"Autistic Menopause: A Guide To The Menopausal Transition For Autistic People And Those Supporting Them"
Professor Julie Gamble-Turner and I wrote a book to summarise what research has told us so far about menopause in autistic people. You can buy it online from any good bookshop!
The book is about the whole menopausal transition - perimenopause, menopause and post-menopause. Want a sneak peek of what it contains? See below for a chapter list, and for a fabulous video-review by Creative Autistic!
What's in the book?
To write our book, we spoke to 16 autistic experts by experience, whose stories are spread across the book.
We commissioned an autistic illustrator, Mx Rose Matthews, whose beautiful and powerful drawings bring their stories to life.
Part 1 is about the biology and psychology of menopause, setting the scene for why it might be challenging for neurodivergent people broadly (not just autistic people!)
Part 2 goes into more depth on the factors that might make menopause complicated for many autistic people, including the many life changes that happen in midlife. We consider the impact of entering menopause undiagnosed; of having another form of neurodivergence, like ADHD; and of having a minority ethnic, racial, sex or gender identity.
Part 3 explores the experiences of our experts in relation to physical changes; emotional changes; cognitive changes (attention, memory and other thought processes); communication changes, including in masking, and their impact on relationships; and sensory changes.
Who is the book for?
Part 4 focuses on managing menopause, with advice from our experts for autistic readers, advice for professionals, and chapters on post-menopause and the positive aspects of menopause.
The book is first and foremost for autistic people, but there are also chapters for professionals who support them (e.g. doctors). Loved ones may also benefit from reading it so that they can better understand and support an autistic person through menopause.
Thank you so much to Creative Autistic for this wonderful
book review...
... and for inviting us to chat about the book and answer your community's questions!
Thank you for reading!
Our book contains a lot more research from other authors, but to read about some of the studies behind it, you may like to see:
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"Menopause representations as predictors of health and well-being during menopause: A comparison study of autistic and non-autistic people" (2026)
You can also read non-academic articles and watch some talks on autistic menopause under Media and Online Publications.
Sadly there aren't many resources we know of for the menopause. But there are a few on the resources page!