A note about our programming...
Thank you for joining us for the 2021 NJCTS Tim Howard Leadership Academy, open to those who have just finished their freshman year of high school through those who have just completed their senior year. This all new programming will step you through, in practical, hands-on ways, finding your voice and growing comfortable with telling your story and self-advocating!
This single link will allow you to attend the entire event. Frequent breaks are built into the programming to help avoid the fatigue of sitting in front of a computer all day!
Thanks for joining us!
Friday, August 6
9:30 AM: Opening Remarks: Why Advocacy Matters
10:15 AM: Learning More About Tourette Syndrome, OCD, ADHD, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Tourette Syndrome is about so much more than tics! Interact in small groups with leading experts on Tourette Syndrome, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, ADHD, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder.
11:30 AM: Constructing your Educational Message
Know the facts! Engage in discussion and a guided activity to help prepare you to educate others and correct common misconceptions about TS.
12:45 PM: Ask the Experts: Q&A with Young Adult Advocates who Walk the Walk and Talk the Talk
Hear from young adult TS advocates as they share their successes, their challenges, how they overcame their fears, and how finding their voice and telling their story changed both their lives and others.
2:15 PM: Finding and Sharing YOUR Story
Engage in discussion and a guided activity that will help you describe your specific, unique “lived experience” and how that can impact others’ understanding of life with TS. Nothing is more powerful than your personal story!
3:15 PM: The Art of Overcoming: Rising Above and Growing Your Resilience
Hear one person’s impactful story of rising above their hardships with TS.
4:15 PM: Developing and Sharing your OWN Strength and Resilience
Engage in discussion and a guided activity to help you share your own strengths and consider ways you can build your resilience and share it in a way that encourages others to stay their course and rise again.
5:15 PM: One of the GreaTS: A Conversation with Tim Howard
Hear from one of the GreaTS himself! Tim Howard will stop in to share his experience with TS, how he handled challenges, and how his Tourette Syndrome diagnosis has impacted his life!
7:00 PM: “Team Talks” and Teen Social
Come together with other teens with TS in an informal setting, guided and facilitated by our energetic young adult coaches who have deep experience with advocacy and leadership–and even more critically, have an intimate familiarity with being a teen with Tourette Syndrome. Here you’ll have a chance to talk about the “real stuff” of being a teen with TS–like, how will TS impact your ability to drive? What do you do if you get pulled over while ticcing? What’s it like to date with TS? What was the most challenging part about going off to college? Round off the night with some games and casual chats, and leave with a whole new group of friends who share your experience!
Saturday, August 7
9:45 AM The Importance of Self-Advocacy & Where to Apply it
Learn why self-advocacy is important and the many places and times the skill of speaking up about what you need will help you be your best self.
10:30 AM: Self-advocacy in School, College, and the Workplace
Learn some tips and strategies for navigating through high school and into college as a teen with Tourette Syndrome, including understanding and gaining responsibility for your IEP or 504, preparing to carry that responsibility into college, into the workplace, and understanding your legal rights.
12:30 PM Ask the Experts: Q&A with Teens and Young Adults who Successfully Navigated the Complicated Transitions Through School, College, and the Workforce
Engage with teens and young adults who have successfully advocated for themselves in high school, college, and beyond. They’ll share what worked, where they struggled, and offer tips for how to get started.
1:45 PM: Identifying YOUR Needs and Finding YOUR Voice
Engage in discussion and a guided activity to help you identify and articulate your needs and grow your confidence to speak up for those resources and accommodations that will allow you to be your most successful self.
2:45 PM: Motivational Speaker: My Journey with Self-Advocacy
Hear from an inspiring example of how powerful and impactful self-advocacy can be–and how it not only changes an individual’s life, but the lives of those around them.
3:45 PM: Exploring the Ways to Deliver your Message
It sure isn’t all about public speaking! See examples of the various ways you can share your message and advocate for what you need, including ways that capitalize on your talents and allow you to speak out in a way that is comfortable for you–even if you don’t use your voice! There are tons of creative ways for you to share your story in an impactful way.
5:00 PM: Finding your KA-POW Moment
Engage in discussion and a guided activity that will help you identify the most powerful parts of your personal experience–that critical moment that helps others understand your strengths and talents, and leaves them inspired to seek their own!
7:00 PM: “Team Talks” and Teen Social
Come together with other teens with TS in an informal setting, guided and facilitated by our energetic young adult coaches who have deep experience with advocacy and leadership–and even more critically, have an intimate familiarity with being a teen with Tourette Syndrome. Here you’ll have a chance to talk about the “real stuff” of being a teen with TS–like, how will TS impact your ability to drive? What do you do if you get pulled over while ticcing? What’s it like to date with TS? What was the most challenging part about going off to college? Round off the night with some games and casual chats, and leave with a whole new group of friends who share your experience!
Check out a link to coach Sara’s telling of her story through music! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kIh7E3GdHc