As she has in her characters over the past 30-or-so years, she put a positive spin on her condition and made statements applicable to both her neurological disease as well as ours and many others. Such things as "it's an odd gift...has helped me slow down and focus (on what's important)...all I used to do before MS was flitter with such things as shopping." I didn't write down the exact quote but that's close.

She talked about what we all face...depression, anger, the things we can no longer do (her biggest regret is that she can no longer dance) but she said she wasn't angry, because it isn't productive, EXCEPT at the "prejudice from other people." She has trouble working these days due to agents and producers knowing she has MS.

Other pearls of recognizable wisdom to all of us: Teri talked about the years she went without a diagnosis because "all cases are different" and the number of neurologists she had seen because she would go see a new one, in every location where she was filming, every time she had a new symptom. She spoke highly of working with an experienced neurologist and said great advances in diagnosis and treatment had occurred within the past two years. She said her 8-year old daughter is anxious for a career in some field which would "fix" her mom.

MS is an inflammatory disease of the central nervous system (cause unknown) while our disorder is caused by signals from part of the brain (cause unknown) but Teri could have easily been talking about SD (except for the great voice). It was an excellent educational presentation for both the public and any of us dealing with a life-affecting disorder.

Her philosophy and advice: she said her limp doesn't bother her and she knows it could be much worse AND...the best therapy is to talk to others. She's been part of a support group for years. Rang true and made my evening.

The talk show host is Diane Rehm of WAMU in Washington, DC; and, although the flurry about her case has died down in the last few years, she still promotes awareness of SD. She did a whole program on Botox for cosmetic purposes vs. for medical purposes (mainly SD, on that show) a few months back in which the doctors on the show gave her alot of credit for the amount of awareness she has raised. It was an excellent program, with one caller having severe AD. However, Diane is not known in all areas. She's an East Coast celebrity.

I have my own personal theories about why having a well-known celebrity with SD step forward as a spokesperson is an unlikely scenario but they're not scientific at all. However it has to do with rarity (350,000 with MS vs. 50,000 estimated with SD) and "the voice" as a major part of a celebrity career and celebrity identity. A *trademark,* if you will.

Most famed celebrities have very powerful voices and since SD usually comes on gradually and usually hits in middle age, the likelihood that a well-known celebrity would just retire (and then go into oblivion, like older performers sometimes do, considering the American youth-obsession) due to losing their *trademark* - rather than come out as a spokesperson - seems likely. There are two singers (Johnny Bush and Jimmie Rodgers, of "Honeycomb" fame in the 50's) who have SD but since the singing voice is not affected the same way as the speaking voice, with SD, that's a different story. Then again, neither of them is widely known. Jimmie Rodgers was well-known, in his youth, but later suffered a major head injury (may have prompted his SD?) and was already into "celebrity-oblivion" when he got SD. We tried to contact him several years ago (he was performing in Branson, MO and I was about ready to drive out there) but received no word back.

We can always hope for someone to give us celebrity-recognition but I'm not holding my breath. The situation with Julie Andrews can be unnerving (when people confuse nodules with SD) but she's given some good publicity to Dr. Berke and UCLA, as well as highlighting the extreme complexity of the vocal mechanism. Whenever you listen to her, it's evident that speaking and singing are two distinct processes. Her speaking voice is still pristine. Seems like understanding that difference could help an SD patient to get a diagnosis as "can still sing" is one symptom of a classic AD case. One could hope.

Thanks for your post and it doesn't matter what you have, to be on this Bulletin Board. However it's primarily a BB for Spasmodic Dysphonia (Laryngeal Dystonia) patients and their supporters. Speaking for myself, I'd welcome anyone on this Bulletin Board who wanted to deal with vocal issues or dystonia issues related to the voice.

One of my dear friends locally has SD and Meige. I have early signs (symptoms) of blepharospasms - two scary episodes of spasming when looking into bright lights. I've been grateful, for years, for the education I've received re dystonia on these BB's and at the symposiums, about bleph and other dystonias.

What I said (and Sarah affirmed) is true. I can only speak for pure, classic ADductor SD cases but one of the symptoms is...we may not be able to vocalize, to speak, but we can still sing. This obviously varies by patient. They are different laryngeal processes. I was diagnosed by a world-class SD expert, and he told me the same thing. Since surgery however, I cannot sing.

Don't select yourself out, Ann...saying you "don't belong." Anyone is welcome to make a positive contribution to this SD-BB, as long as it relates somehow to SD. You found us, didn't you?

It's my understanding that stuttering is not neurological, or is it? Different part of the brain from SD's origin? Probably. I had an employee for many years (1976-83) who was a very severe stutterer. He was a captivating, talented man. I never understood why he stuttered so severely. Wish I could find him now. I'd love to compare notes, SD re severe stuttering. He left the corporation two years before I did (1991), highly discriminated against...due to his life-long voice problem.

Thanks, but the only reason I stay on this BB is because *others* have inspired me over the past years. I stay here because we are all patients searching for an answer and a treatment and a solution and there is no reason we should "re-invent the wheel." No reason to start from scratch. We need to move on, attend symposiums, help each other and share the information we gather. This BB is incredible, as a forum to share. I enjoy sharing what I've learned.

Thanks for the nice compliment. Love you too, Colleen. ((Hugs)). You're embarrassing me. You're also doing good patient-support work yourself so give yourself credit. Hope you can get to DC in March.