Tourettes Australia

08/06/2026

Congratulations to Tourette's Australia Board Member Professor Valsamma Eapen AO, on being appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO), in the 2026 Kings Birthday Honours List.

Professor Eapen is a long-term supporter of people with Tourette's, Tic Disorders and their families. We could not think of a more worthy recipient. Listed below are the achievements of Professor Valsamma Eapen AO

For distinguished service to psychiatry, to child and adolescent mental health, to neurodevelopmental
research, and to tertiary education.
Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists
• Chair, Faculty of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, current.
• Chair, New South Wales Branch, Faculty of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, current.
• Member, Committee for Evidence Based Practice, current.
• Member, Subspecialty Advanced Training Sub-Committee in Child, Adolescent and Family
Psychiatry, New South Wales Branch, current.
• Fellow, since 2007.
South West Sydney Local Health District
• Head, Academic Unit of Child Psychiatry, since 2008.
• Director, BestSTART Child Health Unit, current.
University of New South Wales
• Chair, Infant, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, since 2008.
• Board Member, Discipline of Psychiatry and Mental Health, current.
• Former Member, Medicine Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.
• Member, Steering Committee, Australian Mental Health Prize, since 2016.
• Scientia Professor, since 2024.
• Professor, School of Clinical Medicine, since 2008.
International Neuropsychiatric Association
• President, current.
• Member, Executive Committee, current.
Cooperative Research Centre for Living with Autism (Autism CRC)
• Director, Early Years Program, 2017-2022.
• Member, Access Committee, Australian Autism Biobank, current.
• Lead Researcher, 2013-2022.
Research Centres
• Co-establisher and Director, Supporting Child and Family Health for Priority Populations Centre of
Research Excellence (STAR-CRE), current.
• Stream Director, Early Life Determinants of Health Clinical Theme, Sydney Partnership for Health
Education Research and Enterprise (SPHERE), current.
• Former Member, Executive Committee, Transition Care Network, Agency for Clinical Innovation.
• Member, Childhood Adversity and Mental Health Centre of Research Excellence, 2019-2023.
• Former Member, Project Advisory Panel, Centre for Digital Wellbeing.
National Guidelines
• Member, Advisory Group for the ‘National Guidelines for Wellbeing Indicators in Early Childhood
Health Checks’, 2025.
• Member, Project Team for development and update of the ‘National Guideline for the Assessment
and Diagnosis of Autism in Australia’, 2018 and 2023.
• Member, Development Group for National ADHD Guideline, 2022.
• Member, Project Team for development of the ‘National Guideline for Supporting the Learning,
Participation and Wellbeing of Autistic Children and their Families in Australia’, 2022.
Honours list: The King's Birthday 2026 Honours List 18 of 66 Advisory Roles
• Member, Children’s Expert Advisory Group, National Disability Insurance Agency, since 2024.
• Member, Scientific Advisory Committee, Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research, current.
• Member, Starlight Health Professional Advisory Board, current.
• Member, Advisory Working Group, NSW Health, ADHD Reform, current.
Other
• Founding Member, Australasian Society for Autism Research, 2011.
• Medical Publicity and Liaison Officer, Tourette Syndrome Association Australia, current.
• Lead, Neurodevelopmental Disorders Stream, Growing Minds Australia
• Member, Research Committee, Australian Rotary Health, current.
• Member, Parenting and Family Research Alliance, current.
• Mentor, Franklin Women Mentorship Program, 2014.
• Former Board Member, Karitane.
• Former Foundation Member, National Clinical Trial Network in Child and Youth Mental Health.
•
International Roles
• Board Member, World Psychiatric Association, current.
• Member, Obsessive-Compulsive Foundation Genetics Collaborative, Centre for Human Genetic
Research, Harvard Medical School, USA, current.
• Member, Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, current.
• Member, Homozygosity Mapping Collaborative for Autism, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, USA,
current.
• Member, Executive Committee, International Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and
Allied Professionals, current.
• Former Member, Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment Consortium.
• Former Member, International DEPRESSD Collaboration on the classification of Major Depression.
• Fellow, Royal College of Psychiatrists, United Kingdom, since 2005.
Awards and Recognition include:
• Fellow, Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences, 2025.
• Honorary Distinguished Fellow Award, Global Association of Physicians of Indian Origin, 2023.
• Senior Researcher Award, Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatry, 2023.
• Value in Action Award, University of New South Wales, 2021.
• Lady Fairfax AC OBE Distinguished Researcher Award, 2020.
• Distinguished Research Prize, South West Sydney Clinical School, 2018.
• Leslie Kiloh Award for best publication by Academic Staff, School of Psychiatry, University of New
South Wales, 2015.
• IGPI Award for outstanding contribution, Indian Global Psychiatric Initia

19/04/2026

Fantastic turnout to the Lismore screening of I Swear today. Thanks to Clr Virginia Waters - Lismore City Council for the photos and a huge thank you to Tammi and the team at Lismore Cinemas for this community screening event!

Well done to Chairwoman Amanda Maysey and local member Sophie Hume-Kennedy for the Q+A after the screening.

02/04/2026

Tuesday Night it was Sydney's turn to see I Swear!

Adelaide and Lismore coming up next on April 19th, keep your eyes peeled for ticket registration links after Easter!

29/03/2026

It was Perth’s turn last night to see I Swear at Luna on Essex. Thank you to Luna Palace Cinemas and Transmission films for supporting the screening.

What a great turn out for an incredible film. Thank you to the research team from The Kids Research Institute Australia for attending and
Daniel and Sarah Pillar who are the creative duo behind our rebranding! Nicole Radcliffe and Team from the West Australia Assistant Teacher Association, representatives from Education WA plus of course our incredible members and their families.

A special thank you to Perth Social Coordinator Nita and Board Member Dr Melissa Licari for hosting ✨

Get excited Sydney, it’s your turn on Tuesday!

27/03/2026

Tourette's Australia is thrilled to share a 53% boost in memberships since our inaugural Board took office in September 2025!
It’s a fantastic milestone to mark our first six months of leadership.
We’re looking forward to the next half-year and can’t wait to update our members on the projects we’ve been working on, including the launch of our new website packed with accessibility features.

20/03/2026

I Swear - Tourette's Australia Melbourne Member showing.

Tissues ready!

16/03/2026

Our new event banner was proudly on display in Brisbane tonight, for the first preview screening of I Swear, for Tourette’s Australia.

Thank you to films and Event Cinemas for your support of tonight’s event!

07/03/2026

News...

07/03/2026

📣Announcement 📣

I’m Mandy Maysey, previously President of the Tourette Syndrome Association of Australia and now following the restructure after the SGM - Chair of the Board.

To reflect our updated governance model and our commitment to strengthening the professionalism of our organisation, I have what I think is exciting news to share with our community, something I have wanted to look at for several years now.
I know it may seem like we’ve been a little quiet recently, but I can assure you we’ve been like little ducks: calm on the surface and paddling very fast underneath!
Today, I’m pleased to announce that we are officially launching our new trading name:

Tourette’s Australia

This decision was made to better align with other international organisations and to move away from the perceived negative connotations often associated with the word "syndrome". Language matters, and we want our name to reflect strength, identity, and community.
Importantly:
• We will remain legally registered as the Tourette Syndrome Association of Australia.
• We will continue to operate as an incorporated association.
• Our ABN remains unchanged.
• Invoices and formal documentation will still be issued under our registered legal name, as many organisations do when operating under a trading name.
This change has given us the opportunity to refresh our branding and modernise our media assets, so they better reflect who we are today and where we are heading.

With that in mind, I present to you our new logo and the beginning of this next chapter.

Thank you to everyone who has supported us along the way; this evolution belongs to our entire community.

02/03/2026

Dear Saturday Night Live,

In response to your recent skit on Tourette's Syndrome, I want to highlight how and why you missed the mark. Joking that Tourette's is an excuse for being racist, bigoted, even engaging in cannibalism is inherently not funny. One out of five adults with Tourette's, attempt to take their own lives, because of the abuse and stigma associated with Tourette Syndrome. I have attached for you a copy of the 2025 Impact for Tourette's report. This 94-page report is the culmination of a two-year, multi-disciplinary study, led by women of colour, into the impact of living with Tourette Syndrome. I invite you to read the horrifying statistics and then apologise to the entire global Tourette's community for contributing the misinformation that leads to such high numbers of self-harm within the TS community. As a show with a large global following, you have a responsibility to ensure you are not deliberately causing harm to the 1/100 people on the planet who live with Tourette Syndrome or a Tic Disorder. The harm and resulting shame you have cast upon people with Tourette's was publicly broadcast, we request that your sincere apology is also broadcast publicly.

https://tourette.org.au/Impact-for-Tourettes

Regards,

Amanda Maysey
Chair of the Board
Tourette Syndrome Association of Australia

Tourette Scotland, Tourettes Action, Tourette Association of America, Tourette Canada, Tourettes Association of NZ

A Message of Gratitude and Purpose It is my absolute pleasure and honour to present the findings of the Impact for Tourette Study. A couple of years ago, I was fortunate to be approached by Dr Melissa Licari with an idea that was close to her heart. A research study driven by passion, connection, an...