Otago Multiple Sclerosis Society

11/06/2026

MS Otago and Community Law Otago warmly invites our MS community to join us for a webinar on employment and disability on Thursday the 18th of June at 6pm via zoom.

You can join this webinar via the link below:
Topic: Community Law Employment+ Disability
Time: Jun 18, 2026 06:00 PM Auckland, Wellington
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us05web.zoom.us/j/87519893913?pwd=e3qGX1ot3OMrzEd0hNaXTRbayl6JjK.1

Meeting chat link
https://us05web.zoom.us/launch/jc/87519893913

Meeting ID: 875 1989 3913
Passcode: 5XwQVS

29/05/2026

Thank you Multiple Sclerosis Society of New Zealand for giving our Community Connector the chance to host this podcast for World Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Day with our very good friend Tillie Lassman.

To mark World MS Day this May, we’re sharing a thought-provoking conversation with Otago Multiple Sclerosis Society's Community Advisor Katie Burns and Registered Social Worker Tillie Lassman that explores wider impacts of an MS diagnosis. on children and whanau.

Through a warm and reflective discussion, Tillie shares emerging insights from her research, highlighting how uncertainty, shifting roles, and everyday pressures can shape children’s experiences of MS as well as family life, and why it matters that we recognise MS as a shared experience, not just an individual one.

👉 https://www.msnz.org.nz/podcast-navigating-ms-together-children-whanau-and-the-wider-impact-of-diagnosis/

28/05/2026

Thanks to CanBead - Otago for a great workshop making keyrings.
Always a great time with the talented Jules leading the way

24/05/2026

Good morning MS Otago whānau

This week we have the South Otago group support meeting on Tuesday the 26th of May at 11:00am at Te Pou Ō Mata-Au, Balclutha and the TYO (The Young(ish!) Ones) group support meeting on Thursday the 28th of May at the South Dunedin Community Network meeting rooms.

If you are interested in joining a group meeting, or connecting with our Community Connector then please get in touch via 027 889 9035 or [email protected].

You can see our upcoming group meetings and other events on the calendar on our website here:
https://msotago.org.nz/how-we-can-help/calendar/

18/05/2026

MS Otago's 19.05.2026 newsletter - https://mailchi.mp/msotago/6222lz7dhg-5863659

14/05/2026

Have you registered for our upcoming CanBead workshop yet? It is only one week away, on Friday the 22nd of May at 2pm at the South Dunedin Community Network meeting roooms. We invite all of our MS community, including whānau to join us.
You can register here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe549d99KHJQO76-TwSTc6RSnjS5tewAjKrYXOyXGvat8wwkA/viewform?usp=header

13/05/2026

Our very good friends at CanBead are celebrating an amazing 15 years of supporting people with art therapy workshops. An amazing milestone. MS Otago have been lucky enough to host some workshops with CanBead - Otago and these have always been thoroughly enjoyed by the clients who have attended.
To celebrate 15 years and to ensure that CanBead can continue its work into the future CanBead are aiming to collect $20,000 worth of donations. If you are in the position to donate to this worthy cause you can do so here:
https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/help-us-celebrate-15-years-of-canbead
If you are not in a position to donate it would really be appreciated if you could share this post, or share directly from the CanBead - Otago page.

11/05/2026

MS Otago's 12.05.2026 newsletter - https://mailchi.mp/msotago/6222lz7dhg-5863657

10/05/2026

Good morning MS Otago whānau

This week we have the Mosgiel group support meeting on Tuesday the 12nd of May at 10:30am at The Downes Room, Mosgiel library and the children and youth support group meeting on Thursday the 14th of May at the Fairfield Community Hall.
Pre-registration for the children and youth support group is required and you can do so here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeje2BtdmhxZ7RU4RSXH1gU-u-_CJjvdMeYrNVxrW_43Tw_6A/viewform?usp=header

If you are interested in joining a group meeting, or connecting with our Community Connector then please get in touch via 027 889 9035 or [email protected].
You can see our upcoming group meetings and other events on the calendar on our website here:
https://msotago.org.nz/how-we-can-help/calendar/

06/05/2026

I am sure many of us have grown up watching Christina Applegate on Married with Children and throughout her long acting career.
You may not know that she was diagnosed with MS in 2021. Christina has now written a book about her experience which you may be interested in. This link also has some fantastic books for children about MS.

Christina Applegate, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2021, is the author of a new memoir that explores the challenges of living with a chronic disease, as well as her early life growing up in a violent, unstable home and her path from child actor to Hollywood stardom.

In a recent interview with AARP, she described a recent morning when MS made the stairs impossible, so she scooched down them on her backside to make her 15-year-old daughter Sadie's favorite fluffy scrambled eggs. "Most of the time I want to do (things) myself," Applegate said. "When I realize I can't, I ask, and I'm OK with that. I always try first."

Her new memoir "You with the Sad Eyes" is available at https://bookshop.org/a/8011/9780316594929 (Bookshop) and https://amzn.to/4dne9De (Amazon)

For an uplifting picture book about a mom with MS and her young son's daily adventures together -- written by author Julie Stamm, who has MS herself -- we highly recommend "Some Days: A Tale of Love, Ice Cream, and My Mom's Chronic Illness" for ages 4 and up at https://bookshop.org/a/8011/9781615198108 (Bookshop) and https://amzn.to/48C63E9 (Amazon)

To introduce kids to another mighty woman, Congresswoman Barbara Jordan, whose diagnosis of MS lead her to step back from public life, we highly recommend "What Do You Do With A Voice Like That?" for ages 5 to 9 at https://www.amightygirl.com/with-a-voice-like-that

To read Applegate's interview, visit https://www.aarp.org/entertainment/movies-for-grownups/christina-applegate-memoir-interview

Thanks to AARP for sharing this image!