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For many, the holidays are a time to be with family and friends to celebrate. For others, it is a time to shop till you drop and give and receive presents. But for children with special needs, specifically Tourette syndrome, the holiday time can be very difficult. The stress level and excitement that happens between Thanksgiving and New Year’s can be tough for both adults and children.

So, what should others expect from a person with TS? And what should the person with TS expect?

A few things you need to remember:
1) People with Tourette syndrome develop more symptoms when they are excited or under stress. The holiday season could bring on more tics than usual. They could happen more frequently or new tics could come on.
2) Try to keep to the routines for your kids and students as much as possible. Go to bed on time, keep meals around the same time, keep homework and other after school activities similar to the rest of the year.
3) Watch your diet. Too much caffeine, chocolate, drinks, etc could cause changes to your life. Keep your diet in check during these tough weeks as everyone stuffs themselves with yummy food. Keep a balance.
4) Find a way to relax. If it is reading a book, getting on the computer to email, taking a walk or writing in your journal, find time to “get away.” This will allow your body to regulate itself. Overall, try not to overstimulate yourself during this already crazy time period.
5) Celebrate and enjoy the time you will have with family and friends. Sometimes throughout the year, life can be tough. So, kick back and enjoy the good times so when you have a tough day down the road, you can look back on the weeks you had positive memories to help you get through whatever may come your way.

And if all else fails, go read the book or watch the movie, Front of the Class. It can never hurt to hear my story again.

Cheers, Brad Cohen

Check out Jimmy Wolk in the New Fox-TV Show Titled LONE STAR!
Click here to see a preview of the show LONE STAR.

Ok friends, it is going to start getting a little weird.  First, Jimmy Wolk played me as a teacher who over the came challenge of Tourette syndrome in Front of the Class.  Now Jimmy will take on another challenge of how to kept two lives and two ladies at the same time.  Right away, you’ll see that his new role is nothing like my life.  As he enjoys being with two woman, I had enough trouble hanging on to one.  He lives in Texas, I don’t like the Cowboys or cowboy boots.  He is a con man, I’m just a teacher. He’s hanging up on billboards across America, I’m just hanging around the house with Dylan and Nancy.

If you enjoyed Jimmy Wolk in Front of the Class, you might want to catch his new TV show, LONE STAR on FOX-TV Monday nights at 9:00 pm/EST after the show HOUSE. Starts Monday, September 20th. Going by his new official name of James Wolk, he takes on the role of a charming Texas man who lives two lives in two different parts of Texas. He juggles two identities and two women in two different worlds – all under one mountain of lies as a con man. Joining him in LONE STAR are John Voight, Adrianne Palicki, Eloise Mumford and David Keith.

Jimmy is on the Board of Directors for the Brad Cohen Tourette Foundation. We couldn’t be happier for all of his success!
Click here to see a preview of the show.

Check out Jimmy Wolk  in YOU AGAIN!

Jimmy Wolk just happens to also be starring in the film, You AGAIN, hitting movie theaters on Friday, September 24th. He plays the boyfriend with an amazing cast of Betty White, Jamie Lee Curtis, Sigourney Weaver, Kristen Bell, Odette Yustman, Kristin Chenoweth and more.
Learn more by clicking here to see a preview of the movie, YOU AGAIN.

It is going to be fun to watch how Jimmy does in the future.  To think that he got his big break taking on the role of me reminds us all that if you have a dream, always try to follow that dream much like Jimmy has been able to do in the acting business.

I think a lot of people will be rooting for my friend Jimmy!

Cheers, Brad

Double Click Flyer to Enlarge and Read

The call with Brad Cohen and kid author Dylan Peters will be on Saturday, June 12th at noon/EST and will last 1 hour. Learn how children can become advocates for themselves and how one boy decided to not only tell his classmates, but tell the world about TS through his book, Tic Talk: Living with Touretre Syndrome, A 9-year-old boy’s story in his own words.  

Feel free to email us questions to read during the call. The conference call is free to the public.

E-mail us and ask for calling numbers and access codes for the conference call. When you email us, an auto-respond email will be sent to you with instructions: tsawareness@bradcohentourettefoundation.com

You can also click here to learn more about TS Awareness Month

Feel free to share this information with anyone who may be interested. Education about Tourette Syndrome will continue to make a difference for those who live with the condition daily. This event is sponsored by The Brad Cohen Tourette Foundation. Thanks for the support of Tourette Syndrome Awareness Month!

Cheers, Brad

Double Click Flyer to Enlarge so you can Read

The call with Brad Cohen and educational consultant/author Sheryl Pruitt (Teaching the Tiger) on Thursday, June 3rd at 7pm/EST will last 1 hour. Learn about the co-morbid conditions that go along with Tourette syndrome as well as other education strategies for the classroom. Feel free to email us questions to read during the call. The conference call is free to the public.

E-mail us and ask for calling numbers and access codes for the conference call. When you email us, an auto-respond email will be sent to you with instructions: tsawareness@bradcohentourettefoundation.com

You can also click here to learn more about TS Awareness Month

Feel free to share this information with anyone who may be interested. Education about Tourette Syndrome will continue to make a difference for those who live with the condition daily. This event is sponsored by The Brad Cohen Tourette Foundation. Thanks for the support of Tourette Syndrome Awareness Month!

Cheers, Brad

Double Click Here to View Flyer of Event

The call with Brad Cohen and actor Jimmy Wolk (Front of the Class) on May 25th at 7pm/EST will last 1 hour. Learn more about what happened behind the scenes on the set of the movie. Understand how an actor portrays someone with TS successfully. Feel free to email us questions to read during the call. The conference call is free to the public.

E-mail us and ask for calling numbers and access codes for the conference call.  When you email us, an auto-respond email will be sent to you with instructions: tsawareness@bradcohentourettefoundation.com

You can also click here to learn more about TS Awareness Month

Feel free to share this information with anyone who may be interested.  Education about Tourette Syndrome will continue to make a difference for those who live with the condition daily.  This event is sponsored by The Brad Cohen Tourette Foundation.  Thanks for the support!

Cheers, Brad

Double Click to Enlarge Flyer

Join Brad Cohen during Tourette Syndrome Awareness Month for some conference calls with guests to create awareness for Tourette Syndrome. This series is titled “Talking Tourette with Brad Cohen and Guests.” Brad will be speaking with the following people on these dates:

May 17th 7pm/EST Brad’s mother, Ellen speaking from a mother’s point of view
May 25th 7pm/EST Jimmy Wolk, actor from Front of the Class -get the inside scoop from the movie
June 3rd 7pm/EST Sheryl Pruitt, author and educational specialist on Tourette syndrome-learn more about the co-morbid conditions of TS and educational strategies in the classroom
June 12th noon/EST Dylan Peters, author of the book Tic Talk speaking from a child’s point of view on advocacy

Click here to learn more about TS Awareness Month

E-mail us and ask for calling numbers and access codes for the conference calls: tsawareness@bradcohentourettefoundation.com

Each call will last 1 hour. Feel free to email us questions to read during the call. All four conference calls are free to the public.

Help us spread the word about this event to help create more awareness for Tourette Syndrome. This event is sponsored by The Brad Cohen Tourette Foundation. Tourette Syndrome Awareness Month is from May 15 – June 15 2010. Join us on Facebook too by clicking here!

Cheers, Brad

Nancy and I are excited to announce the birth of our baby boy, Dylan Louis Cohen, born on March 25, 2010 at 6:40pm. He weighed 7 lbs 13 oz and was 19 inches long.

We are a happy family and we appreciate all the kind notes that have come in from so many of our fans.

We appreciate the support!
Cheers, Brad Cohen

What do Martha Stewart and Front of the Class have in common?

They will both be featured on the Hallmark Channel! The first viewing will be on Saturday, April 3rd at 9:00pm/est. Look for reruns to continue throughout the year.

Feel free to spread the word to those who missed it the first few times. This is your chance to learn more about Brad Cohen and Tourette syndrome. Check out Jimmy Wolk, Patricia Heaton, Treat Williams, Dominic Scott Kay and so many other wonderful actors as they help the world discover that dreams can come true!

Get updated on Brad’s new foundation too. The Brad Cohen Tourette Foundation is up and running. Sign up on this website for updates.

If you like the movie, be sure to check out the award winning book too. It makes for a great present to educators or anyone looking for an inspirational story. Buy the book or DVD now!

Cheers, Brad

Set your DVR’s now for an encore presentation of Front of the Class on CBS, Saturday, February 6th at 8pm (est). Please be sure to spread the word to friends and family members. This is one movie you will not want to miss. And if you have already seen it once, you know you’ll want to see it again.

If you have Tourette syndrome or you know someone who faces a challenge in life, this is a movie that could change your life. Teachers, don’t miss this movie! If you don’t believe me, that’s ok. I’m not bias. But this is my new favorite movie of all time!

If you do miss it or you’re interested in owning a copy of the DVD, you can find it in your local Hallmark store or feel free to buy an autograph copy from my website. Click here to learn more.

To learn more about the Brad Cohen Tourette Foundation, visit our new website: www.bradcohentourettefoundation.com

As always, I appreciate the support!

Cheers, Brad

Did you watch American Idol? Did you hear the news? This is what I heard over and over through facebook, emails and when I got to work the next day. Many of them wanted to make sure I had seen Dave Pittman on American Idol because they knew I would be interested.

The answer is yes, I saw American Idol and yes, I heard the news. I was really excited when I saw that Dave was being open and honest about living with Tourette syndrome. My biggest fear was that he was going to be a poor singer and the judges and America would then make Tourette syndrome the punchline of another bad joke. But then we heard him sing. The judges were into Dave as they nodded their heads up and down as they enjoyed what Dave had to offer.

But then, Doogie Howser M.D. stepped up to the plate. Like any other doctor, he recognized that Dave had a medical condition called Tourette syndrome. I was excited Doogie knew about Tourette’s. He even addressed it on air. I was proud of that too. Dave stood tall and accepted Doogie’s comments and explained he had TS. As many of us Touretter’s know, when we are concentrated on something, we don’t tic nearly as much. The judges were a little shocked by this.

The part that was disturbing was that the judges were actually surprised that a person with Tourette syndrome could actually be such a good singer and do it without the tics disrupting the performance. People with TS or any other disability live with this perception on a daily basis. People don’t believe in us and think we can’t do certain things.

I can already tell that Dave is similar to me. He will, and has already stepped up to the challenge. You see when someone tells me I can’t do something, or even if they “think” I can’t do something, it just motivates me more to prove them wrong. Dave now has the stage to show the world his own talents, while at the same time be a great role model for the millions of people who are a little different.

I guess you now know who I will be rooting for in this years American Idol competition, and I hope you will root for him too. Because we need to show people that we all have talents and when given the right opportunities, we are able to shine.

So what is the biggest shock? Is it that Doogie brought up the elephant in the room? Is it that Dave has a good voice? Could it be that a person with Tourette syndrome can find success when given a chance? Or could it be that dreams CAN come true when given a chance?

Step up to the plate America and turn your TV sets to this season’s American Idol on Fox. Let’s all hope that we can embrace Dave’s challenge and root for him because of his true talents. Vote the way you want, at least you know what I’ll be doing.

Get caught up with the latest news from the Brad Cohen Tourette Foundation by visiting www.bradcohentourettefoundation.com

Read the book or see the movie Front of the Class to learn more about Brad Cohen.

Cheers, Brad