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]

IN NEED OF PARTICIPANTS

This is the Outline Examination Approval Form for the research on Group Dynamics courtesy of University of the Philippines, College of Education.

Twitch and Shout Lay Forum: March 26, 2007, St. Lukes Medical Center

Nota Bene: If you don't want it with music, just click the speaker icon on the left hand corner. :-)

Individuals With Disabilities Edcation Act (IDEA) for Children with Tourette Syndrome

In the middle of 1960 and 1975, the US Congress, state legislatures and federal courts have come up with educational rights for children with disabilities. They have passed laws encouraging and/ or funding programs in special education. The Public Law 94- 142 in 1975 which was originally introduced in 1971 is now named the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or IDEA has a primary purpose of creating rights for children with disabilities. This law together with ADA or Americans with Disabilities Act which was passed in Congress in 1990 have been the two main bodies for litigation during the past years.

Consequently the IDEA provides many specific procedural protections for the parents of children with disabilities. These safeguards are spelled out in the US Code of Federal Regulations, Title 34, Subtitle B. Chapter 3, Part 300. Some advocated said that these safeguards were poorly enforced at that time.

In 2004, IDEA was reauthorized to also serve children with Tourette Syndrome. The changes that were done were made effective last July 1, 2005. And these changes include

• short term goals will no longer be required on the Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) except those children under "No Child Left Behind" assessment ( or those with severe cognitive disabilites)
• flexible IEP meetings particularly alternative attendance such as by telephone or video conferencing
• three year IEPs to meet evolving needs of the child
• discipline as schools will not only provide support for academic purposes but also in terms of behavioral and functional goals which are very important for children with TS
• "Stay Put"- the right of the student to remain in the current placement has been eliminated, parents can now appeal for placement changes for their child
• early and positive intervention
• professional development- personnel who will work with children with disabilities should improve their academic and functional performances
• collaboration relationship- there is a greater focus to train parents and schools to use collaboration techniques
• transition services to focus not just on academic achievement but also on functional development
• the "specific learning disability" can no longer be required only on the aspect of academic achievement and IQ score
• schools will be prohibited from requiring that the child be under medication as a condition when attending school, recieving services or evaluation purposes
• schools may use 15% of IDEA's funding if the child requires more academic and behavioral support
• evaluations must not focus on the academic achievement of the child but also on developmental and functional abilities

See the more comprehensive summary of the new law.

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Source:

Martin et. al., Special Education for Students with Disabilities, Vol. 6, No. 1, 1996

Tourette Syndrome Association, USA

Deep Brain Stimulation in Action

I've talked about Deep Brain Stimulation in my previous entries, now I get to share with you a movie clip showing how it's really done.