Dear colleagues, dear friends,
The European Society for the Study of Tourette Syndrome is organisng in Athens the 17th International Conference on Tourette Syndrome & Tic Disorders (URL), on Wednesday 21st-Friday 23rd May, at the Eugenides Foundation.
Background
ESSTS was initially founded in Europe, 17 years ago, and remains the only clinical and scientific society in the world, dedicated to the study of Tourette Syndrome.
We aim to coordinate pan-European and transcontinental efforts and collaboration on the study of Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome (TS) & associated disorders, and to provide a platform for global outreach and educational activities.
Athens 2025: spotlight & support
It has come increasingly to our attention during the last 2 years, that Greece is amongst the European countries that face “severe”, if we may, lack of awareness and population-proportionate number of TS-expert healthcare professionals.
In an attempt to contribute to raising awareness and involvement, and in addition to our scientific conference, we are organising the following separate events:
- The TS-school (4th edition), a half-day intense training course for TS “beginner” professionals who are interested in the clinical aspects of TS. Tuesday, 20th May, 13:00-18:00. This year’s TS-school features an additional talk with emphasis on ADHD.
- 2 Behavioural Therapy workshops (3 hours each): to facilitate our local colleagues who will not be attending the conference, we are making these workshops available as independent events –for participants with basic and advanced training. Wednesday, 21st May, 09:00-17:00.
- “Tics & Tourette syndrome at school” seminar | Monday, 19th May, 16:00-19:00 (Announcement in English and in Greek)
In collaboration with our Greek colleagues at Sismanoglio GHA, NKUA Medical School and CBT-trained psychologists we are organising a free, half-day seminar dedicated to teachers and educators.
The seminar aims to raise awareness and enhance understanding of tics and Tourette syndrome amongst educators of all levels, disseminate specialised knowledge and address recurrent misconceptions.
It will further provide practical guidelines and strategies that enable teaching staff to effectively support students with tics, thus contributing to their best possible adjustment within the school environment.
All the talks will be held in Greek, with the exception of the welcome & introduction part that will be addressed in English by Prof. Andreas Hartmann, former Chair of the ESSTS.
The event is available in a hybrid format.
Last but not least, to ensure a hopefully impactful legacy, we have set up Tourette Greece (tourette.gr), the newly founded patient association which we are certain will mark a shift in raising awareness nationally, and we shall continue to support through our activities.
