On January 11, 2024, the Bridging the Silos: Autistic Menopause Study team presented their research findings on autistic experiences of menopause to the Toronto Women’s College Hospital Department of Psychiatry as part of the Grand Rounds series.
The Bridging the Silos study explores how autistic people experience menopause, how they can better access information that might help them, and how autistic people can be more involved in research about menopause. It is the first study of its kind to include a pool of Canadian research participants. It is also the first to include autistic community researchers in the co-production of knowledge with academics. It contributes to earlier research in the United Kingdom (U.K.) and the Netherlands which suggests that many autistic people experience menopause as a tumultuous or even catastrophic time.
Image from Bridging the Silos
The emphasis of the talk was on the first phase of research, focus groups and interviews with 24 autistic participants from Canada and the U.K. who had experiences of the menopausal transition. Participants in both countries had a very difficult time with menopause, and faced many barriers to accessing information, healthcare, and support. Findings from the first phase of the study are currently under peer review with an academic journal. The team has also conducted research in second and third phases of the project, creative submissions and an international survey respectively. The team is scheduled to deliver talks in February for Autism Alberta and Memorial University.
Bridging the Silos is funded by an Insight Development Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. The team is comprised of Community Research Associates Christine A. Jenkins (Canada) and Rose Matthews (U.K.), Dr. Miranda J. Brady, (Communication and Media Studies, Carleton University, Canada), Dr. Rachel Moseley and Professor Julie Gamble-Turner (Department of Psychology, Bournemouth University, U.K.), and Margaret Janse van Rensburg (Social Work, Carleton University).
Thursday, January 18, 2024 in Communication News, News
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