Venue:

George Washington University Hospital

2300 I (“Eye”) Street

Washington, D.C.

Ross Hall Room 101

Invited Speakers and Topics (please note: speakers and subject matter subject to change)

8:00 AM Registration and continental breakfast

8:30 Welcome and greetings: Dot Sowerby, NSDA President

with remarks by Robert McAlister, Bill Vanderlinde, and Dr. Christy Ludlow

I. Pathophysiology and Current Status of Medical Interventions for the Spasmodic Dysphonias

8:45 Dr. Andrew Blitzer, NY Center for Voice and Swallowing, Columbia University

“Current Understanding of the Pathophysiology and Treatment of Spasmodic Dysphonia”

9:30 Dr. Paul Castellanos, University of Maryland Medical Center

“Issues to be considered in the use of Botox® for Spasmodic dysphonia”



9:40 Dr. Tom Troost, Washington, D.C.

“Dosing considerations in the use of Botox® for Spasmodic dysphonia”

9:50 Break

10:10 Panel Discussion with Drs. Blitzer, Castellanos, Troost, and Truong

II. New Treatment Alternatives for the Spasmodic Dysphonias

Invited Speakers:

11:10 Dr. Christy Ludlow, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

“What evidence should patients look for before making a decision?”



11:20 Dr. Steven Bielamowicz, George Washington University

“A literature-based comparison of surgery and Botox®”



11:35 Dr. Andrew Goldstone, Baltimore, Maryland

“Experience with the Berke approach”

11:55 Dr. Paul Flint, Johns Hopkins University

“Unusual SD Cases”



12:15 Lunch

1:00 Diane Rehm, WAMU and National Public Radio Host, author of “Finding My Voice”



2:00 Panel Discussion with Drs. Bielamowicz, Goldstone, Flint, and Blumin

3:00 Break

3:20 Dr. Christy Ludlow, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

“Recent research on spasmodic dysphonia at NIH”

3:50 Susan Miller, PhD CCC-SLP, “Speech Therapy for Spasmodic Dysphonia”

4:05 Linda Friskey, LCSW-C, “Living with a rare disorder”

4:20 Keath Fraser, author of “The Voice Gallery: Travels with a Glass Throat”

“What Does It Mean to Have a Voice?"

4:40 Stephie Mendel, “Starting a spasmodic dysphonia support group”

4:50 Closing Remarks

4:55 Adjourn

Hotel Information

A block of rooms has been reserved at the:

George Washington University Inn

824 New Hampshire Ave., N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20037

Phone: 202-337-6620

Toll-Free: 800-426-4455

Website: www.gwuinn.com



When making your reservations, please indicate you are with the National Spasmodic Dysphonia Association (NSDA). The special room rate is $126 per night plus tax (single occupancy). To secure the special rate, you will need to phone in your reservation or you may make a reservation on-line by e-mailing reservations@gwuinn.com You must provide your name, address, phone, arrival and departure, credit card and expiration date. Reservation will not be complete until you have received a confirmation number.

NSDA is sponsoring a hospitality room on the evening of Friday, March 7, 2003 at the hotel from 5:00pm to 11:00 pm. Exact location will be announced. The George Washington University Hospital is conveniently located across the street from the hotel. A map of the hospital can be accessed at www.gwu.edu/~map/html/ The nearest airport is Ronald Reagan National. The hotel does NOT have a shuttle service. Subway service is available. Take the Metro Blue line to the Foggy Bottom/GWU Stop. A Metro system map can be accessed at http://www.wmata.com/metrorail/systemmap.cfm Taxi service is also available. For additional things to do and see while visiting our Nation’s Capital, visit the D.C. Chamber of Commerce website at http://www.dcchamber.org/visiting/

Please note the Symposium participants need to make their own hotel reservations.

Additional Items of Interest

NIH Study

The National Institute of Health has 3 studies on SD and is offering appointment times (45 minutes) for an initial visit and will pay transportation from the hotel. You can sign up for a time Thurs. Mar. 6 or Friday, Mar. 7th before the symposium and Monday, Mar. 10, and Tuesday, Mar. 11 following the Symposium. Contact: Christy Ludlow, Ph.D. at NINDS, NIH, Building 10, Room 5D38, 10 Center Drive MSC 1416, Bethesda, MD 20892-1416. Telephone (301) 496-9366 Fax: (301) 480-0803; email: Ludlowc@ninds.nih.gov

Congressional Visits

To register, go to www.dysphonia.org

Click on the "Events" tag

Then when this page loads, click on "NSDA Patient Symposium"

There is then a link on that page saying "Register Online"

(Note - to go there directly, follow this link: http://www.dysphonia.org/nsda/events/custom/sd2003.asp?id=317