CHILD-BRIGHT: Voices of Youth Involved in Research
Thu Dec 18 2025
In this special collaboration with the Knowledge Mobilization Program at CHILD-BRIGHT, a pan-Canadian research network focused on children and youth with brain-based developmental disabilities, we hear directly from three young advocates who are shaping research from the inside. Kelsey Seguin, Sierra Lynn Vanderdeen, and Megan Blais-Hudson share their experiences as youth advisors and student researchers, discussing how they navigate representing their communities while drawing from personal experience. They reflect on the difference between having a voice and being truly heard, the challenges of advocating within research spaces, and how their perceived "inexperience" can actually be a strength in advocacy. This episode explores what it means for young people with lived experience to move beyond participation to genuine partnership in research that affects their lives.
[download transcript]
More
In this special collaboration with the Knowledge Mobilization Program at CHILD-BRIGHT, a pan-Canadian research network focused on children and youth with brain-based developmental disabilities, we hear directly from three young advocates who are shaping research from the inside. Kelsey Seguin, Sierra Lynn Vanderdeen, and Megan Blais-Hudson share their experiences as youth advisors and student researchers, discussing how they navigate representing their communities while drawing from personal experience. They reflect on the difference between having a voice and being truly heard, the challenges of advocating within research spaces, and how their perceived "inexperience" can actually be a strength in advocacy. This episode explores what it means for young people with lived experience to move beyond participation to genuine partnership in research that affects their lives. [download transcript]