Collaborative Partnerships for the Tourette Syndrome Community
International soccer superstar is member of NJCTS Board of Directors
SOMERVILLE, N.J. – ABC News has named Tim Howard its Person of the Week for his impressive World Cup showing and his inspirational story of great success while living with Tourette Syndrome (TS). Howard, who grew up in North Brunswick, reflects on his New Jersey childhood and growing up with a neurological disorder:
“[TS] has been a positive for me, it’s made me resilient and allowed me to persevere through tough times on and off the field,” said Team USA’s goalkeeper.
Click here to watch the segment featured on “Good Morning America” and “World News Tonight with Diane Sawyer.”
Howard is a longtime supporter of NJCTS and is a renowned advocate for the 1 in 100 kids worldwide who suffer from Tourette Syndrome – an inherited, misdiagnosed, misunderstood neurological disorder. Howard’s strong connection to the TS community dates back 20 years ago, when he was diagnosed with the disorder while in sixth grade.
However, Howard refused to let Tourette Syndrome deny him his dream of becoming a star athlete. At just 15, he already was a member of U.S. youth national soccer teams, and by 18 he was playing professional soccer with the North Jersey Imperials of the United Systems of Independent Soccer Leagues. He has gone on to have a stellar career as a member of Major League Soccer’s New York/New Jersey MetroStars (1998-2003), the English Premier League’s Manchester United (2003-2005) and Everton (2006-present), and the U.S. men’s national team (2000-present).
While with the MetroStars in 2001, Howard was named the MLS Humanitarian of the Year for his advocacy efforts on behalf of the New Jersey TS community. Now, Howard is excited to continue the work he started more than a decade ago with NJCTS.
More information about Tourette Syndrome, Tim Howard’s contributions to NJCTS and the organization itself is available by calling 908-575-7350 or by visiting www.njcts.org.
# # #
New Jersey Center for Tourette Syndrome and Associated Disorders, Inc. Collaborative partnerships for the TS community.