Peer Advocates from NJ Center for Tourette Syndrome Deliver Rousing Medical Education Message to Yale University Doctors
Summary
“The most frequent comment I get from doing Patient-Centered Medical Education is that doctors always read about Tourette Syndrome in textbooks, but that hearing from patients in person is a treat and very helpful,” Licato said.New Haven, CT, October 22, 2013 --( PR.com )-- Between them, teenagers Grace Hawruk, Tommy Licato and Tess Kowalski have delivered more than a dozen presentations on behalf of the New Jersey Center for Tourette Syndrome & Associated Disorders (NJCTS).They’ve spoken to students, teachers, doctors and residents about what it’s like to live with TS – an inherited, misdiagnosed, misunderstood neurological disorder that affects 1 in 100 kids.But prior to October 8, each of their presentations had taken place at hospitals across New Jersey.It fosters an understanding of the perspectives, stresses and needs of families living with TS and associated disorders such as OCD, ADHD and anxiety.Tommy Licato, 14, has done six Patient-Centered Medical Education trainings, and his experience and resulting confidence was clearly on display as he highlighted how answering doctors’ questions make him feel like what he’s been through – all of his experiences, even the most negative ones – are important and worthy of discussion.“The most frequent comment I get from doing Patient-Centered Medical Education is that doctors always read about Tourette Syndrome in textbooks, but that hearing from patients in person is a treat and very helpful,” Licato said.Educating doctors has been an “amazing” experience for her, too.“TS has really changed my life,” said Kowalski, 14, whose father, Tim, also spoke to the Yale audience about the parent perspective of having an adolescent with Tourette.