Tag Archives: New Jersey Walks For TS

Scholarship video recaps awesome 2011 Mendham Walk

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Hey everyone, I have applied for the 2012 NJCTS Children’s Scholarship, and as part of that process, I had to put together a video that shows how I am involved with Tourette Syndrome.

My cousin, Emily, founded the New Jersey Walks for TS event in Mendham in 2010 — along with the New Jersey Center for Tourette Syndrome — as a way to raise awareness for the disorder that I was diagnosed with as a kid.

Here is my video presentation of the 2011 event, which was even better than the original. We are hoping to do another walk this year, too. I hope you enjoy the video! I was a lot of fun to make. And here’s another video of me talking about this blog and other Tourette-related things.

I would love to get a question-and-answer session going on this blog regarding TS, the Mendham Walk, the scholarship video and whatever else. I want to hear from you!

NOTE: The application deadline for the 2012 NJCTS Children’s Scholarship was April 5. For more information, please visit www.njcts.org.

Being a teen in control of Tourette still isn’t easy

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The second annual New Jersey Walks For TS event in Mendham, N.J., will take place tomorrow, Nov. 19, at Borough Park. Following is an account of how teenager T.J. Stanley, the inspiration for the event, has dealt with Tourette Syndrome since being diagnosed with with the condition at age 11.

When I first found out I had Tourette Syndrome, I wasn’t sure what it meant. What I was sure of was that I wanted to find out as much as I possibly could about the neurological condition that affects as many as 1 in 100 people.

After several years of learning what it meant to be a teen with TS, I, then 15, felt confident enough to create a documentary about what it is like to live with Tourette. Titled “TS Has TS” and available for the world to view on YouTube, the documentary was the birthing point of the New Jersey Walks For TS event.

But for me, now 18 and having fought many battles against TS over the years, being able to explain to the public what Tourette is and how it affects someone is only the tip of the iceberg. And that tip begins with what are known as tics, repeated involuntary movements and uncontrollable vocal sounds. Continue reading →

New Jersey Walks For TS founder, inspiration talk about event’s roots

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The second annual New Jersey Walks For TS event in Mendham, N.J., will take place Saturday, Nov. 19, at Borough Park. Following is an account of how teenagers Emily Carrara and T.J. Stanley got the walk started almost two years ago.

Mendham teenager Emily Carrara has known T.J. Stanley her entire life. But even though the cousins have the same blood running through their veins and have shared laughs, stories, heartaches and other parts of life over the past 18 years, it doesn’t mean they know everything about each other — or at least haven’t known everything all along.

It wasn’t until they were 11 that Stanley, of Basking Ridge, was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome, and before that point, Carrara had no idea her fun-loving, vivacious cousin had something “wrong” with him.

Even more time passed by — until a graduation party for Stanley’s sister Jackie a little more than two years ago — before Carrara truly became aware of just what TS is (a neurological disorder that affects as many as 1 in 100 people) and how it changes the lives of not only those who have it, but everyone around them.

At that party, Stanley showed Carrara a documentary about his life with TS — appropriately named “TS Has TS” — that the aspiring filmmaker had made and posted on YouTube. After Carrara finished viewing the video, her life was forever altered. Continue reading →

Inspiration for New Jersey Walks For TS very grateful for cousin’s advocacy

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My name is T.J. Stanley, and I am 18 years old, a senior at Ridge High School and have Tourette Syndrome. First off, I would like to thank you so much for having me express my true thoughts and feelings of Tourette Syndrome. I would like to take this opportunity to share with not only you, but the NJCTS community and everyone about the New Jersey Walks For TS event coming up this Saturday, Nov. 19.

This walk all started when my cousin, Emily Carrara, 18, a senior at Mendham High School, saw the documentary I had made of myself living under the condition of TS that shows how I handle it in everyday life, how people treat me with TS and how I am different from everyone else.

VIDEO: TS Has TS: T.J. Stanley’s personal YouTube documentary about Tourette Syndrome

She was so inspired by me, and I had no idea what she had planned. She had thought to herself that she needed to get this disability out there. In other words, expressing it in such a big way that many people would know about it.

At first, I did not want to be a part of the walk last year because Tourette’s was something to me that I did not want certain people to know about. And this just had a negative feeling to me. But I realized the dedication she put into it. She really cares for this and those who have Tourette, and I find it very emotional to see how far she has come and how much awareness we have raised since last year.

It really speaks to me that one person can make such a big difference in not just my life, but for many lives. It is a great feeling, and I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I am for this walk. Please enjoy and feel free to comment — I am all ears.

More information about the second annual New Jersey Walks For TS event at Borough Park in Mendham, N.J., is available by visiting http://www.active.com/donate/MendhamWalksForTS. Come out to the walk on Saturday, Nov. 19, to meet T.J. and his cousin Emily, as well as participate and donate!

Founder of New Jersey Walks For TS learned from cousin with Tourette

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My name is Emily Carrara, and I am 18 and from New Jersey. The past few years of my life have been crazy. At the age of 11, I learned that my cousin had Tourette’s. When I was 16, he showed me a documentary he filmed and put together himself on his life with Tourette’s. It was clips from when he was younger, now and his family.

I contacted the New Jersey Center for Tourette Syndrome (NJCTS) because I was so touched by my cousin’s story and wanted to do something. I told them I wanted to do a walk to raise awareness for TS.

I started working on it in June 2010, going into my junior year of high school. I raised more than $27,000, and I had more than 300 walkers attend. I organized the first walk (5k) for TS, and I am proud to say that I am going to turn it into an annual thing.

It has been a learning experience and has changed my confidence level. It has gotten me closer with my cousins, and the experience of teaching others about this misunderstood disease has been personally rewarding.

This year’s walk is Saturday, Nov. 19, and my goal is to raise $50,000. I hope it is bigger than last year! I am so thankful for everyone who has supported me. My knowledge of TS is growing every day, and I am open to anyone for talking and learning more about it.

More information about the second annual New Jersey Walks For TS event at Borough Park in Mendham, N.J., is available by visiting http://www.active.com/donate/MendhamWalksForTS. And come back tomorrow (Wednesday, Nov. 16) to Teens4TS for the story of her cousin, T.J. who filmed the documentary!