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Autistic Menopause

Autistic Culture Podcast Network

Autistic Menopause explores what can happen when autism, ADHD, and the menopausal transition collide.


Hosted by Sam Galloway (she/her), founder of Divergent Menopause, this series follows one neurodivergent woman's attempt to make sense of a life-changing hormonal transition that few people are talking about and even fewer researchers fully understand.


Through personal stories, lived experience, community insights, and emerging research, Sam explores the cognitive changes, sensory overwhelm, burnout, physical symptoms, healthcare barriers, functioning regressions, and shifting support needs that can accompany neurodivergent menopause. Each episode offers an honest account of what happens when the strategies that worked for decades suddenly stop working, and the search for the knowledge, support, and language needed to navigate what comes next.


Whether you're autistic, ADHD, AuDHD, questioning the changes happening to your brain and body, or supporting someone who is, Autistic Menopause offers validation, practical insights, and the reassurance that you are not alone.


Sam also writes Divergent Menopause, a reader-supported Substack dedicated to neurodivergent experiences of perimenopause, menopause, and ageing. Every article is free to read, with paid subscriptions helping to fund advocacy, research translation, and community work.


🌐 Read Divergent Menopause: https://samgallowayaudhd.substack.com


Produced for the Autistic Culture Podcast Network.


🎧 Autistic Menopause is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all major platforms.

🌈 Celebrate autistic voices with early access, ad-free listening, and our full archive at AutisticCulturePlus.com

🌐 Visit www.autisticculturepodcastnetwork.com

📲 Follow us on Instagram: @autisticculturepodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  • 5 episodes
  • Avg 34 min
  • English

Episodes 5

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  • #4
    September 8 · 45 min

    Surviving Autistic Menopause

    Autistic people are often told that independence is the goal. But what happens when menopause changes what you can do, what you can tolerate, and how much support you need? In this episode, Sam Galloway (she/her) explores the reality of changing support needs during autistic menopause. Drawing on her own experiences of severe perimenopause, cognitive regression, chronic pain, medical gaslighting, suicidal ideation, and surgical menopause, she examines what happens when lifelong coping strategies stop working. Sam discusses the barriers that prevent autistic adults from seeking support, including masking, internalised ableism, trauma, and societal expectations around independence. She also shares the practical accommodations, medical interventions, community supports, and mindset shifts that helped her survive one of the most difficult periods of her life. This episode is a reminder that support is not failure, accommodation is not cheating, and quality of life matters at every age. Content Warning: This episode includes frank discussion of mental health crisis and suicidal thoughts, alongside experiences of autistic burnout, medical care, chronic pain, and menopause. Please take care while listening and skip any sections that may be difficult for you. Resources mentioned or relevant: 📋 Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) 🌐 Divergent Menopause community and newsletter 📖 MENO-D – A rating scale to detect depression in menopause 🌿 Australasian Menopause Society 📚 Autistic Menopause – A Guide to the Menopausal Transition for Autistic People and those Supporting Them by Dr. Rachel Moseley and Professor Gamble-Turner (2026) 📄 Resources for autistic (/neurodivergent) women and people with ovaries at menopause – Dr. Rachel Moseley and Professor Julie Gamble-Turner, Bournemouth University 📱 Balance – menopause symptom tracking and information from menopause specialist Dr. Louise Newson Continue the conversation: Find Sam at Divergent Menopause for essays, research updates, practical reflections, and stories from the neurodivergent menopause community. Every article is free to read. Paid subscriptions operate as a patron model and help fund the advocacy, research translation, and community work behind Divergent Menopause. 🌐 https://samgallowayaudhd.substack.com/ ☕ Support Sam's work: https://buymeacoffee.com/samgalloway Produced for the Autistic Culture Podcast Network. 🎧 Autistic Menopause is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all major platforms. 🌈 Celebrate autistic voices with early access, ad-free listening, and our full archive at AutisticCulturePlus.com 🌐 Visit www.autisticculturepodcastnetwork.com 📲 Follow us on Instagram: @autisticculturepodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • #3
    September 8 · 46 min

    The Autistic Body in Menopause

    Menopause affects far more than mood and cognition. In this episode, Sam Galloway (she/her) examines the profound physical impact of menopause on the neurodivergent body. From severe dry eye syndrome, sensory hypersensitivity and chronic pain to sleep disruption, premenstrual dysphoria disorder (PMDD), temperature dysregulation, bladder changes, fatigue and mobility challenges, she explores how hormonal changes can transform everyday life. Drawing on her own experiences, Sam discusses the complex relationship between menopause symptoms, sensory processing, trauma, chronic stress and autistic wellbeing. She also reflects on how physical changes can contribute to shrinking worlds, increased support needs and loss of identity. This episode highlights the importance of recognising physical symptoms that are often dismissed, minimised or incorrectly attributed to ageing alone. Content Warning: This episode includes frank discussion of mental health crisis and suicidal thoughts, alongside experiences of autistic burnout, medical care, and menopause. Please take care while listening and skip any sections that may be difficult for you. Resources mentioned or relevant: 📖 The Mind-Blowing Symptoms of Perimenopause that will have your doctor dismissing your autistic intuition by Sam Galloway 🌐 Divergent Menopause community and newsletter 📖 MENO-D – A rating scale to detect depression in menopause 🌿 Australasian Menopause Society 📚 Autistic Menopause – A Guide to the Menopausal Transition for Autistic People and those Supporting Them by Dr. Rachel Moseley and Professor Gamble-Turner (2026) 📄 Resources for autistic (/neurodivergent) women and people with ovaries at menopause – Dr. Rachel Moseley and Professor Julie Gamble-Turner, Bournemouth University 📱 Balance – menopause symptom tracking and information from menopause specialist Dr. Louise Newson Continue the conversation: Find Sam at Divergent Menopause for essays, research updates, practical reflections, and stories from the neurodivergent menopause community. Every article is free to read. Paid subscriptions operate as a patron model and help fund the advocacy, research translation, and community work behind Divergent Menopause. 🌐 https://samgallowayaudhd.substack.com/ ☕ Support Sam's work: https://buymeacoffee.com/samgalloway Produced for the Autistic Culture Podcast Network. 🎧 Autistic Menopause is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all major platforms. 🌈 Celebrate autistic voices with early access, ad-free listening, and our full archive at AutisticCulturePlus.com 🌐 Visit www.autisticculturepodcastnetwork.com 📲 Follow us on Instagram: @autisticculturepodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • #2
    September 8 · 41 min

    The Autistic Brain in Menopause

    What happens when the cognitive strengths you've relied upon your entire life suddenly stop working? In this episode, Sam Galloway (she/her) explores the neurological impact of menopause on the autistic brain. Through personal examples of memory loss, executive dysfunction, shutdowns, meltdowns, speech difficulties and skill regression, she examines how hormonal changes can amplify existing neurodivergent traits and create challenges that extend far beyond typical descriptions of brain fog. Sam discusses autistic burnout, involuntary unmasking, sensory overwhelm, loss of independence, and the fear that accompanies sudden changes in cognition and identity. She also shares some of the strategies, accommodations and treatments that have helped her navigate this difficult period. For many listeners, this episode may provide language for experiences that have previously felt impossible to explain. Content Warning: This episode includes frank discussion of mental health crisis and suicidal thoughts, alongside experiences of autistic burnout, medical care, and menopause. Please take care while listening and skip any sections that may be difficult for you. Resources mentioned or relevant: 📖 How to Write an Autism Adapted Suicide Safety Plan – A call to action in Autistic suicide prevention by Sam Galloway 📖 Why PMDD Worsens During Neurodivergent Perimenopause Or: Stop the World, I Want to Get Off by Sam Galloway 🌐 International Association for Premenstrual Disorders (IAPMD) 🌐 Divergent Menopause community and newsletter 📖 MENO-D – A rating scale to detect depression in menopause 🌿 Australasian Menopause Society 📚 Autistic Menopause – A Guide to the Menopausal Transition for Autistic People and those Supporting Them by Dr. Rachel Moseley and Professor Gamble-Turner (2026) 📄 Resources for autistic (/neurodivergent) women and people with ovaries at menopause – Dr. Rachel Moseley and Professor Julie Gamble-Turner, Bournemouth University 📱 Balance – menopause symptom tracking and information from menopause specialist Dr. Louise Newson Continue the conversation: Find Sam at Divergent Menopause for essays, research updates, practical reflections, and stories from the neurodivergent menopause community. Every article is free to read. Paid subscriptions operate as a patron model and help fund the advocacy, research translation, and community work behind Divergent Menopause. 🌐 https://samgallowayaudhd.substack.com/ ☕ Support Sam's work: https://buymeacoffee.com/samgalloway Produced for the Autistic Culture Podcast Network. 🎧 Autistic Menopause is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all major platforms. 🌈 Celebrate autistic voices with early access, ad-free listening, and our full archive at AutisticCulturePlus.com 🌐 Visit www.autisticculturepodcastnetwork.com 📲 Follow us on Instagram: @autisticculturepodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • #1
    September 8 · 38 min

    My Autistic Menopause Story | How Autism Saved My Life

    The opening episode of Autistic Menopause introduces the concept of autistic menopause. It explores why so many neurodivergent people may struggle to recognise the transition until they are already in crisis. In this episode, Sam Galloway (she/her) shares the profoundly personal story of how perimenopause slowly dismantled the coping strategies she had relied upon her entire life. From unexplained anxiety, insomnia, rage and cognitive changes to late diagnoses of autism and ADHD, Sam traces the path that eventually led her to understand what was really happening. She reflects on hormonal sensitivity throughout her life, the challenges of parenting while neurodivergent, and how recognising her autism ultimately helped her make sense of an experience that nearly broke her. Content Warning: This episode includes frank discussion of mental health crisis and suicidal thoughts, alongside experiences of autistic burnout, medical care, and menopause. Please take care while listening and skip any sections that may be difficult for you. Resources mentioned or relevant: 🌐 Divergent Menopause community and newsletter 📖 MENO-D – A rating scale to detect depression in menopause 🌿 Australasian Menopause Society 📚 Autistic Menopause – A Guide to the Menopausal Transition for Autistic People and those Supporting Them by Dr. Rachel Moseley and Professor Gamble-Turner (2026) 📄 Resources for autistic (/neurodivergent) women and people with ovaries at menopause – Dr. Rachel Moseley and Professor Julie Gamble-Turner, Bournemouth University 📱 Balance – menopause symptom tracking and information from menopause specialist Dr. Louise Newson Continue the conversation: Find Sam at Divergent Menopause for essays, research updates, practical reflections, and stories from the neurodivergent menopause community. Every article is free to read. Paid subscriptions operate as a patron model and help fund the advocacy, research translation, and community work behind Divergent Menopause. 🌐 https://samgallowayaudhd.substack.com/ ☕ Support Sam's work: https://buymeacoffee.com/samgalloway Produced for the Autistic Culture Podcast Network. 🎧 Autistic Menopause is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all major platforms. 🌈 Celebrate autistic voices with early access, ad-free listening, and our full archive at AutisticCulturePlus.com 🌐 Visit www.autisticculturepodcastnetwork.com 📲 Follow us on Instagram: @autisticculturepodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • August 7 · 1 min

    Trailer: Welcome to Autistic Menopause

    What happens when autism, ADHD, and menopause collide? In this trailer, discover Autistic Menopause a podcast exploring the realities of neurodivergent menopause through lived experience, emerging research, and honest conversation. Hosted by Sam Galloway, the series examines the cognitive changes, sensory overwhelm, burnout, and shifting support needs that can accompany this often-overlooked stage of life, while reminding listeners that they are not alone. Produced for the Autistic Culture Podcast Network. 🎧 Autistic Menopause is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all major platforms. 🌈 Celebrate autistic voices with early access, ad-free listening, and our full archive at AutisticCulturePlus.com 🌐 Visit www.autisticculturepodcastnetwork.com 📲 Follow us on Instagram: @autisticculturepodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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