| Tic With It | April 25, 1998 | |
| Tourette Syndrome Association, Inc. | Archives | |
| Detroit-East Michigan Chapter | ||
The President's Page
Art Abbott
What a tremendous year in the Detroit-East Michigan Chapter. It has been a year of growth, expansion and involvement of many new members. The progress is easily measured in some areas and is more subtle in others.
The merger of the Central Michigan and Metropolitan Detroit Chapters at the beginning of last year seems long ago now. However, it was a major adjustment and greatly increased activity and costs in the support and communication areas. When the Tourette phone rings today the caller may be from Toledo, Sault Ste. Marie or anywhere in between.
The medical symposium offered at William Beaumont Hospital in September was a highlight in our Chapter's 24 year history. We had the assistance of the doctors on our advisory board and the Beaumont Neurosciences Center. This project, chaired by Bonnie Abbott, was the first in-depth medical seminar on Tourette Syndrome in Michigan. Thank you, again, Doctors Gilroy, Trosch, Rosenberg and Joyce.
A committee was formed to plan and execute our first-ever day-long educational conference for teachers and special education staff at your child's school. The establishment of an active group of adults with TS is now under way at the Oakland/Providence support group. In March, we saw thirteen adults with TS discussing various ways they could assist the Chapter. These milestones were easy to see and to measure, but I am equally pleased to seen the number of families getting involved.
Only as we broaden our base of volunteers and expand our sources of revenue can we grow and meet the needs of the ever increasing numbers of Tourette Syndrome families in Eastern Michigan.
We need to broaden our focus to encompass broad-scale public awareness, employment discrimination and the need for health care reform. So, if I can be your president for one more year, I'm going to keep asking. We need your help, your input, your ideas and your time, all that you can give.
