About CHUMS - Conferences

A CHUMS conference is most often a youngster's first contact with other kids who are going through the same thing. One emotion a child of someone with MS typically experiences is a feeling of isolation. The child often feels that s/he is the only person in the whole world who is going through this situation and nobody else can understand.

The first thing a CHUMS conference does is show the kids that they are not alone. When they walk into a room, fully expecting to be the only one in there, and then see about a dozen other kids, their face can't hide the shock and relief they feel all at the same time.

What is a CHUMS Conference?
A conference specifically designed for children who have someone in their life with MS. Typically, this person is a parent, but can be a grandparent, aunt or uncle, older sibling, or close friend of the family.

What does a CHUMS Conference consist of?
Fun, interactive, and educational activities that are designed to enhance:

Who is a

CHUMS conference for?
Children who have someone in their life that has MS. A CHUMS conference is for children not younger than seven (7) years old. The oldest person to have participated in a CHUMS conference so far was 17. You may be surprised how much a 17-year old can learn from a 7-year old.

The adults accompanying the CHUMS participant (usually the parents) are present during the conference, but are not in the same room. A CHUMS conference is often one part of a conference hosted by the Multiple Sclerosis Society. The adults then, are attending their own workshops and seminars while the children participate in CHUMS. The last 30 minutes of the MS Society conference is reserved for Parental Interaction where the CHUMS participants share what they've done and what they've learned during the day and the parents have the opportunity to ask the CHUMS facilitators any questions.

How are CHUMS conferences scheduled?
Usually a CHUMS conference partnerswith a region of the MSAA or MS Society for its annual conference.

The kids attend the CHUMS conference while the adults are attending the MSAA orMS Society conference.

Before each conference, Sue Rehmus, the founder of CHUMS,speaks to the members of the region's support group. These are typically the same people that will be attending the conference. Sue shares her story and welcomes questions from the group.

If you would like to schedule a CHUMS conference in your area, contact Sue. Sue is also very happy to be a volunteer guest speaker at any support group meeting to talkabout the importance of discussing this disease with your family and some strategies for doing so.