TOURETTE SCOTLAND BULLETIN BOARD NUMBER TWENTY TWO
'THE VOICE FOR TS IN SCOTLAND'
Our Network of Support Groups will be meeting regularly throughout Scotland and for updates on what's happening, see our website or email info@tourettescotland.org and see our Facebook page. They will give you a warm welcome. Thank you to all our support group leaders and workers, for the great job that you continue to do for people living with TS.
Our Legal Advisor is piloting a free legal advice session during the next West of Scotland support group meeting on Saturday 2nd March in Glasgow, at the Albany Centre - between 11-1. He will be willing to either speak to everyone in form of speech on the day, or sit at a table for folk to approach him, or a bit of both. He will be discussing Tourette syndrome and the law, as in how the law finds it's way into people with TS lives, how it is dealt with (on both sides of the law), which, if it is successful, will be rolled out to other groups too. With an increase in our legal support cases, this might prove to be a good additional service for all our members. Come along, or let us know what you think. info@tourettescotland.org P.S. Even though the Vulnerable Person Marker system was mentioned in our last Bulletin, he stressed how important it is for TS parents/carers to let their local force know about TS, and how this ensures that a responsible person is present with the 'accused' if they are in a police station and maybe being questioned.
Our team is looking closely at the current trends in 'Hate Crime', to develop specific support for this burgeoning problem - particularly on social media - known as 'Troll Wars'. We strive to skill our team of volunteers and support workers to be as knowledgeable as possible, in order to support you all in such matters. Having Hate Crime problems? Let us know, and see also http://www.samh.org.uk/our-work/policy-campaigns/hate-crime.aspx for their take on this. The legislation for the newer categories of hate crime (now including all types of disability) came into force on 24 March 2010. As some members are experiencing discrimination or activities against them because of their TS, it is of interest to Tourette Scotland to be aware of your rights under such circumstances. In 2011-12, 68 charges were reported with an aggravation of prejudice relating to disability, 20 more than were reported in 2010-11, the first full year of implementation of the legislation. In some cases no action was taken. The most common reason for taking no action was the lack of sufficient admissible evidence for the substantial charge even though there was sufficient evidence for the disability aggravation associated with the charge. Our view is that with the support of our organisation, we can provide supportive statements that can be used to show how TS impacts on your lives and attain a better outcome. Let us know if you need our assistance. info@tourettescotland.org For an app you can download - see http://report-it.org.uk/police_in_the_uk_launch_hate_crime_app_for_mobi
Articles: Does it help to talk about tics? An evaluation of a classroom presentation about Tourette syndrome. Claire Nussey, Nancy Pistrang and Tara Murphy. Article first published online: 9 Oct 2012/DOI: 10.1111/camh.1200. Extract: "The authors concluded that intervention (classroom presentation) enhances knowledge and attitudes of classmates towards children with TS, and improves how children with TS feel about the condition. Questionnaire data showed that an increase in classmates' knowledge and positive attitudes about TS had an impact on classmates in terms of enabling pro-social behaviours, and an impact on the child in terms of their embracing having TS". This mirrors the evaluation results of our own Outreach and Training services, where we visit schools and organisations to present awareness raising training, matched with an Outreach service that supports TS families, TS individuals and families. Janice@tourettescotland.org (outreach enquiries). In fact...Our Outreach and Training teams have been busier than ever over the past quarter, with an increase in calls for our support or for our bespoke training sessions. Most commonly, issues have been about settling into school, overcoming negative attitudes, benefit claims, raising awareness about what TS is, overcoming problems with public perception, and myth busting - misunderstandings about TS. training@tourettescotland.org (training enquiries).
Our membership has increased at a record level over the past year, and this is reflected in the increase in demand for our services. We shall be reporting on this at our Annual General Meeting which will be held on 7th March, from 6.00pm in the Inveralmond Business Centre. The AGM will be preceded by tea and coffee and finish by 7.00pm. Please let us know if you are attending by contacting Ruth on Ruth@tourettescotland.org
Seeking information about, and support for TS: We work closely with other agencies and are in contact with our fellow support organisations and we will geographically cross refer people who are living with TS. Help@tourettescotland.org
Tourettes Action England and Wales http://www.tourettes-action.org.uk/
TSI Ireland http://www.tsireland.ie/aboutus1.html
Tourette Syndrome Association of Australia http://www.tourette.org.au/index.php
Tourette Norway www.touretteforeningen.no
Online Info:
Tourette Syndrome Now What. Dedicated to families with a new diagnosis of Tourette's syndrome.
http://tourettenowwhat.tripod.com/
Tourette Syndrome Plus
http://www.tourettesyndrome.net
Tourette Syndrome Association
http://www.tsa-usa.org
Life's A Twitch
http://www.lifesatwitch.com
(Tourette Scotland does not endorse any particular website or resource, the above are published for information only and as mentioned by our members).
Do you claim DLA? - Then you need to know about PIP. DLA claimants will shortly be receiving letters about PIP (the Personal Independence Payment). Below is some important information about the new benefit which we hope will be useful. Let us know if you need help with your benefits claim. How is PIP being introduced? PIP is being introduced gradually. The DWP will start to take new claims from April 2013 in a limited geographic area, before taking new claims from the remaining parts of Great Britain from June 2013. The majority of existing DLA claimants won't start to be invited to claim PIP until October 2015.
PIP Timetable:
Early February to mid-March 2013: The DWP will send general information about PIP to ALL existing DLA claimants in their annual DLA benefit rate letters. You don't need to take any action as a result of this letter.
From 8 April 2013: New claims for PIP start for people living in the controlled start areas in the North West and North East of England.
From 10 June 2013: New claims for PIP will start for the remaining parts of the country - including Scotland. There will be no new claims to DLA for people aged 16 to 64.
From 7 October 2013: Existing DLA claimants who report a change in their DLA care or mobility needs will be asked to claim PIP. Claimants with fixed term DLA awards due to expire after the end of February 2014 will also be asked to claim PIP. Young people turning age 16 will also need to claim PIP.
Between October 2015 and 2018: All the remaining eligible claimants in receipt of a DLA award will be invited to make a claim for PIP. The DWP plan to have contacted everyone by 2018. The DWP will write to individuals in plenty of time to explain what to do. You don't need to contact DWP just now.
More Information: You'll find a simple summary of PIP and what's happening when online at www.gov.uk/pip This site will soon include more information about how to claim PIP and the phone numbers to call. The website also features an online checker (www.gov.uk/pip-checker) that uses your date of birth to work out how and when you might be affected.
Thank you to our donors: Janice Millar from Wishaw held a Prize Bingo Tea which raised £1,300, thank you! Many thanks too for the generous donation from our supporters Urban Potential. We have had visits from three teams in a comptetition from local schools - youngsters learning about us and what we do, and they then give a presentation to their school - the winners get a donation to our charity. Thank you to Pitlochry, Auchterarder, Crieff High Schools!
Want to donate and help us maintain our support services? You can do so via our website (follow the Workwithus link) or by text by sending message to 70070 and then entering TOSC46, space, £??? You will get a text receipt by return. Remember to add Gift Aid, either via the phone or via the internet. Thank you!
Are you someone who hasn't been in touch with Tourette Scotland for a long time? We will continue to keep in touch, and keep you on our database, and will always be pleased to hear from you. We can be contacted anytime:
Contact us: Telephone: 01738 646742 or on our Helpline 0300 11 11 462. Email: info@tourettescotland.org help@tourettescotland.org Find us: www.tourettescotland.org, www.http://tourettescotland.ning.com/ or Tourette Scotland on Facebook.