Patrick’s academic journey began at the University of Victoria, which he assures us is located in Canada and not Victoria, Australia. It was here that he completed his undergraduate studies in 2017, before pursuing his PhD at the University of California, Davis.
One of Patrick’s significant research highlights involves exploring the interplay of attention and sensory experiences. Towards the end of his PhD, Patrick conducted studies on this interplay in Autistic people, which are now starting to be published.
This research examines the monotropism theory of autism, which posits that autism is characterised by an intense, narrow attentional focus. I’m interested in how this intense focus could be related to intense sensory experiences, like hyper-reactivity and overload (to aversive stimuli) or sensation seeking (of pleasurable stimuli).
Monotropism has been understudied until recently.
The fact that monotropism theory was developed by and resonates with so many Autistic people is definitely a point in its favour, but I’m also convinced we can build up more evidence to show that this a good way to promote a better understanding of the Autistic experience.
In addition to his primary research areas, Patrick has investigated the neurodiversity movement, aiming to understand community perspectives on its implications for support.
Illuminating important nuances in those debates can help move us closer to consensus regarding how best to promote the wellbeing, inclusion, and autonomy of Autistic and neurodivergent people. A particularly common and enormous error is forgetting that autism is incredibly diverse – there’s far more diversity within autism than in the neurotypical population, he says.
What led Patrick from one Victoria to another, on the opposite side of the world?
La Trobe University and the Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre represent a more progressive, neurodiversity-affirming research culture,” he says. “I also enjoy the work-life balance, the friendly people, and the good weather!
Outside of his professional life, Patrick has an interest in writing alternate histories. Over the past year or so, and entirely for his own amusement, he has been developing an alternate history where Norse pagan refugees settled the Americas a thousand years ago, complete with maps, timelines, population histories, and military details.
Patrick presented at the OTARC Seminar Series in 2020.
