Hi there, my name is Adam and I have Tourette Syndrome. I am a National Tourette Syndrome Youth Ambassador. I know this is a little late, but I want to talk about my experience at the Tim Howard NJCTS Leadership Academy, which took place August 1-3 at Rutgers University. My favorite part of the academy was the amazing feeling I had knowing that the people there knew what I was going through. It’s called empathy. They could feel what I was feeling and I could feel for them, too.
I learned a lot about TS when I was there. I learned about what goes on in the brain when someone tics. I learned about experiences that the coaches have had throughout their life and got to ask them questions about how to handle my experiences. I learned how to organize myself effectively and efficiently during the executive function workshop. I learned about the social aspects of TS, like the benefits of being honest and open when dealing with friends and other relationships.
Lastly, I want to give some advice to the readers of this post. My advice to you, the reader, is to find that thing that you’re so so passionate about. Whether it be soccer or baseball, singing or theater, cooking or politics, doing that thing that you’re passionate about will make you so happy, so proud and confident in yourself, that you never want it to end. Mine is Tourette Syndrome advocacy.
Thank you for reading this, and I hope you find your passion.
