Hi, I'm Sam. Fancy a virtual cuppa, some co-regulation and calming cats? Let's talk about Auti Peri! *An intro thread...*

Kia ora koutou/Hello everyone! 💕I wanted to make an introduction post so new people can get to know who is already here. So grab your favourite bevvie in your favourite mug. You know you have one, and here’s a photo of mine (it’s the floral pīwakawaka/fantail bird mug):💕 Where are you from? I love to think of us all spreading awareness of autistic perimenopause all over the map!💕 What brought you to Substack?💕 Are you neurodivergent, or just neuro-curious?💕 How much do you already know about autistic perimenopause/menopause? 💕 What do you wish you had known sooner about autistic perimenopause? 💕 Do you come here often? (Oops, sorry. That last one is from my pre-marriage dating script from a couple of decades ago.)I’m Sam, mother of two neurodivergent kiddos. I am London-born, and now live in the stunning Aotearoa New Zealand. I’m late diagnosed autistic (at age 38) and ADHD (39). Better late than never is definitely the case here!Self-identified PDA (pathological demand avoidant/pervasive drive for autonomy - because things weren’t complicated enough…) I foolishly thought I would have it all together in time for my fortieth birthday and could finally live the neuro-affirming life my family surely deserve. Things would start looking up, right?! That was when things really started crashing down. Publicly - because at this time I had just graduated from the New Zealand Comedy School, and I could not remember my lines on stage. Wah! So live stand up comedy was a short lived hobby…It took another couple of years to realise that my capacity and cognition/working memory were diminishing, The Rage was beyond my control, and my self-care skills were regressing. Simultaneously, my periods started to change. Intuitively, I knew it was something “hormonal” in origin, but it would feel like a lifetime before I would really understand the calamity of autistic perimenopause on my own functioning. I am 43 now, and currently a shell of my former self. It has been near impossible to find any writing, research or resources on the topic, so here I am sharing my lived experience to contribute to the slowly growing, but urgently needed, collective body of work. What little research I do know about, I write about here at The Autistic Perimenopause: A Temporary Regression. And I have cats because, otherwise, what is the f#*king point in any of this? *gesticulates at life*😻 Harry (and Toby) starred in the fourth MeowStack feature below! 😻Menopausal Depression (because sometimes cats alone aren’t enough…)📣PSA 📣 Please refer to the Monash University’s Meno-D rating scale if you have any concerns about your mood or depressive states during the menopausal transition. You can take your results along to discuss with your doctor.Fun fact: I last scored a 33, out of a possible 48! Feel free to share your current score with us all in the comments. (Totally understand if you would rather not though…)The categories are:* low energy* paranoid thinking* irritability* self-esteem* isolation* anxiety* somatic symptoms* sleep disturbance* weight* sexual interest* memory* concentrationHere is a mental health first aid post from my archives that you may find helpful:☕️ PSA: Free Subscribers who would like to send me a one off tip without signing up to be a Paid Subscriber, the link below is for you! ☕️Come and share your cat photos, and why not tell us all about yourself at the same time in the comments? This is a safe space, and there will be no tolerance for discrimination: pet photos of all species are welcome here. If you have a Substack publication, please share a link with us so we can all get to know each other and enjoy your work!Sending virtual weighted blanket hugs and many regulating hours of your favourite boxset/Netflix series your way…I’m so glad you are here. If you feel seen and heard by my writing, please consider upgrading to a paid subscription. Paid subscribers support continuous publishing of lived experiences of autistic perimenopause here at The Autistic Perimenopause: A Temporary Regression 💕 Get full access to Divergent Menopause at samgallowayaudhd.substack.com/subscribe

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