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Tony Vallance
An award-winning Secondary School Teacher, Counsellor, and Therapeutic Play Specialist, Tony is known for presentations that are emotionally charged, deeply practical and impossible to forget. His sessions blend neuroscience, storytelling, humour, music, vulnerability and hands-on strategies to create professional learning that teachers don’t just sit through — they feel.
Diagnosed with ADHD in adulthood (which was a surprise only to himself and not to anyone who knows him!) and raising two AuDHD children, Tony brings lived experience, clinical insight and raw honesty to conversations about neurodiversity, behaviour, emotional regulation and belonging. He doesn’t speak about ADHD and autism from a distance — he lives it every day.
As Co-owner of Building Better Brains and founder of ADHD Speaks, Tony has worked nationally with schools, universities, councils, allied health teams and community organisations to help shift behaviour conversations away from shame, compliance and burnout, and towards connection, regulation and sustainable change.
Drawing from more than 14 years in education and therapy, Tony integrates attachment science, interpersonal neurobiology, strengths-based practice, play, creativity and contemporary pedagogy into experiences that leave audiences laughing, reflecting, tearing up and immediately rethinking the way they support young people.
His work has been recognised through awards including:
⭐ Australian Education Awards Teacher of the Year (2019)
⭐ Victorian Education Excellence Awards Finalist (2018)
⭐ Australian Small Business Champion Awards Allied Health Finalist (2024)
⭐ Maroondah Business Awards Business of the Year Winner (2024)
⭐Australian Counselling Association (ACA) Counselling Excellence Awards – Community Impact Award 2026 – ‘Dads Chat’ program
Tony creates learning experiences that are authentic, energising and genuinely culture-shifting.
For schools wanting professional development that feels human again — not clinical or cookie-cutter — Tony delivers sessions that spark reflection, build capacity and stay with people long after the day ends and that’s how we build strengths based change in ourselves and our students.
Workshops by Tony Vallance
Meet more of our speakers
Hear from teachers who have attended a Critical Agendas Event
Tina Hobbs – Administration Workshops
I have come away from this session feeling very inspired and so much more positive. I now have many new ideas/techniques/strategies regarding how I can better manage a workload that often feels overwhelming. Some of these can be implemented immediately while others are more long-term plans. Thank you for making this workshop so practical. I just wish that all school admin staff had the opportunity to undertake this course.
Susan Snooks
The best P.D. I have attended in living memory!” I loved every minute of this engaging, interesting and informative PD. And I have been teaching for 40+ years!
Libby Fullard.
Inspirational Speakers – the knowledge gained will be so beneficial in my classrooms
Liberty Hatzidimitriou
Loved the honesty in the sharing of information and strategies
Tania The Geelong College
Just a big Thank you for giving us the opportunity to attend the Critical Agenda Workshop yesterday. David presented a great program, lots of handy strategies and he was very engaging and supportive. Highly recommended. I was very happy we did not have to do any Role play’s.
Tim Livy
I love the fantastic variety of workshops and conferences on offer. Always look forward to Critical Agendas PD’s.
Karon Grimmer – Administration Workshop
This session was one of the most empowering workshops that I have ever done and I leave the session with extremely useful and relevant tools to use going forward. Thanks so much to Sally for leading us in the session so positively.
Absolutely brilliant information, empowering us with many tools and skills to takeaway and work on. My colleague and I leave full of positive energy about how to approach the challenges of our admin roles.
Rebecca Sim Mt Hira College
“Strategies to Thrive as a Year Level Co-ordinator by Sally Learey”
Sally was insightful and helped me to make clear connections to every day behaviours / emotions that I will need to recognise in my position. It really reiterated why I applied for this position in the first place as I think that often the purpose or the why is forgotten in an attempt to do everything for everyone.
Tamara Rundle
Passionate & Authentic Speakers – Meaningful Strategies
Ebony Hoiberg – Ashwood High School
Unleashing Brilliant Brains: Boys, ADHD & the Power of Connection – Tony Vallance
This was fab! As a person with ADHD I have done lots of adhd training and sessions but this was by far the best! really good at re framing and explaining students need.