Jess Thom

Writer, artist, and co-founder of Touretteshero, Jess Thom is committed to increasing opportunities for those living with Tourette’s Syndrome; she characterises herself as a ‘superhero’ not a ‘sufferer’ of the condition she has experienced since she was a child.

As a keynote speaker , Jess challenges audiences’ preconceptions about disability, reconceptualising the disorder as a springboard for creativity and spontaneity, and demonstrating the benefits of diversity for society as a whole: by thinking inclusively, we can ‘change the world one tic at a time’.

Through her regular speaking engagements, and the establishment of Touretteshero in 2010, Jess has opened up a conversation that challenge peoples to think differently: including in her TEDx talk  on ‘The Alchemy of Chaos’ at the Royal Albert Hall and as a continuity announcer during Channel 4’s Born Risky season.

As well as contributing extensively to the likes of The Guardian, The Observe and Disability Now, Jess published ‘Welcome to Biscuit Land – A Year in the Life of Touretteshero’ with a foreword by Stephen Fry.

Three years later, in 2015, she performed ‘Broadcast from Biscuit Land’ as part of BBC4’s On Stage: Live from Television Centre evening.

A visual, performing, and participatory artist, who graduated from the Royal College of Art,Jess has performed at Glastonbury in 2014, as well as the Edinburgh Fringe, DaDaFest in Liverpool, and the Unlimited Festival at London’s Southbank Centre.

She has also worked as an artist educator and workshop facilitator for The Tate, The South London Gallery and The Chisenhale and has undertaken an EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council) funded residency.

Her speaking topics include:

- Change the world one tic at a time

- Tourette's as a tool for living and creativity

- Thinking inclusively; why diversity is important for everyone

- Biscuit Land: journey with Tourette's

- Laughter and language as a catalyst for change