The Tourette Syndrome Program at Rutgers University’s Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology, in collaboration with the New Jersey Center for Tourette Syndrome (NJCTS), will begin its annual 10-week social skills and family support groups from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 12, at Rutgers University’s Busch Campus.

The groups are specifically designed to address social skills issues that arise within the child and adolescent TS population, as well as provide a supportive environment where children and adolescents can meet one another, give and provide advice to their peers, and learn about living with TS.

There also will be two additional groups that will run at the same time as the TS social skills group:

• In the Parent Support group, parents of children in the social skills groups are invited to “share their experiences and struggles with parents who face similar situations and with knowledgeable mental health professionals who will provide many helpful suggestions and potential solutions,” according to Shawn Ewbank, PsyD, of the Tourette Syndrome Program.
• In the Sibling Support group, siblings of children with TS will “learn about TS and co-morbid disorders while meeting other kids who have a sibling with TS and learning coping skills for their sibling-related struggles,” Ewbank says. Continue reading →