Last week, more than 400 members of the Tourette Syndrome (TS) and Tic Disorder community traveled to Dallas, TX, to take part in TIC-CON24, our annual national conference. TIC-CON is the only conference dedicated to serving the needs of our community and this year's was our largest in-person gathering! It was a key moment for our community filled with inspiration and I wanted to share a few highlights with you. If you weren’t able to attend, you’ll still be seeing the upshot of all the great conversations, research presented, and lessons learned – so TIC-CON will impact you, too.

Here are a few highlights:

Friday, May 31, was our Research Symposium, which is the only national meeting focused exclusively on uplifting innovative research related to TS and other Tic Disorders. Sessions included talks on understanding the genetic and neurobiological basis of TS, assessing the impact of TS, and developing clinical interventions. This day brought together community members and diverse, interdisciplinary researchers to exchange ideas while stimulating new research directions for TS and other Tic Disorders.

The Family & Community Conference, which is designed to aid you and your loved ones in navigating life with tics, took place on Saturday, June 1, and Sunday, June 2. There were sessions geared toward all age ranges and roles, including youths, teens, adults, parents, educators, medical professionals, researchers, and the newly diagnosed. We heard from medical experts like Dr. John Walkup and learned from the experiences of others within the TS and Tic Disorder community such as authors, celebrities, and TAA Youth Ambassadors and Rising Leaders.

We also hosted a fun Team Tourette awareness walk, heard from a celebrity and influencer keynote panel (comprised of Peter Antico, Baylen Dupree, Quincy Roche, and TAA Global Ambassador Aidy Smith), visited with exhibitors, enjoyed food from Texas, and spent time making lifelong friends and connections with others in our community.

To everyone who attended, I want to share my sincerest thanks for your commitment. We are thrilled so many of you were able to be with us and we hope you found the conference rewarding and educational.

Whether the conference is held virtually or in person, TIC-CON takes place every year. If you are interested in joining us at next year's event, either as an attendee or as a presenter, please keep an eye out for more information. If you can’t wait that long, there will be other opportunities to engage and connect over the course of this year.

Thank you again for making TIC-CON24 our best conference yet. We hope to see you at TIC-CON25!

Sincerely,

Amanda Talty

President & CEO