until June 27^th 2017 so book early to ensure you get a room. The hotel will provide enough refrigerators for our group.  However, not all rooms come equipped with refrigerators.  Some rooms you may need to request a refrigerator be delivered, please inquire when booking.  If you require a bath tub this request needs to be made when reserving as most rooms just have showers. Rooms do not have microwaves. Please plan accordingly.  The Registry has negotiated that you will not be charged for internet in your hotel rooms.  Please make sure you ask for this at Registration.  Click links for a full list of hotel amenities and accessiblity.

Parking is free and no valet is available.  The Marriott has two busses available on a first come first serve basis that will transport you within 4 miles of the hotel.

No shuttle service is available from Chicago O’Hare Airport (ORD – 20 miles) or Chicago Midway (MDW – 30 miles).  More details can be found here.

Book your room here or call +1-630-505-4900 to make your reservations directly with the hotel or you can also call the Marriott Toll-Free Reservation Center at 800-228-9290. Please be sure to mention that you are with The Chromosome 18 Conference in order to receive the discount. Families often comment that staying in the same hotel as the conference, and with the other families, is critical for the full "Conference Experience".  Please reserve your accomodations early.  Once the Registry's block of rooms are fully booked, our members are not guaranteed a room in this hotel.  Your reservation is your responsibility. First come, first served!

Schedule

We are excited that this year's conference will have a wide range of speakers and topics.  There is definitely something for everyone!  Our schedule is not final and is subject to change.  We will keep you updated.  

Click here for the current tentative schedule.

Childcare

Corporate Kids (CK) will be providing the childcare for this year's conference.  In addition, we will be offering program tracks for Self-Advocates and Siblings.  We will have a lounge and hang-out space for kids in each of these groups. It will be a place where the kids can sign themselves in and out (with their parent's permission).

Schedules will be available for CK childcare activities closer to the date of the conference!

Starfish Dinner & Dance

Everybody will be enjoying a wonderful night to include a three-course meal, awards presentation and silent and live auctions and lots of dancing as the culmination of a fantastic few days as the annual conference draws to a close at our Starfish Dinner & Dance that will take place on Saturday, July 15th from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.  

The Starfish Dinner & Dance is open to all (registered conference attendees, family, friends, community partners and sponsors). Tickets for unreserved seatting are included in the conference registration.  All others may purchase tickets here. This is a perfect opportunity for anyone who is not attending the conference to be part of our special event.

Reserved Table Fundraiser

Raise at least $1,500 and you'll be able to pick your choice of table (10 top) in the Ballroom for the Starfish Dinner & Dance and choose how you would like to be recognized by selecting your table name along with reserved seating.

Want to be right in the front, up close and in the center of the action? Prefer to be at the back to take it all in?  You decide..... 

Click here for more information on this special fundraiser!

Frequently Asked Questions

Attendees frequently have questions about what to expect at the conference and how registration works.  We invite you to read our FAQ's to learn more about the conference and contact us with any additional questions!  Feel free to contact the Registry office for registration assistance and / or questions at office@chromosome.org or call 210.657.4968