..."A
HUGE THANK YOU DUNCAN!!! [My son] seems to feel a lot more at ease..and
after school two kids called on him at the house and two called on the
phone....The kids thought you were great.... the grade 6 male teacher
who was there....told his class that he didn't have any idea of all
[my son] went through! He said he understands him a lot more
now!! Yay!!!
..."Wow...you
have made such a positive impact on my life...I have attended many conferences
and lectures, workshops and inservices throughout my 22 years as a teacher
but do you know, you have made the biggest impact? You, so clearly,
talked about many of the things my son experiences every day. I visit
your site almost daily and always end up in tears because I read so
much of my son's life. It has been so great to find a compassionate
and professional site that truly understands!!! Kids who are different
need more people in their world just like you!"
..."My
energized friend was flying high with excitement as she went on to tell
me....how you delivered the one thing that the many other professionals
to date have not. Perspective!! Though [she]has attempted to understand
her son's difference over the years, for the first time ever, She Gets
It! These are her words, not mine!!! "She Gets It!" Thanks
to you....She is now on top of the information mountain looking down,
rather than being at the bottom looking
up....With your wonderful presentation, [she] now sees the possibilities,
rather than the pitfalls. More importantly however is that your presence
helped her to realize that when it comes to setting the bar for
her son, the skys' the limit..."
..."I
had resigned myself to the fact that my son had ADHD with learning disabilities
and that he would never make it to a post-secondary education. After
all, he hates school! What possible chance could he have, right? You
showed up to prove me wrong! Your talk helped me to understand that....my
daughter’s explosive behaviours are just symptoms of something
deeper and following one of her half-hour rages, that she is truly
sincere, when she opens her little arms to me and ask that I simply
love her. THAT is my true child surfacing! The beautiful long
blond-haired angel that leaves me loves notes all over the house, the
very one that sings me lullabies at the top of her lungs! I
must say that you were the catalyst in reinforcing that I, as a mother,
never stop loving and supporting my children, that I be their strongest
advocate, that I educate myself and my spouse in understanding what
exactly we are dealing with and that we succeed in providing a healthy,
nurturing and loving childhood for the both of them."
..."All
of the books told me the details but never really satisfied what I was
wondering.
Because you have the first hand experiences in dealing with these issues,
you satisfied me....Your expressions (Duncanisms) and examples have
helped me explain to those in my daughter's life what she is going through....
You inspire me to help her grow beyond her problems."
..."I
must admit that when I first arrived I was highly stressed. I heard
you before I saw you and I felt close to panic. For my children's sake
and my sanity, I still have an irrational hope that Tourettes will pass
from our lives....Thank you for showing me what a wonderful future my
kids will have. My daughter can continue to scream and still be wildly
successful. My son can learn to focus but I'm thankful for his wild
imagination....God bless."
..."My
3rd grader....teacher was in tears throughout your seminar. I, as a
mom have been trying to explain TS to their educators for 2 years, without
much success. You did it in one day. Thank you so much."
..."This
evening, your talk provided so many insights into my son's behaviours.
I found myself appreciating his issues in a very, very positive light.
He is a wonderful kid, who, at times, has been, obviously, misunderstood.
And the recent diagnosis, at age 11, has been very helpful. While I
have read so much about TS since that diagnosis, your presentation made
a huge difference to me. It made it more..... real, somehow... somehow
not so much of a "life sentence". To see how you have dealt
with your own life fills me with the tremendous certainty that he will
be better than OK in life....you provided me with new insights for facilitating
his life. Thank you so much."
..."Thank
you so very much for speaking out for all TS kids & adults....You gave
me a renewed hope for my 10 year old son....Please continue your valued
work in life."
..."I
was very impressed at how you have made choices in your life and you
stick by your convictions....I also think that you have about the best
sense of humor I have ever seen. Hearing you & meeting you has changed
my life, I see in you what I want for myself and for my children".
..."After
your presentation two of the children took a Q&A to school....and gave
a mini talk to their classmates that they had TS. It was very moving
& the parents had tears in their eyes. It seems the kids appreciate
having 'permission' to be more open about their TS. One child isn't
'hiding' his tics now. His parents were overwhelmed to learn just how
much he was holding them in. He is less irritable now also."
..."much
of what you presented applies to not just our other three "normie" kids,
but to simple good parenting practices in general....as relatively already
knowledgeable and informed as we were....we were nevertheless both completely
blown away. You have to know what a significant difference you made
in the lives of more than just a handful of people today...."
..."after
listening to you all day Saturday....I feel like I am giving [my son]
a double standard when I say "be yourself and be proud of your
Tourette Syndrome...but here take your pills so that you don't have
any symptoms of it"!....I spoke with him this morning and told
him how you felt when you were on medication and he said he feels the
same way....I am going to try and go drug free and see where it takes
us....who knows, I may be back here some day but for now I think it
is worth the effort to see my "true" child and not the one
I have medicated to suit society!!"
