Very Thankful

As expected there were some major challenges in pursuing my research about Tourette Syndrome. The one that had a major impact on me was the process of validating the original scale that I did for Tourette Syndrome (Tourette Syndrome Symptom Assessment Scale). I had a few contacts for that in Manila which provided negative results. I was kind of pessimistic at first to reach out to those people who were really appropriate for this type of validation. The reason was that, there seems to be a little bit of that Pinoy mentality where people will make it harder for you in times when you needed them the most. Well, bitter sweet realities but all true. I even made all the necessary letters and attachments for the validation but these professionals really just put it to trash. But that did not stop me from pursuing these passion of continuing the research. I emailed a couple of other people I knew not only in the medical world but also in Psychology. In fact, I also considered foreign professionals for the validation. I even considered my father's dissertation adviser way back in the 80's in Cincinnatti. Well all in all, I got 50 emails sent to foreigners, and 4 others who were Filipinos. Unfortunately, most of the emails I sent were sent back to me...server problem, I guess. But some of them were kind enough to write back and tell me that they were not qualified for this specific task. After the holidays, though, I got two letters in my inbox from foreign neuropsychologists and psychiatrists who happened to be also professors in universities in the US. Luckily, they reviewed the scale and validated it together with the suggestions for the final copy of the assessment scale. I was really very thankful. More thankful, indeed, when another Filipino neurologist validated it and gave out a certification. So..well, I guess I just took this opportunity to thank my reviewers namely:


Maria Cristina Macrohon, MD,MPH
Neurologist
International Institute for Neurosciences
Adult Neurology



Ronald Ruff, PhD.
Neurologist and Rehabilitation Psychologist
Faculty at University of California (Department of Psychiatry)
and Stanford University (Division of Physical Medicine and
Rehabilitation)
[visit Dr. Ruff's website]

William Drew Gouvier, PhD
Professor
Department of Psychology
Louisian State University
[access Dr. Gouvier's vita]
[LSU page]