About Us
We are a group of researchers who are interested in advancing research that is prioritized and informed by autistic people. Most of our research focuses on Autistic Burnout, Inertia, Meltdown, and Shutdown (BIMS).
Members, Contributors, and Alumni
The BIMS lab is led by Dr. Christie Welch. Christie’s clinical background is as an occupational therapist. Over the course of her practice, she came to question the dominant framing of autism and the clinical approaches that are grounded in it. She decided to pursue research with the intent of understanding how autistic people define autism and autistic experience.
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For her PhD dissertation, she analyzed memoirs and blogs written by autistic people. This experience was life-changing for Christie and confirmed the need for a paradigm shift in autism science and support. Over the course of her research, she has become increasingly interested in Autistic Burnout, Inertia, Meltdown, and Shutdown (BIMS), working with autistic and non-autistic researchers and co-designers to build better understanding and supports. Christie is an Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream in the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy at the University of Toronto.
Dr. Helene Polatajko
Scientist, Professor
​Dr. Polatajko, is an internationally respected occupational therapy scholar and teacher and a valued mentor. She has well over 300 publications, has done over 550 presentations in more than 20 countries, and has held over $12,000,000 in grants. Her work has focused on occupation and its enablement. Prominent among her contributions are co-authorship on the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure, an internationally used measure, the two Canadian Enabling Occupation books that form the basis of practice in Canada and the creation of the CO-OP Approach, that offers an evidence-based, cognitive perspective on occupational performance. Dr. Polatajko has been granted numerous top national and international awards and distinctions including the Muriel Driver Lectureship, induction into the American Occupational Therapy Foundation Academy of Research (1996), made a Fellow of the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists (2002), a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (2009), a lifetime member of the Ontario Society of Occupational Therapists (2007), and a lifetime member of the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists (2020). Most recently, she was given an honorary doctorate from Western University and made an Officer of the Order of Canada.
Dr. Melanie Penner
Senior Clinician Scientist, Developmental Pediatrician
As a clinician scientist, Dr. Penner's clinical and research interests are in autism. In particular, she is interested in service delivery for this population, including evaluating the impact of new care models. Dr. Penner has done research and educational work to expand Ontario's diagnostic capacity for autism diagnoses in the community setting, decreasing wait times and facilitating earlier access to essential therapy programs.
Clémentine Pirlot
Researcher, Autistic Advisor
Clémentine Pirlot is a software developer, who works to raise awareness through autism advocacy. Her website features articles that document her experience of autism, as well as resources for autistic adults to self-advocate in the workplace. She is also the group lead and a facilitator of Good Company, an autistic support group for women and non binary adults in Ontario.
Abigail Holt
MSc OT Student
Khadija Bounekhla
MSc OT Student
Jasmine Phung
MSc OT Student
Keshini Namasivayam
MSc OT Student
Mariah Santilli
MSc OT Student
Rachel Gottschling
MSc OT Student
Meaghan Lee
MSc OT Student
Samana Appalraju
MSc OT Student
Luiza Pirvu
MSc OT Student
Sallie Elhahyek
MSc OT Student
Abigail Bernardo
MSc OT Student
Taryn Kieller
MSc OT Student
Jimmy Lu
MSc OT Student
Featured Projects and Publications
Webinar - Understanding Autistic Burnout, Inertia, Meltdown, & Shutdown (BIMS) with Dr. Welch: https://youtu.be/S_aM5sC1u28?si=D8Ys9Tw-nzuzTZrj
Phung, J., Penner, M., Pirlot, C., & Welch, C. What I Wish You Knew: Insights on Burnout, Inertia, Meltdown, and Shutdown from Autistic Youth. Frontiers in Psychology. 2021. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.741421
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Holt, A., Bounekhla, K., Welch C., & Polatajko, H. “Unheard minds, again and again:” Autistic Insider Perspectives and Theory of Mind. Disability and Rehabilitation. 2021.
Welch, C., Fitch, M., Cameron, D., & Polatajko, H. Living in Autistic Bodies: Bloggers Discuss Movement Control and Arousal Regulation. Disability and Rehabilitation. 2020. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2020.1729872.
Welch, C., Fitch, M., Cameron, D., & Polatajko, H. From “Since” to “If”: Using blogs to explore an insider-informed framing of autism. Disability & Society. 2020. DOI: 10.1080/09687599.2020.1836479. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09687599.2020.1836479?scroll=top&needAccess=true
Welch, C., Polatajko, H., Rigby, P., & Fitch, M. Autism Inside Out: Lessons from the memoirs of three minimally verbal youths. Disability and Rehabilitation. 2018. DOI: 10.1080/09638288.2018.1465133. 2018. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09638288.2018.1465133
Welch, C. D. (2019). Embodied, Intelligent and Empathic: Reframing Autism Using Insider Perspectives. University of Toronto (Canada). https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/handle/1807/95959
Welch, C., Senman, L., Loftin, R., Picciolini, C., Robison, J., Westphal, A., Perry, B., Jachyra, P., Stevenson, S., Aggarwal, J., Nguyen, J., Wijekoon, S., Baron-Cohen, S., Slavny, R., & Penner, M. Understanding the use of the term “weaponized autism” in an alt-right social media platform. Journal for Autism and Developmental Disorders. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-022-05701-0