Join Dr. Regan for the third episode in this series about how autistic characteristics may shift across the lifespan. This episode focuses on the life seasons of women, including monthly cycles, pregnancy, and menopause. Tune in next time for the final episode in the series which will focus on autism and aging.  You may also enjoy the episode: Autism in Women Published Articles for Additional Reading: “Life is Much More Difficult to Manage During Periods”: Autistic Experiences of Menstruation Prevalence of premenstrual syndrome in autism: a prospective observer-rated study Sensory challenges experienced by autistic women during pregnancy and childbirth: a systematic review Exploratory Study of Childbearing Experiences of Women with Asperger Syndrome ‘When my autism broke’: A qualitative study spotlighting autistic voices on menopause   Dr. Regan's Resources New Course for Clinicians - Interventions in Autism: Helping Clients Stay Centered, Connect with Others, and Engage in Life New Course for Clinicians: ASD Differential Diagnoses and Associated Characteristics Book: Understanding Autism in Adults and Aging Adults, 2nd ed Audiobook Book: Understanding Autistic Behaviors Autism in the Adult website homepage Website Resources for Clinicians Read the episode content: 1 00:00:04,740 --> 00:00:06,280 Hi and welcome back. 2 00:00:06,290 --> 00:00:08,130 This is Dr Theresa Regan, 3 00:00:08,140 --> 00:00:10,070 a neuropsychologist, 4 00:00:10,080 --> 00:00:13,210 mother of a teen on the spectrum author, 5 00:00:13,210 --> 00:00:17,250 speaker and your podcast host for autism in the adult. 6 00:00:17,740 --> 00:00:27,800 You are joining us for the 3rd episode in a four part series on variations in the characteristics of autism across the lifespan. 7 00:00:29,140 --> 00:00:46,260 Our first episode focused on just foundational knowledge about neurology and why we can expect neurologic characteristics to feel and be expressed with some variation across time and also across context. 8 00:00:47,640 --> 00:00:56,760 The second episode focused on adolescents as a season of the lifespan during which some of these variations can become really noticeable. 9 00:00:57,440 --> 00:00:59,470 There's chemical changes going on, 10 00:00:59,470 --> 00:01:00,730 physical development. 11 00:01:00,740 --> 00:01:09,260 A lot of increase in independence is requested of the person and also just the demands of social interaction, 12 00:01:09,270 --> 00:01:11,010 academic demands, 13 00:01:11,020 --> 00:01:15,560 all these things converging to sometimes make that perfect storm. 14 00:01:17,140 --> 00:01:32,790 This third episode is going to focus on women because there are really some pretty market hormone shifts that females experience across their lifespan and these can be accompanied by shifts in the experience of autism. 15 00:01:32,800 --> 00:01:37,000 So we want to focus specifically on that topic today. 16 00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:38,450 For the episode, 17 00:01:40,740 --> 00:01:49,760 we're going to review issues related to a woman's monthly cycle to pregnancy and post pregnancy issues and also to menopause. 18 00:01:50,940 --> 00:02:04,160 I'm going to include links to some articles in the show notes for those who want to read more and I'll let you know that many of the articles really focus on solely identifying that this area needs more study. 19 00:02:04,170 --> 00:02:08,570 So you may start to read thinking that it's going to tell you something. 20 00:02:08,570 --> 00:02:10,420 We don't know when really, 21 00:02:10,420 --> 00:02:11,260 it's just saying, 22 00:02:11,260 --> 00:02:11,580 gosh, 23 00:02:11,580 --> 00:02:13,110 there's not much out there. 24 00:02:13,120 --> 00:02:27,920 We really should be looking at this more in particular and then other studies focus on gathering comments and taking surveys of women on the spectrum and really listening to the experiences of autistic women,