Autistic Menopause

Autistic Menopause

My Autistic Menopause Story | How Autism Saved My Life

Sep 8, 2026 · 39 min · 11 segments

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…

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.

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…

Early perimenopause symptoms7:55 – 10:59

Sam GallowayHost

7:55

And I can remember very, feels like years and years ago.

Sam GallowayHost

8:00

I think it's about maybe six, six years ago.

Sam GallowayHost

8:04

I was new to New Zealand and I had a toddler and a preschooler in the back of the car and I was driving them from activities because we were homeschooling already at that point and my eyes, they just felt horrendous.

Sam GallowayHost

8:25

I didn't know whether they were sunburned or if it was hay fever or something but I was in absolute agony and And I couldn't really understand what was going on.

Sam GallowayHost

8:37

I kept having to pull over when I was driving.

Sam GallowayHost

8:40

And I went to a doctor and got given eye drops and things.

Sam GallowayHost

8:48

But it was just so painful.

Sam GallowayHost

8:51

And I had no idea that dry eyes was a symptom of menopause or perimenopause.

Sam GallowayHost

8:56

So there were all these things starting to happen to me that I didn't realise what was going on.

Sam GallowayHost

9:01

I was having to kind of piece things together.

Sam GallowayHost

9:03

Another thing that really, really ramped up quite a few years ago significantly was my anxiety disorder.

Sam GallowayHost

9:10

Because where we live in New Zealand, it's a very coastal region.

Sam GallowayHost

9:13

And we live in a tsunami zone.

Sam GallowayHost

9:17

And I would just have these constant thoughts that there was a tsunami on the way.

Sam GallowayHost

9:21

And it was going to wipe out me and my children.

Sam GallowayHost

9:23

And there was nothing I could do about it while my husband was at work.

Sam GallowayHost

9:27

And that was pretty stressful.

Sam GallowayHost

9:31

Yes, I also had a co-sleeping child once.

Sam GallowayHost

9:36

because we didn't know at the time but you know we're a neurodivergent family so now I know why he wouldn't stay in bed when I put him there so I'd end up having to stay in the bed with him to make sure he stayed in it and he would eventually sleep and he was sleeping through the night and then I wasn't sleeping he wasn't keeping me awake I just couldn't sleep anymore I didn't know that that was a perimenopause symptom but that can be an early one when your sleep patterns change And then I had the old classic rage, which you may be able to understand.

Sam GallowayHost

10:11

I just would flip from nowhere.

Sam GallowayHost

10:13

It was horrendous.

Sam GallowayHost

10:17

I would just be trying to make something to eat and then the kids would drop something or say something or spill something and I just was completely... rage filled and resentful and angry but not even really at them just at the whole situation and sometimes there wasn't even a prompt for me to feel that way there was nothing I could put it down to just felt like killing everyone you know but I didn't know that all of that was perimenopause it took quite a few years to put it all together And then it's really through discovering autism, my own autism and ADHD.