Our Youth
Most of our youth members range in age from 8-18, with some chapters having members a little younger or a little older. Many of our youth are medically complex or live with chronic or rare disease, though some do not have any diagnosed medical condition. All are interested in having their voices heard by individuals, industry, and government agencies who can make a difference in pediatric healthcare.
#iCANMakeADifference
The Experts of
Their Conditions
Meet Meghan, an iCAN Youth Member from KIDS Texas that is taking the world by storm through sharing her story of living with Spina Bifida Myelomeningocele and Hydrocephalus. At 11 years old, advancing within 9th grade curriculum, Meghan is already thinking ahead to becoming a woman of science and showing that there are no boundaries to the possibilities that life offers! We are so excited to share her journey and to spotlight Meghan!
Meet Hannah, a 16-year old iCAN Youth Member from KIDS Michigan that joined in 2021 to help share her voice at the International Society of Pediatric Innovation (iSPI) PEDS 2040 to help the world better understand what it is like to be a kid living with a chronic condition that requires daily, even sometimes hourly, medical vigilance to stay healthy and well. Hannah doesn't let anything get her down, but instead chooses to focus on making it better for herself and for other kids around the world.
Join the
The iCAN Youth Council is active in creating, overseeing, executing, and disseminating pediatric issues/topics through the unique perspective of youth throughout research, science, advocacy, technology, and medicine. This is done through public speaking of 'Sharing your story' to help support patient centered care, collaborative discussion, and quality improvement. This is a leadership role with iCAN for youth ages 8-18.
Telling Their Stories
at Conferences
Sophia Klaudt, active youth member of KIDS Kansas City, and Reece Ohmer, from KIDS Michigan, present their stories at the 2019 Pediatric Academic Society Conference in Baltimore MD, in partnership with the Pediatric Trials Network, to help impact the way that physicians, nurses, researchers, scientists, innovators, and medical professionals engage youth through clinical research.
Sophia Klaudt
As Sophia shared her voice, it became clear that iCAN is changing the way our world views pediatric expertise... as much of the great learning can come right from the kids, themselves.
Reece Ohmer
Have you felt the impact of taking a negative and turning it into a positive? For Reece Ohmer, the answer is clear... if you help a child diagnosed with a medical condition, through supporting clinical research, you have already created a positive change that will impact the lives of kids around the world.
KIDS Florida members attended the 2018 American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) conference, where they ran the iCAN booth, collected data for their own research, presented research in the poster session, and shared their voices with an AAP committee on active shooter training.
Present Original Research
at Conferences
iCAN Youth Council Representatives at the 2019 Southeastern Pediatric Research Conference (L-R) Hampton Woods, Ananya Ganesh, and Jake Haygood presenting original iCAN Scientific Poster on "Facilitators and Barriers to the Training and Maintenance of Young Person's Advisory Groups (YPAGS). The research led by KIDSCAN and iCAN Youth Council Leader, Vivian Tsang (Not Pictured) helps to share the necessity of including the young person's perspective within all pediatric research.
Participate in
Research and
Focus Groups
Kid Innovators
Our iCAN youth members are experts in their own care, and as such, this expertise drives their desire to create innovative, savvy, and useful technology that supports the needs for children, teens, and young adults to live full, limitless lives.
"It's annoying to get lots of text messages from your mom about diabetes stuff when you are a teenager with type 1 diabetes," said KIDS Michigan members, Reece and Olivia Ohmer. Their Solution? Make communication easier between parent and child through the use of diabetes emoticons.
Created by KIDS Georgia members Jake Haygood and Hampton Woods, the Medic Alert Bracelet lets first responders see your pertinent health record with the swipe of an RFID reader.
Inspire Others
Meet Scott Koh, a youth member from KIDS Houston.
iCAN at Scott's house is shared with his entire family as his sister, and both parents are part of the iCAN family. It was no surprise, that after taking a class at school, Scott wanted to share his learnings of iCAN with his classmates.
Go on to
Great Things
Meet Vivian Tsang, a founding member of iCAN from KIDSCAN Vancouver, Canada. As Vivian shares, one of her favorite iCAN moments included playing a key role in creating the global chapter network from the very beginning in 2014. As Vivian reflects upon her foundation, she shares her passion for empowering young people by providing opportunities within research and advocacy.
Vivian further shares her pathway to success on the iCAN journey by explaining her personal story and the challenges she had to overcome, but drawing upon her inner strength, which has helped her lead others into the future. To read more about her personal story , what she's doing now, and where she hopes to be in the future, click on the link below.
