| Volume X, Issue 3 | September, 2003 |
Bowl-a-Thon ReturnsOur fourth bowl-a-thon fundraiser will be held Sunday, October 5 in both the Seattle area and Spokane. Enclosed you'll find the registration brochure and donation form. This event is a lot of fun for children and adults alike. It's a great social occasion and is our only major fundraiser of the year. Even if you don't live in these two areas, you can still raise donations and send them in. A grand prize will be awarded to the person in each area who raises the most money. Other door prizes will be given away the day of the event. As with all of our projects, we could use some volunteer help. See the Volunteer Corner below. Let's bowl a strike for TS awareness! |
Hello Everyone! I hope you have had an enjoyable summer. What a great time of year it is in the Pacific Northwest. If you are like me, it probably went way too fast! As well as enjoying the great weather, your board has been working hard for you this summer so there is lots to tell.
At the time of writing, the board and I just returned from a retreat where we spent the weekend discussing our vision for our chapter, what services are important to our chapter members and planning some specific goals for the next 12 months. It is an exciting time for our chapter as we have two new board members Cori Hartje and Jaime Biava (see article below). Cori and Jaime join us bringing loads of energy, enthusiasm and great ideas. We all returned from the planning retreat filled with renewed energy. We will be including in the next newsletter what these goals are so all our chapter members have a good understanding of what we are trying to achieve.
The major theme of our planning retreat was building "community." This covers the broad spectrum of families living with TS in their lives, the education community and the medical community. Our goal is to expand awareness and education across all of these communities as well as to educate the general public about Tourette Syndrome. A lot of this depends on how effective we are in the public relations and marketing arena and this is something our chapter has never had a dedicated person working on. When discussing this further, it became quickly apparent that by better promotion of the existence of our chapter and the services we offer, this in turn would lead to enhanced awareness and education across all our "communities" and perhaps more success in volunteer recruitment and fund raising attempts. There are so many forms of media that we could tap into including local TV, radio or newspapers, and many offer these free to non-profit organizations such as ours. National produces excellent PSA's and it is our goal to have these aired across Seattle and beyond. So, if you know someone with experience in the public relations/marketing arena that would be willing to offer some volunteer time to us, it would be greatly appreciated. It could be the turning point for our chapter.
Speaking of community, we are currently in the early planning stages of a medical conference for May 2004. We are co-sponsoring with Children's Hospital of Seattle and are excited about offering some great speakers who will be presenting informative topics. Stay tuned for more details but keep your calendars marked for Saturday, May 15, 2004.
Our chapter is committed to awareness and expanded understanding of Tourette Syndrome in the education community which affects us all. Cori Hartje, one of our newest board members, has accepted the role of official Education Liaison with National TSA. In this role she will be attending training put on by National with the result that she will be able to take that knowledge and information and lead training sessions for educators herself. She will also be able to act as a school advocate, which is very much needed and timely given the beginning of the school year. I am sure all of us have our own personal stories of problems we have encountered in the school system, and so we are extremely excited to have Cori as our central point of contact for this.
Politically, the issues concerning IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) reauthorization are of great concern to the TS community. I encourage everyone to read the Legislative Update by Jai Kelly who summarizes the key issues so well. The next step is the "conference period" where the House and Senate battle it out on the key issues. This is due to occur sometime in the next few months. I would encourage everyone to help support the TS community interests by offering to email, phone or write to our local representatives and senators. It wouldn't take much time and will contribute to our voice being heard. Thank you to the four people who have already come forward to help.
Finally, the board had the chance to meet with Judit Ungar, the President of National in August. It was a very informative meeting and a great chance for Judit to find out what we are doing locally as well as sharing news from the National office. We are most excited about a new membership incentive drive where we gain 100% of membership dues for any net increase in new membership. So if you've ever thought about joining, NOW would be the best time!
Ok, it's been a long "corner" this month. I thank you all for your support and look forward to perhaps meeting personally at one of our upcoming social and fundraising events.
Our lending librarian, Sue Bream, can be reached at (206) 283-0575 or sue@getyourbearings.biz
You've Got a Friend Presenter - Volunteers all over the state are needed to deliver an educational video presentation about TS to kids in the classroom. The presentation kit is comprehensive, making it very easy to deliver. It is an excellent opportunity to expand awareness and improve understanding of TS for both children and teachers. See article below. Contact Jan Clogston at 360-805-1935
Conference Help - We are looking for people to help with our medical conference scheduled for May 2004. We need volunteers to organize the catering, drive speakers on the day, man the information booth, make name tags and other things that will come up between now and then. Some of the work can be done from home and some is just for the day of the conference, so there is a lot of flexibility to fit in with your personal schedule. Contact Bernadette Witty.
Physician Referral Coordinator - We need someone to take over the management of our chapter's Physician Referral list. We all know what a crucial resource this is not only for the newly diagnosed but for ongoing treatment and support, and our current chapter list needs a lot of work. Responsibilities would include working with National to make corrections to our current list, and researching and facilitating the process for new additions. Even if you can do just some of the work, we could split it with another person. You can do this job from anywhere in our state. I can't stress how important this is for our chapter. Contact Bernadette Witty.
Public Relations/Marketing - We need someone who can focus on the public relations and marketing of our chapter and of Tourette Syndrome in general. This would include working with local media forms (TV, radio, print media) to have PSA's aired and chapter services and events promoted. There are plenty of avenues for non-profit organizations such as ours to have access to this for free, and we want to make use of these opportunities. If you have any background or experience in PR/Marketing/Advertising and could help, we really need you. Contact Bernadette Witty.
Staff the Informational Booth at the I.D.E.A.S. Conference - This conference will be held next January in Spokane. We need volunteers to work parts or all of two weekdays when the conference runs to distribute informational materials to conference attendees and answer questions about TS. The conference is attended by special ed. personnel, teachers and parents. You should live in the Spokane area. Contact Nanette Rosenthal.
Bernadette Witty - 206-780-5361 or Bernadette@thewittyfamily.com
Nanette Rosenthal - 206-367-4491 or TSAWASH@aol.com
Roseanne headed many successful projects over her seven year tenure and did so with the utmost dedication, commitment and the very highest of standards. She has a reputation of taking on many commitments and completing them with great success, bringing her wonderful sense of humor along the way. Even in the most time-sensitive and stressful periods, Roseanne will always find some way to make you laugh.
Roseanne has played a key role in every major project initiated by our chapter. From conferences and education to school advocacy and fundraising events, Roseanne has been consistently involved. Most recently Roseanne has been actively involved in the YADA program (Youth Awareness of Disability Assemblies). She has attended almost every standing monthly meeting as well as the two-day school events. Just to see Roseanne work with children is so heart-warming and indicative of the fact that she served the chapter for seven years as president with a genuine goal of wanting to make a difference in the world of TS families.
Perhaps her greatest role has been as a source of continual support to all of the board. Roseanne is always there to offer encouragement and let you know how much your work is appreciated. She served her role of liaison with National very effectively, always making sure things were communicated clearly and that the National office was aware of things happening locally.
Roseanne has the ability to offer a great overall perspective and helps us understand how each of the projects we work on contributes to our chapter's goals and direction. Combined with her meticulous attention to detail, Roseanne never lets things fall between the cracks.
We would like to sincerely thank Roseanne for her tremendous work over the last seven years. We also extend that thank you to her husband Bill and her children Corey, Ana and Kevin who have also contributed through their lending of Roseanne's time, help with handling computer issues, help at all our social and fundraising events and through many other indirect ways.
Thank you Roseanne!
The Board of the Washington Chapter of the Tourette Syndrome Association
Dr. Zinner is willing to take your questions regarding TS and co-morbidities and answer them in a future column. Please send any questions to the editor at TSAWASH@aol.com..
Executive Functions - and Dysfunctions - Defined
Executive functions are not well defined, and few can agree on exactly what they are! But, in general, executive functions describe many brain processes that allow us to solve problems. Executive functions help us to think and react efficiently and effectively. These functions provide order and organization to our actions, thoughts and perceptions. They help us pay attention to details, when details are important, or to ignore details when we need to focus on more important points. Executive functions allow us to recognize and correct mistakes that we have made. They allow us to judge our behavior, and to understand the consequences (desired and undesired) to that behavior.
One more specific description (borrowed from a medical textbook) describes executive functions as "the process of analyzing a task, mentally rehearsing and selecting strategies for completing the task, then monitoring the results of strategies so they can be applied or altered in the future." However, executive functions are probably much broader than just this. Read on!
We as human beings are distinctly different from other animals in these "higher cognitive" levels of brain ability. There are many ways to think about executive functions, and there is a lot of disagreement about which processes actually are and are not executive functions. When there are problems in these processes, they're referred to as executive dysfunctions. Executive dysfunctions are largely independent of intelligence, and are often mistaken for laziness or a lack of motivation.
Examples of Executive Function
We all have executive function abilities that allow us each to organize our time, our priorities, and to plan ahead. Executive functions help us to complete activities in the correct order (such as putting on our socks before our shoes, or following a recipe by first making sure we have all the ingredients, tools and time to prepare the dish). Executive functions also allow us to understand a joke, to ask questions by raising the inflection of our voices at the end of the sentence. They assist us in knowing not to stand too close to someone we've just met, to cover our mouths when we yawn, or not to order the garlic bread on a first date. Executive functions allow us to pay more close attention to important points in a lecture and to see how illustrations or examples enhance a main point without serving as main points themselves. Executive functions give us the ability to realize that it is really the Roadrunner who outsmarts "Wile E. Coyote - Super Genius," rather than the other way around, despite the incredible devices and plans invented by the less-than-genius "genius" coyote.
People diagnosed with TS are often affected with "comorbid conditions," which describe other diagnoses that occur much more commonly in people with TS than occur in people without TS. Although "executive dysfunctions" are not a diagnosis, they describe features of other diagnoses, and are often the greatest source of difficulty and frustration for children and their families. To some extent, executive functions are the KEY problem for children with Attention Deficit Disorder or Learning Disability, as both diagnoses are strongly linked to executive dysfunctions. Some educators will use a file cabinet as an analogy to help us to understand this problem.
The File Cabinet Analogy
Think of the brain as a large file cabinet with lots and lots of files of stored information. When you need to find a particular file (such as telling yourself how to behave politely at a dinner party), you retrieve several files of information immediately to help you. You select a file on what the appropriate clothing will be, what sort of conversation will be appropriate to the situation, how to sit at the table, and how to ask "please" and say "thank you." You may not give much thought to these behaviors, which are probably somewhat automatic, based on your culture, customs and experience. But if you were in a foreign culture, the rules might be very different, and you would find yourself pulling out different, less familiar files, or adding new files to the cabinet.
Now suppose that you had all this information in the cabinet, but that the information was not put into files. Rather, it was tossed into the cabinet in any order. Piles and piles and piles of unsorted papers, stuffed into the cabinet. Information on conversation skills might be next to information on tasteless jokes or body functions. How would you manage this? How would you find the file instantly? You couldn't, and people with executive dysfunctions have this very difficulty. They may not make associations easily, or may have difficulty quickly retrieving information they have already learned.
For example, with learning disabilities, a child may have difficulty remembering the correct order to subtract (The one's column? The ten's column?), or if the number that is being subtracted goes on the top or the bottom. Do you start at the left or the right? The student may have difficulty seeing the sequence, or remembering the rule.
Other children may have difficulty planning activities, so that they forget to bring appropriate materials, or they forget (or are unable) to accurately estimate the amount of time that will be required to complete an activity.
Children with executive dysfunctions may lose items regularly, and fail to establish any sort of system of organization. Or, these children may be distracted repeatedly by other thoughts, interests or activities so that they have difficulty sticking to a single task.
How to Help Overcome Executive Dysfunctions
While executive functions are inborn skills, just as executive dysfunctions are inborn impairments, there are many ways to assist people in improving their executive behaviors. Children with executive dysfunctions may not overcome their tendency toward forgetfulness, their impulsive drives, or their disorganization, but they can learn skills to reduce the difficulties with executive dysfunctions.
First and foremost, it is important to identify that a child has executive dysfunctions. While each child with TS is unique, it's important to remember that a child with TS is much more likely to have executive dysfunctions than a typically developing child without specific developmental challenges. This likelihood is further increased among Tourette's-affected children who have comorbid attention deficit disorders or specific learning disabilities. Because a child with executive dysfunctions has such difficulty in planning and following through with goals, she or he often learns quickly not to try, rather than face certain overwhelming frustration or peer or teacher rejection.
The "lazy child" is VIRTUALLY NON-EXISTENT; almost every child responds positively to success, legitimate praise, and social accomplishment. Any child who appears to be lazy should raise a red flag to a teacher or parent that something is being overlooked. Teachers and parents can best help a child who appears not to be making an effort by requesting a comprehensive psychosocial and neurodevelopmental evaluation.
As with other disabilities, it is usually helpful to put a name to the difficulty. A professional experienced in working with children with TS (such as a developmental psychologist, special educator, or other specialist) can help identify specific executive dysfunctions, which can relieve a child of feelings of shame or guilt. Once identified, specific strategies can be undertaken, at school and at home, that can begin a lifelong path to adapt to, and to overcome, executive dysfunctions. The earlier these strategies are learned, the better! It is best to teach helpful accommodations before developing bad habits, poor self-esteem, and dysfunctional relationships with parents, peers and teachers. These strategies will allow a child to apply himself or herself with greater confidence, and with greater efficiency, to save time and contribute to preserving self-esteem. As a child matures, the skill sets learned can be adapted to more complicated tasks at school, work, home and other areas of life.
General rules of thumb to assist children (and adults) with executive dysfunctions include building systems of routine and structure. Also, a personal "organization coach" can be a cost-effective, and highly supportive, tool to building better executive functions. The coach, who may be a favorite teacher, for example, can work with the child for a few minutes each day, reinforcing skills in organization, such as using a planner, sticking to daily routines, or color-coding materials by academic topic to help students organize their day. It is important that an organization coach teaches and monitors these skills; however, there is virtually no benefit to the child if it is the coach performing or directing the activities. The child must be the custodian of the skill in order for the skill to be learned. (For more information, see the resources below).
For children with specific learning disabilities, there are many well-proven strategies to accommodate these difficulties (much of which includes executive dysfunctions). The same is true for children with attention deficit disorders, who may also benefit from medications to reduce inattention and impulsivity (both of which may be considered as executive dysfunctions themselves).
Terrific Online and Offline Resources Available to Get You Started
For information on these and other strategies to assist in overcoming executive dysfunctions, I recommend the following resources:
by B. Duncan McKinlay, Ph.D.
To conclude this "TS and Employment" trilogy, we left off with thoughts on conducting yourself once hired. Let's talk this last time about avoiding and/or dealing with friction between you and other co-workers.
EDUCATE people to the non-intuitive "quirks" of these disorders: once others are attuned to how the symptoms operate they can be better at figuring out for THEMSELVES what they should and should not do. Offer to do a small presentation to other employees. Put an article in a newsletter. Send out an email. At the very least, seize "teachable moments." One case in point where I myself fell down in this area was in letting co-workers and supervisors know that proximity to others exacerbates my symptoms. After months on a "tight-quarters" rotation my supervisors found a big office with a door which I could have all to myself. This physical distance led to a decreased anxiety about bothering people which, of course, then led to a subsequent decrease in tics. In retrospect, this could appear very confusing ("what ironic timing that Duncan's noises are NOW starting to wane") or even frustrating ("oh sure - now that he's got what he WANTED he's able to inhibit"). Had I thought to mention this particular "quirk" eight months ago it might have led to an appropriate setting quicker. It would also have led to less wear on and/or aggravation of my supervisors. Given that my supervisors' impressions of me ultimately influence future job opportunities these are most definitely impacts I'd want to avoid.
Along these lines I was worried by the initial sense that my employers felt "duped" by me - evidently I didn't tic much in my interview with them, and they were taken by surprise by my pronounced presentation once I started work. Because I had worked hard to foster comfort with speaking frankly with me, I was able to learn about this confusion. It afforded an opening to explain the waxing and waning course of tics, and how a combination of factors (lower stress levels at the time, the fact that being "on-stage" in the interview channeled my energies away from my symptoms) led to the almost complete absence of tics at our first meeting.
Working in mental health, I am finding that the clients - children, adolescents, parents, adults - all see the TS as much less of an issue (I daresay a non-issue) than do my superiors. At first I thought this just to be a concern OF my superiors on behalf of the clientele, but over time (and after copious evidence and client disclosure that the TS does not interfere with the work I do with them) I have come to see that this is more an adjustment of co-workers themselves to me. I have been told - and this would never have occurred to me - that it is "draining and tiresome" to NOT react to my tics all day! Co-workers are going home at night feeling more tired than usual.
I really should say that SOME co-workers are telling me this and feeling this way. My limited observations thus far have been that the higher the "rank," the more evident the difficulties in terms of things like inability to habituate, reluctance to speak to me about symptoms, and assumptions made. Why this is I'm not precisely sure. I suppose people of increasingly respectable positions become increasingly accustomed to not being inconvenienced, or needing to compromise, with ANYone. At the same time, I also suppose that these same people have higher burdens on their attention (and can therefore potentially have their work more affected by the tics) and time (meaning they have fewer and shorter occasions to invest in "getting" me). Finally, it may be that supervisors, for example, could be especially aware of my symptoms because anything I do or utter is a reflection on THEM as my teachers. I'll continue to grapple with this, and may write more on this topic in the future. Like each of you, I continue to learn…
Until next time, my friends!
Visit "Life's A Twitch!" at www.lifesatwitch.com
Copyright August 2002. Reprinted with permission.
"It's deja vu all over again." (Yogi Berra)
I'll bet a lot of youhave thought that at one time or another while reading the Legislative Updates in our newsletters over the past few years. You may have even wondered if I am merely recycling columns from pastissues. Well, I'm not. It is just that the legislative process is as sluggish as the current economy. It takes a lot of tenacity to see legislation through to its passage.
Mental Health Parity
So far the good folks advocating for Mental Health Parity legislation have kept it alive at both the Federal and State level. (I will be covering State issues in the next newsletter.) Even though we don't have laws ensuring equal insurance coverage for neurological disorders, we are getting a little bit closer all of the time. At the Federal level you can help out by letting your Representatives AND the President know that you support Senate Bill (SB) 486, The Paul Wellstone Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act and House Resolution (HR) 953, which is the House version of the bill. Keep in mind that both bills have more than enough co-sponsors to pass the legislation and have had for some time. The problem has been that before a piece of legislation can be passed, the committee working on the bill must refer it out of committee for a vote of the full House or Senate. This is the current hang up in House of Representatives. HR 953 was sent to the House Subcommittee on Employer-Employee Relations last March and hasn't been heard from since. Putting a little political pressure on the President to fulfill his commitment to enact parity legislation might get some results. Write him and your US Congressman and tell them you want this legislation passed.
Family Opportunity Act
Also currently stalled is the Family Opportunity Act, SB 622 and HR 1811, which would allow working families with disabled children to buy into Medicare when their own health insurance is inadequate. Well over half of the Senators have co-sponsored the bill, but it remains tied up in the House of Representatives.
IDEA
The most critical issue being faced at this time is legislation reauthorizing theIndividuals with Disabilities Education Act. The reauthorization includes significant changes to the Act. Congress has already been working on this legislation for months. Both the House and the Senate have passed their own versions of the Bill (HR 1350 and SB 1248) and now the joint House/Senate Conference Committee needs to resolve the differences in the bills. This will take place following the summer recess. This is one area where parents of children with disabilities and their supporters have not been active enough. Nearly all the proposed changes will have a negative effect on the children. After some pretty intense activity by many disability rights groups, the Senate version of the bill isn't horrible. The House bill is. Part of the reason is that those of us who have been working to ensure that the rights of our children remain protected are being called liars by John Boehner, the Republican Chairman of the committee working on the changes to IDEA.
Back in early April, National TSA (as part of the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities Education Task Force) wrote a letter encouraging TSA members and friends to participate in a call-in day later that month expressing frustration with HR 1350 and urging House members to oppose it. TSA's five key concerns were three year IEPs; eliminating short term objectives by 2006; discipline provisions; procedural safeguards and mandatory full funding. See a fuller discussion of these issues in the June 2003 Connections (available on our website, www.tourette.net/wa).
In response to the Consortium's request for a call-in day, the Republican Chairman of the committee overseeing the reauthorization of IDEA sent out letters telling fellow congresspersons to disregard our opinions regarding this very important legislation. The letter in question is on-line, at a US government website: http://edworkforce.house.gov/issues/108th/education/idea/dcfacts042903.htm
It reads in part:
Dear Republican Colleague:Their letter worked. The bill passed. We had a better response in the Senate. Their bill addressed many of our concerns. The changes we would like to see in the Senate bill include retaining short-term objectives in a child's IEP and notreplacing them with a quarterly statement ofprogress toward annual goals. Additionally SB 1248 does not require full funding of IDEA. Currently the IDEA is critically underfunded.Please be advised that a national call-in day has been organized for TODAY, Tuesday, April 29, 2003 by opponents of improving the nation's special education law. Your office can expect to receive calls with incorrect or incomplete information regarding the legislation, as well as requests to further delay this legislation that is overdue for reauthorization.
Sincerely,
Mike Castle (R-DE)
John A. Boehner (R-OH)
Chairmen
Education Reform Subcommittee Education & the Workforce Committee
Rare Diseases
Last of all, National TSA requests that you contact your Representatives and ask that they cosponsor the Medicare Patient Access to Drugs for Rare Disease Act of 2003. National states: "More than 25 million Americans suffer from one of 6,000 rare diseases as determined by the National Institutes of Health. Included among this list of diseases is Tourette Syndrome. Twenty years ago, the United States Congress passed the Orphan Drug Act of 1983 to stimulate the development of new treatments for persons afflicted with these rare diseases. Since then, more than 240 new ‘orphan drugs' have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). HR 2700, will ensure that Medicare beneficiaries have continued access to critical orphan drugs, in addition to providing pharmaceutical manufacturers with renewed incentives to continue developing these life-saving medical treatments. The bill will simply clarify Congressional intent under the 1999 law."
Contact Information
You can call the House of Representatives switchboard directly at: 202-224-3121 (this is a toll call). If you have computer access, you can find out who your representative is at http://www.house.gov/
To read the full text of any legislation, you can go to http://thomas.loc.gov
You can reach Senator Maria Cantwell at 1-888-648-7328 and Senator Patty Murray at 202-224-2621.
To contact President Bush:
Comments: 202-456-1111, 202-456-6213 (TTY/TDDY)
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
FAX: 202-456-2461 The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Pennsylvania School District Obligated to Evaluate Student with TS and OCD
In the case Cumberland Valley School District, 38 IDELR 277 (SEA PA 2003), this district was found to have failed to timely determine if a student needed special education and did not meet its obligation to provide FAPE (Free and Appropriate Public Education) under the IDEA after the child's parent disclosed his condition, even though the district met its formal IDEA child-find obligations. The student was therefore entitled to compensatory education.
The parent of a high school student informed the district the student had TS and OCD. The parent did not request services, nor did the district offer to evaluate the student. After several months of confrontations between the student and other children, a guidance counselor and the principal formulated an informal behavior plan for the student. As the situation worsened, the student was briefly hospitalized and then placed on homebound instruction for the remainder of the school year. The district produced an evaluation report the following summer, indicating the student was a child with a disability and entitled to special education. The following year, however, the student attended a charter school and the parent requested a hearing. The appeals panel upheld a lower court finding that the district failed to provide FAPE and the student was entitled to compensatory education. It agreed with the lower court that the district knew or should have known it had to evaluate the student, because it was on notice of the student's condition. The panel further noted it was the district's responsibility to gather information regarding the student's needs.
This means that while a district may satisfy its child-find requirements by identifying students with disabilities, it has the further obligation to timely evaluate such students to determine their need for special education. Because it is a district's responsibility to provide FAPE, it is not a parent's responsibility to ask for appropriate services.
| Date | Time | Location | Contact |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9/20/03 | 9am-4pm | Sedro Wooley
(location not yet determined) | Karen Anderson
1-800-572-7368 |
| 10/4/03 | 9:30am-3:30pm | Evergreen Hospital
12040 NE 128th St Kirkland | Karen Anderson
1-800-572-7368 |
| 11/8/03 | 10am-3pm | Toppenish WSMC
1200 Jackson St Toppenish | Andrea Sheehan
509-972-4659 |
| 12/13/03 | 10am-3pm | Alice Grant Learning Center
1005 Grandridge Grandview | Andrea Sheehan
509-972-4659 |
ADHD Conference
Title: ADHD Through the Lifespan
Date & Time: 9/27-28/03, 8am-5pm
Location: Foster High School, Tukwila
Cost: $75-$150
Contact: ADD Resources, 253-759-5085, addresources@nventure.com
Description: Fourteen breakout sessions will be given by top local authorities on a range of topics of interest to anyone affected by ADHD including families and health care professionals. Master classes for ADHD clinicians will be given by Dr. Daniel Amen and Sam Goldstein, Ph.D.
TS/ADHD Conference and More
Title: You Are the Expert
Date: 10/17-18/03
Location: Red Lion Inn, Wenatchee
Cost: $75
Contact: Washington PAVE, 1-800-572-7368, wapave9@washingtonpave.com, www.washingtonpave.org
Description: This conference is designed for families of children with disabilities, advocates, educators, and professionals to meet and interact with each other and gather valuable information. Presentations include: A Young Adult's Perspective on Growing up with a Disability; Making Sibshops Work in Your Community; No Child Left Behind; Dealing with Bullying; Tourette Syndrome, and Living with ADHD.
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