New Jersey Center for Tourette Syndrome Webinars Focus on Parenting, Technology

Somerville, NJ, March 31, 2013 --(PR.com)-- Dr. Steven Tobias, Psy.D, the director of the Center for Child and Family Development in Morristown, N.J., discussed how mothers and fathers need to parent in a deliberate and systematic manner, rather than by emotion, in a New Jersey Center for Tourette Syndrome & Associated Disorders (NJCTS) Wednesday Webinar on March 27. “A Systematic Approach to Parenting” noted that some children, because of temperament or disability, do not respond to typical parenting techniques as well as others. The webinar reviewed approaches to parenting that address challenging situations, and the feedback from the one-hour presentation was positive:

“This was sort of a review of parenting 101. Thank you for providing these webinars. I live in rural Idaho and have to travel to the University of Utah for my son's TS caregiver. This is so helpful.” – Scott from Idaho

“Since I'm juggling three children with needs and working full time, I'm not sure if it's appropriate to prioritize self, marriage and children on a regular basis, but I am certainly going to use my calendar and begin scheduling things for me and my husband. That was very useful and hit home for me. It woke me up! Also, the spending fun time several times a week as one-on-one time was great. Actually, this whole webinar was great and I will be using this information starting now.” – Elena from Massachusetts

“I found all of the strategies interesting, and I will definitely practice the problem-solving technique. I found the presenter to be very informative. I appreciated that he broke the presentation down in steps. This made it much easier to follow. I also liked that he used examples from actual experiences.” – Joyce from New Jersey.

NJCTS’ next webinar – “iSocialSkills: Strategies to help students, parents, and educators reduce risks, cope with challenges, and utilize interactive technology in pro-social ways” – is scheduled for April 24. Dr. Graham Hartke, Psy.D, will focus on how cell phones, text messaging, the internet, interactive video games, computers, tablets and other forms of technology impact today’s children and adolescents. The first part of the webinar will concentrate on the impact technology has had on communication, learning, attention and socialization. The second part will discuss strategies for helping students, parents and educators reduce risks, cope with challenges and utilize technology in pro-social ways.

Another webinar – “Medication Management for Tics and Tourette Syndrome” – is scheduled for May 8. Dr. Mark Mintz will explain the biological rationale for using medications for tics and TS, the various types of drugs that have shown to be beneficial, and discuss the risks and benefits of medication therapies. This webinar is for professionals, therapists and persons and their families dealing with Tourette and associated disorders such as OCD, ADHD, anxiety and depression.

The Wednesday Webinar series, which draws an audience from 48 states and 13 countries, was launched in 2008. The series, offered at no cost to participants, features online seminars for parents, educators and professionals on topics of interest to the TS and associated disorders community. Professional development credits are given upon verification of attendance and completion of an exit survey. Credits are distributed by mail one week after the webinar.

To register for the April 24 and May 8 webinars, or to view and download the March 27 and other past NJCTS webinars, please visit www.njcts.org/witsd-seminar-sign-up.php.