SOMERVILLE, NJ – The Tourette Syndrome Association of New Jersey has announced the date for private screenings of the HBO special, “I Have Tourette’s but Tourette’s Doesn’t Have Me” at the February meeting of the Atlantic/Cape May County Support Group.
The thirty-minute documentary will be shown on Thursday, February 2, 2006 at 7:00 P.M. at the Atlantic City Medical Center, New Cafe, Jimmie Leeds Road, Pomona, New Jersey. The showing will be followed by an open discussion of the film lead by AtlantiCare Director of Nursing, Elizabeth Readeau.
Parents, teachers, and medical professionals are invited to attend. Call TSANJ at 908-575-7350 or visit the website at www.tsanj.org for details and directions. There is no charge to attend.
The TSANJ 24-hour HelpLine may be reached by calling 732-972-4459.
The insightful family documentary takes a candid look at the lives of more than a dozen American children who suffer from the involuntary facial tics and verbal outbursts associated with Tourette Syndrome. The film explores what it is like for them, what measures they are taking to control it, and the challenges they face in their efforts to be accepted into the social mainstream as a “normal” kid.
BACKGROUNDER:
Tourette Syndrome (TS) is an inherited neurological disorder that is manifested in involuntary physical and vocal tics. Symptoms generally appear before an individual is 18 years old. TS affects people of all ethnic groups with males affected 3 to 4 times more frequently than females. It is estimated that 200,000 Americans have full blown TS and that as many as 1 in 200 show a partial expression of the disorder. There is no cure for TS.
The mission of TSANJ is to support the needs of families with TS, to advocate for individuals with TS, and to educate the public and professionals about TS. TSANJ has a membership of 2,500 families and medical professionals. The organization relies completely on its membership, corporations, government, and foundations to fund its mission.
Currently TSANJ operates 9 support groups at regional medical centers across New Jersey; conducts awareness training for teachers, school nurses, students and community leaders; manages a TS help line for disseminating information about TS to parents, teachers, doctors, and others; and works with Rutgers University at the nation’s only student clinician TS clinic, developing support programs and treatments for families dealing with TS.
TSANJ is collaborating with UMDNJ Medical Schools and Rutgers University to create a New Jersey Center for Tourette Syndrome and Associated Disorders (NJCTS). The NJ Center will offer a much-needed diagnosis and treatment resource for the thousands of New Jersey families with TS. In addition to serving the medical and psychological needs of TS families, the Center will become a resource for TS patients and families willing to participate in controlled research studies into the causes and effective treatments of TS and associated disorders.