Belated greetings for 1999 - somehow I missed the publishing deadline for the December National Newsletter. It must have been the effects of my Namibian holiday.

MESSAGE TO BERNIE
Thank you from all of us in the upper reaches of the North Island for your energy and enthusiasm in getting the HD National Newsletter produced and published. We certainly were the ones to benefit from receiving it and reading the contents. May you enjoy a deserved rest. Our best wishes for 1999 and beyond. Thanks again, Bernie.

PERMANENT OFFICE
7a Taylors Road, Morningside

Auckland has very good news for the future of our Association. By the time you read this we will be in a permanent office and the Association, committee and Field Officer will be based in Morningside - near to St Lukes Mall. Unfortu-nately, we will have to wait to give you telephone numbers and address changes, as at the time of writing these are not known.
    The Muscular Dystrophy Association of NZ Inc have bought a building and with the help of the ASB Charitable Trust have refurbished it to ac-commodate themselves and other organisations.
    So, we shall be there along with the Motor Neu-rone Disease Association and Parkinsonism Society Auckland. MDA is expecting to rent to one or two further organisations, which will increase our exposure to allied organisations and the people within them. We hope to move in early in February and be operational as quickly as possible. So more next newsletter, but in the meantime we continue with existing PO Box, fax, phones and network.
    Planned events for 1999 will be reorganised to fit the new spaces.

CLINICAL SERVICES

In the Auckland region the clinical options con-tinue to improve as access to specific services is used more: The Movement Disorder Clinic; neurologists; Liaison Psychiatry; Community Mental Health; Northern Regional Genetic Ser-vices; Needs Assessment Services; Young Persons with Physical Disabilities Scheme; Home Health Care Teams. If you know of people needing contacts or referrals, please have them contact the Field Officer.
    We are fortunate to have Virginia Hogg undertak-ing a research study which also provides psycho-logical/ cognitive information for participants. In the next HD newsletter issue Virginia will outline the study and the need for more participants/ controls.

Beth Gordon

ph: (09) 480 2336

mob: 025 749163