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NJCTS Global TS Teen Summit

TS Teen Summit

Inviting all teens ages 14 to 19 diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome to the first ever NJCTS Global TS Teen Summit, August 7 – 8, 2020.


Because the NJCTS Tim Howard Leadership Academy* is being held virtually this year, it gives us the opportunity to open some of the educational sessions to teens from around the globe. In this way, attendees will be given the chance to learn about their TS, and connect with teens who share their experiences – the challenging times and the victories – during an online TS Teen Summit. Best of all….it’s all FREE.

What will be covered:

  • Learn more about TS and co-morbids.
  • How to navigate through high school and college with TS
  • Available coping strategies and therapies
  • Becoming an advocate
  • Share your personal experiences and hear other’s
  • Interact with a variety of presenters and mentors
  • Gain valuable tools to support you on your journey to become a successful, resilient self-leader

Friday, August 7

9:00 AM: Opening (15 mins) and Who Really Knows about TS?: Three Perspectives Dr. Michael Rubenstein, Dr. Robert King, and Dr. Marla Diebler

In this interactive session, you will hear from three different practitioners who treat Tourette Syndrome and commonly associated diagnoses (such as OCD or ADD). Learn how a psychologist, psychiatrist, and neurologist help teens with the management of TS and how each of these practitioners offer something a little different from each other.


10:15 AM: Changing your Behavior, Not Yourself: The Uses of CBITDr. Jeremy Lichtman

CBIT is increasingly seen as an effective tool for managing tics and obsessive-compulsive thoughts and behaviors.  In this session, you will hear from a psychologist who works with teens with TS and learn—and witness through a demonstration—exactly how CBIT works and whether it might be right for you.


11:30 AM: Where we are From, What we Know, Where we are Going: The Biology, Genetics, and Research Around TSDr. Jay Tischfield, Dr. Gary Heiman, and Dr. Caroline Hayes-Rosen

Learn more about what’s actually happening in the brain during a tic, and hear from geneticists and researchers from the Rutgers University Cell and DNA Repository, the largest repository in the world conducting cutting edge research on TS. Learn more about the genetics of Tourette Syndrome and how it appears within families, and hear the most current, cutting-edge developments in TS research.


01:15 PM: Sharing her Story

Personal stories of growth and triumph inspire us to live our best lives.  Listen to our guest speaker talk about how her Tourette Syndrome has impacted her life and how she became the success she is today. 


03:00 PM: Ask the Experts: A Coach Panel on Navigating the Social World

Perhaps no one understands the issues teens with TS face better than those who have been there and walked the walk. Hear our young adult coaches talk about their experiences navigating important issues—such as driving with TS, dating, coping with college dorm life, employment experiences, and more!


5:30 PM: A Conversation with one of the GreaTSTim Howard, Soccer Legend

Join us and hear from one of the GreaTS himself! Tim Howard will share his experience as a teen with TS, what support he had and relied on, and how that has allowed him to have the success he has today.



Saturday, August 8

09:00 AM: Speak Out, Rise Up: How to Grow your Message and Tell your StoryEryn Travis

As TS is often misunderstood, it is critical, as a teen, to find your voice, correct misunderstandings, and self-advocate. Learn in this session the critical skills of public speaking, how to grow your message, and how to use your story and experience as a way to move and inspire others.


10:00 AM: Help me Help you: A Practical Guide to School Accommodations—Staci Greenwald, Esq., Bob Haugh, and Dr. Lisa Cox

Learn some tips and strategies for navigating through high school and into college as a teen with Tourette Syndrome, including understanding and gaining responsibility for your IEP or 504, preparing to carry that responsibility into college, knowing what to expect of your professors, and understanding your legal rights.


12:45 PM: Sharing Our Story: Parent and ChildRobyn and Analise Twemlow, Tourette Association of New Zealand

Personal stories of growth and triumph inspire us to live our best lives. Listen to our guest speakers talk about how they’ve navigated that as parent and child.


03:00 PM: Ask the Experts: A Coach Panel on Carrying the Message Beyond the Summit

Perhaps no one understands the issues teens with TS face than those who have been there and walked the walk. Hear our young adult coaches talk about the many ways they have carried what they learned at the NJCTS Tim Howard Leadership Academy beyond to advocate for themselves and others.


05:15 PM: Find your MagicChad Juros

Finding the “magic” in your life is critical to living your best life and being your best self.  Hear the inspiring story of survival and strength, wrapped into the entertainment of a virtual magic show. 


*It is important to note, programming for Leadership Academy remains separate from the TS Teen Summit and is unique and exclusive to the teens who applied and were accepted to participate this spring. 2020 Academy participants will have their own programming and special events.

The NJCTS Virtual TS Teen Summit is supported by generous donations from:

The Jeff Vitek Memorial Fund for Youth Development

and

Wawa Foundation