The guest speaker in our Patient Education Programme (PEP) planned for Tuesday 9th September 2025 at 10:00 to 11:00 AM (UK time) is Dr. Patrick Dwyer who is a Research Fellow from the Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre, School for Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC, Australia! He will be talking about his latest research about Sound Intolerance and Attention in Neurodivergent Populations. Joanna Barker (Audiologist, Specialist in Tinnitus, Hyperacusis and Misophonia Rehabilitation) will be hosting this PEP meeting.
Although sensory differences in neurodivergent populations have often been described in relatively crude ways (as “hyperreactivity” versus “seeking,” for example), more recent research highlights the greater complexity of neurodivergent sensory experience. For example, this includes distinct phenotypes of sound intolerance such as misophonia and loudness intolerance/hyperacusis. However, these experiences remain poorly understood. One understudied factor that may be involved in such experiences is attention. With a primary focus on autism and a secondary focus on ADHD, this presentation will discuss commonly observed neurodivergent attention patterns such as hyper-focus, monotropism, and hypervigilance, and present data on how these may relate to experiences of sound intolerance as well as mental health challenges.
Dr. Patrick Dwyer is a Canadian researcher at Australia’s Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre (OTARC). Patrick is autistic. His research is particularly focused on how autistic and neurodivergent people experience and attend to the world around them, and especially on autistic and neurodivergent experiences of sensory distress and discomfort. In addition, Patrick has strong interests in the acceptability of autism supports, neurodiversity inclusion in higher education, and neurodiversity movement advocacy. Patrick is a member of the Australasian Autism Research Council, the ANSWER Leadership group of the Autism Intervention Research Network for Physical Health (AIR-P), the membership committee of the International Society for Autism Research (INSAR), and the executive committee of the Australasian Society for Autism Research (ASfAR). He serves on the editorial boards of the journals Autism in Adulthood and Neurodiversity. Patrick’s blog, https://www.autisticscholar.com/, is also recommended as a neurodiversity resource.
There will be the chance to ask us any questions, so please join live to ask your questions!
This event is suitable for members of public who are interested to learn about tinnitus, hyperacusis and misophonia, patients, parents of children with hyperacusis or misophonia, students, Audiologists, Hearing therapists, Hearing aid dispensers, Psychologists, Psychiatrists, Otologists, Neurologists, Speech and language therapists, Occupational therapists, Nurses, Teachers of the deaf, social workers, General medicine, or other qualified health and social care disciplines.
To register submit the form below:
