Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

“I’m an artist, writer and part time superhero. I also have Tourettes Syndrome, which means I make movements and noises I can’t control called tics. I’ve got short curly hair and a very cool wheelchair.”

Can you please explain what Touretteshero is?

“Touretteshero is an organisation that celebrates the humour and creativity of one of the most frequently misunderstood conditions on the plant and shares it with the widest possible audience.”

What gave you the idea to come up with it?

“I co-founded Touretteshero in 2010 as a creative response to my experience of living with tics. I had a conversation with my friend Matthew that totally changed the way I view my condition. He described Tourettes as a “Crazy language-generating machine” and told me not doing something creative with it would be wasteful. That idea took root and Touretteshero was born.”

Who inspires you to do what you do?

“I have worked with disabled and non-disabled children for many years and I care deeply about what opportunities they have to explore their own creativity and imagination. While there are support groups for people with Tourettes I felt like something was missing and that we had an opportunity to offer a more exciting alternative.”

How can people get involved?

“The first thing people can do is visit our website touretteshero.com – I write a blog and I invite everyone to create artwork in response to my tics which we share in our gallery. We’ve currently got over 250 amazing images from people at all stages in the artistic careers. We also put on regular events and if people are interested in those they should contact us by email. I’m also on Twitter as Touretteshero.”

What are the main achievements of Touretteshero?

“I’m really proud of what we’ve achieved in the last seven years, I’ve written a book, made a stage show about my life, performed live on television, been interviewed by Russell Howard and put on loads of exciting events for disabled and non-disabled people alike.”

Where do you see yourself and the organisation in 5 years time?

“Touretteshero is continuing to go from strength to strength and as we grow I would like to see us being able to reach and engage with even more disabled people, both in the UK and internationally. We set out to change the world ‘one tic at a time’ and with more hard work, determination and energy I now believe this is a goal we can achieve. And that’s very exciting.”