HERE IT IS!!!!

       This is the cover of the new CD from Northern Exposure.

Northern Exposure will be released soon and all proceeds will benefit the Tourette Syndrome Foundation of Canada.

Northern Exposure is: Leonard Misner, Rick Fowler, Sherry Joyce, Jonathan Dorsey, Tim White and Cal Hale. Special Guests include: Bill Berry (REM) and Roland Janes (Jerry Lee Lewis).

This amazing artwork was done by Pat Strawser at www.strawsermusicstudio.com

BREAKTHROUGH!!!!

AMAZING NEWS!!! (right)

COULD THIS BE THE END OF TOURETTE SYNDROME?

The great minds at Duke university have done what no one else has yet to do. They have found a way to relieve the symptoms of Tourette Syndrome. The process to do this is difficult but I will try to explain it to you all. READY?? Here is the secret to ending the stress of Tourette Syndrome and tics forever..."JUST DON'T TIC" Thats right, you heard it here "JUST DONT DO IT". Thanks to research, Duke university has found that if you use "BEHAVIORAL MANAGEMENT" you can supress tics simply by doing something else. I will post the entire article here so I am fair to Duke and thier study, however I do have a question for them..."ARE YOU FU#@ING STUPID!?!" Are you actually telling people that they can stop ticcing by "doing something else"?? The article says that when you feel tic's comming on you should supress them by doing something else. How often do you "feel" your tic's comming on???

I mean no disrespect to Rick Shocket and I wish him and his family the best of luck. I truely hope he NEVER has to deal with Tourette Syndrome ever again.

Here is the article.

Learning to 'surf the urge'

New therapy helps boy with Tourette's syndrome stifle his tics and noises

Rick Shocket sits on the floor of his Cary bedroom, absorbed in building his latest Lego Bionicles creature. His concentration is interrupted by soft, hiccuplike squeaks that periodically escape his throat -- the only hint that he is anything other than a typical 9-year-old boy. Rick has Tourette's syndrome. A year ago, he could hardly cross a room. With nearly every step, he felt compelled to do a deep knee bend -- a strange dance that left him frustrated and exhausted at the end of each day.

"Every time I went anywhere it was like, squat, squat, squat," said Rick, whose tics include an assortment of sniffs, coughs, yips, fidgets and twitches. "I could never get anywhere."

Over the past eight months, Rick has learned to do what many thought was impossible for people who have Tourette's syndrome, a brain disorder that causes repetitive movements and sounds. Using willpower to change his behavior, Rick has become part of a revolution in treatment of the disorder.

By focusing on his tics, he is routinely able to recognize the warning signs that precede them and then resist the urge to perform them. Since starting behavioral therapy at a Duke University Medical Center clinic, he has dramatically reduced unwanted sounds and motions. Equally compelling, he has come off all the prescription medications he once took to control symptoms.

It's a controversial development. For decades, Tourette's patients have been told that tics are involuntary and that they should do their best to ignore them. Habit-reversal training, the type of behavioral therapy Rick does, preaches the exact opposite. It instructs patients to be hyper-aware of tics so they can learn to anticipate and suppress them.

Duke has been a leader in establishing behavioral therapy as a treatment for children who have neurocognitive conditions such as obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Rick's parents say the behavioral approach has given them confidence their son can live a full life -- something Clare and Abe Shocket couldn't say more than a year ago, when Rick was diagnosed.

"He hasn't squatted since September," said Clare Shocket, who says she would have tried behavioral therapy before drugs if she had known it was an option. "I've tried to figure out why more people don't rush out and do this."

About Tourette's

Tourette's syndrome was once considered a rare disorder occurring in no more than five of every 10,000 people. Today, it is thought to affect one in 100 people, largely because physicians are more likely to recognize even mild cases. The most severe cases, which include the infamous but rare symptom of shouting obscenities, occur in perhaps 200,000 Americans, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorder and Stroke.

To be diagnosed with Tourette's, a patient must have multiple motor tics and at least one vocal tic for at least a year.

"There's a big severity spectrum," said Dr. Jarrett Barnhill, a specialist in tic disorders and director of the Developmental Neuropharmacology Clinic at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill. "There are kids who meet the diagnostic criteria for tics, but if you weren't looking for them, you might not think anything of it."

Doctors no longer think of Tourette's as a mental illness but as an inherited neurological condition. It occurs in boys up to four times more often than in girls, with symptoms usually appearing between the ages of 7 and 10.

Tourette's usually accompanies one or more related problems such as autism, anxiety, attention-deficit difficulties, impulse-control issues and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Research suggests this spectrum of neurocognitive disorders is genetically linked, but scientists have only started to identify the genes involved.

ANOTHER GREAT HONOR

I am pleased to announce another great honor. This website and some of the quotes in her will be used at the national convention for the American Society of Electroneurodiagnostic Technologists www.aset.org They have been involved in DBS (Deep brain Stimulation) and have seen some great results. I am proud and honored to have this site a part of thier national conference.

   GIVE THEM A PIECE OF YOUR MIND!

Have you ever wondered to yourself, "Why can't they ever find a cure for Tourette Syndrome"? I know, We have all said that from time to time. There is now a way for you to help. As a United States Marine, I was willing to sacrifice everything to defend my country. As an adult with Tourette Syndrome I am also ready to do my part to ensure future generations dont have to deal with the suffering I have. This is why I have decided to become a BRAIN DONOR. The Tourette Syndrome Association has introduced a Brain Bank Program that allows people to donate thier brains to help find a cure. There is no greater gift to give to our future generations than hope. With your donation, you provide valuable materials needed to end this disorder once and for all. If you want to help, please call 1-718-224-2999 ext 247 or email

tsa_brain@tsa-usa.org

 ****PRESS RELEASE****

Musicians bring ‘Exposure’ to misunderstood disorder

Benefit CD to support Tourette Syndrome research and

relief efforts

It has been said that music has soothing charms but a

new album may prove it has healing powers as well.

“Northern Exposure,” being released in spring of

2007,is the brainchild of Leonard Misner and Rick

Fowler, both long time advocates for Tourette Syndrome

awareness. Proceeds will benefit the Tourette Syndrome

Foundation of Canada (www.tourette.ca). Misner is a

singer songwriter from Grand Rapids, Michigan and has

been in several local bands most recently as singer

for Bullets for Barbie. Fowler, from Athens, Georgia,

has had an amazing career as a musician. Rick was with

the ‘80s rock group Fortnox which produced the hit

single “Storm Inside My Head” and has worked with some

of the best musicians in the business. Joining Leonard

and Rick on this project are: vocalist Sherry Joyce,

singer/songwriter Jonathan Dorsey, Cale Hale and Tim

White, all of whom are distinguished musicians with a

long list of accomplishments. Northern Exposure

welcomes two very special guests on this CD. Former

REM drummer Bill Berry and legendary producer/engineer

and Sun Records guitarist, Roland Janes, who leant his

production skills to one of the album’s tracks. 

“Northern Exposure” is: Leonard Misner: vocals. Rick

Fowler: guitars. Sherry Joyce: vocals. Jonathan

Dorsey: vocals, guitar and bass. Cale Hale and Bill

Berry: drums. Tim White: piano and keyboards.

The “Northern Exposure” CD will be available at

www.tourette.ca, www.leonardmisner.net, and

www.rickfowler.com. For information on Northern

Exposure please email leonard@leonardmisner.net

ANOTHER FOOL WITH A TV SHOW

Dr. Phil has now added himself to a long line of TV personalities that have no clue what they are talking about in regards to Tourette Syndrome. His show on January 17th titled "Extreme Disorders" focused on Tourette Syndrome and Aspergers and once again spread mis-information to millions. Dr Phil joins people like Maury Povich, and Dr. Laura. Your remember Dr Laura right? She is the one who preaches morality but let a man she was having an affair with take naked pictures of her. These so-called professionals use the air waves to gain ratings and secure big paychecks but not provide any true information. They like to talk about Tourette syndrome in it's most severe form but not let people know that most cases are not severe. These people have no true concern for people just ratings. Email Dr. Phil here and demand an apology for his mis-information. Heaven forbid they give the TSA website or tell viewers to get more information. They want to be the final authority on a topic without even knowing the truth themselves.

The following is taken from Dr. Phil's website:

Recognize the Symptoms:

•Rapid eye blinking, facial grimacing

•Head jerking, crotch touching, or other muscle tics

•Throat clearing, barking, sniffing

•Squeaking, or other kinds of repeated vocal noises

•Short attention span. Hyperactivity

•Learning disabilities or dyslexia

•Behavioral problems

•Short temper, confrontational and oppositional defiance

•Unable to take no for an answer, tantrums over nothing

•A lot of phobias

•Anxiety attacks

•Depression

•Inappropriate sexual behavior

Why is it that millions of people listen to Dr. Phil?

Who made up this list?

Did they guess at what symptoms may be?

  CAN MARIJUANA TREAT TOURETTE SYNDROME?

I know this is not a popular or politically correct topic but it needs to be said. After much research into this topic, I now fully and publicly support the legalization of Marijuana for medical purposes including the treatment of Tourette Syndrome. Although I am not a Marijuana user, I will if it becomes legal. Please see the link below and educate yourself BEFORE you make your own decision on this topic.

I would like to thank all of you for your wonderful emails you sent me . I love stories of triumph and overcoming adversity. You and you alone choose your path in life. If you love yourself, others will see that and follow. 

HEAD IN THE SAND?

I have been getting some great responses to my stance on using Medical marijuana as a treatment for Tourette Syndrome. Some positive and some negative. That is what America is all about. A free flowing exchange of ideas and debates. I sent an email to TSA national headquarters asking for their stance on the issue and the response I received was shocking. I was told "TSA has no stance on Medical Marijuana because it is currently illegal" I would have been happy if they would have said "we are for it" or "We are against it" but to refuse to take a side because it is " Currently illegal" Is  frightening. Are they politicians? This is what I expect to hear from politicians and NOT a group supposedly dedicated to seeking a cure and rights advocacy. I am truly disappointed in the NATIONAL chapter we all look to for help. take a stance!!! Say yes or no but please never NEVER become political when real people depend on you...