From founding grassroots mental health initiatives to writing plays and producing films, to conducting research on issues such as autism and pain, NUS Psychology undergraduate Titus Yim has used every platform to amplify voices at the margins.

His 2024 debut short film Tilam (“mattress” in Malay) exemplifies this commitment, weaving together personal caregiving experiences and cultural perspectives to challenge stigma around autism. The 25-minute work is making waves – it has been screened at local and international film festivals and offered as a psychoeducation resource to special education schools and hospitals.

Tilam: Bringing autism stories to the screen
“Tilam had two key aims – to destigmatise autism diagnoses and special education, and to offer a culturally-sensitive portrayal of double-minority families that was often absent in Singapore media,” Titus explained.

The inspiration for the film, which tells of a Malay-Muslim mother navigating cultural expectations and an autism diagnosis for her seven-year-old son, came from Titus’ own experience witnessing his aunt take on a caregiving role for his autistic foster cousin, and his stint at the National University Hospital’s (NUH’s) Child Development Unit in his freshman year.

To ensure authenticity and accurate cultural depiction, Titus had insights on caring for autistic children from within the Malay-Muslim community and collaborated with Malay-speaking co-writers on the script.

The film took two years to develop and received support from the Temasek Foundation’s OSCAR Fund, the National Youth Council and private sponsors.

Since its debut on 24 August 2024, Tilam has been selected for screening by seven local and international film festivals worldwide, including in Japan, the UK and India.

Through local partnerships, 50 caregivers were able to attend a private screening and dialogue. Local media platform Our Grandfather Story (OGS) also released the film online, reaching over 100,000 views in a month. More importantly for Titus, it has been distributed free to over 11 special needs schools and hospitals as a psychoeducational resource.

Amplifying voices through advocacy, storytelling and research
Beyond diversity and inclusivity, his advocacy also extends to issues related to mental well-being.

In junior college, the pressures of school, compounded by a schoolmate’s suicide, spurred Titus and his friends to start MentalHealthCollectiveSG, a grassroots initiative that promoted collaboration between ground-up initiatives, students, schools, parents and mental health service providers in Singapore for the mental health cause.

He also co-founded OCDNetworkSG – Singapore’s first non-profit society that supports individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Through this initiative, he journeyed with a couple of people with OCD and even adapted one woman’s recovery story into a play titled “Struggle of a Touch” that was staged as part of a 2023 OCD public forum.

“I was very much inspired by the dedication of my aunt, who is a psychologist, when she works with people with OCD. I’ve seen how clients are willing to attempt difficult therapeutic exposure tasks primarily because they trust my aunt. And that cemented my desire to be in a career of building relationships. "

Titus credits NUS with providing the academic grounding and international opportunities needed to deepen his passion for psychological research in autism, psychopathology and even pain.

For example, during a student exchange at King’s College London, he joined the laboratory of renowned neuroscientist Professor Francesca Happé, a pioneer in working with older autistic adults, where he helped design a survey on healthcare professionals’ awareness of autistic features in older adults – and how this awareness influences the interventions they provide.

Wanting to support the elderly, like his grandmother, who suffer from chronic pain, he has been working on a meta-analysis of non-pharmacological pain interventions under NUS Psychology Associate Professor Stuart Derbyshire for the past two years.

These experiences, Titus reflected, have been the highlights of his university education so far,  adding another dimension to his advocacy work. “For me, social impact work is both head and heart – we need knowledge to guide effective action, and we need soul and relationships to remind us why the work matters. That is what research and the arts mean to me.”

Now in his final year at NUS, Titus continues to straddle advocacy, research and the arts. He is working on a new play about migrant workers with local theatre company Toy Factory Productions and exploring a documentary project on minority communities. Research-wise, he hopes to conduct Singapore’s first qualitative study on older autistic adults after completing a psychology course on autism.

When asked what motivates him through his many projects, Titus points to his family – such as his aunt who fostered his autistic cousin, his grandmother’s quiet dedication as a babysitter, and his mother’s instinct to care for others. Titus shared, “If I had to drill it down, it’s really the strong women in my life who either subconsciously or otherwise, shaped my desire to pursue a career and a life where I can derive meaning from connecting with others.”

Click on the following link to watch Tilam on OGS’ YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQE6iShJcKc.