Research

Announcement (04/05/2026):

We have recently launched The Great Big U.K. Autism and Periods Survey.

This time we're focusing on Autistic people, aged over 16, who live in the UK and who had a period (menstruated) in the last 6 months.

As this is an unfunded extra study, unfortunately there is:

  • No thank you payments to people who take part

  • No provision to help fill out the survey, but it's OK to have someone you know help you.

To take part, or to find out more, click on this link: https://swanseachhs.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cZKkxeW9fOz5bmu

Any issues or questions, please contact us via email or through the contact form on our website.

Research:

This page contains links to scientific research papers from the Autism from Menstruation to Menopause study team. Most papers can be read for free from the links below, but email us if you are struggling to find a copy.

Autistic Reproductive Health:

  • Grant, A., et al. (2025). Autism and the Menopause Transition: A Mixed-Methods Systematic Review. Autism in Adulthood. Free to read here.

  • Williams, G. L., Ellis, R., Axbey, H.,Grant, A., (2025). Autistic, hysteric: Inequity in the United Kingdom’s healthcare for Autistic people with wombs. In Milton, D. (ed.) The Double Empathy Problem Reader, Pavilion Publishing. Available for free here.

  • Ellis, R., et al. (2025).Menstruation and Autism: A Qualitative Systematic Review. Autism in Adulthood. Free to read here.

Working with the Autistic Community:

  • Grant, A. et al. (2024). Participatory longitudinal qualitative interview study to understand Autistic gynaecological and obstetric health: the Autism from menstruation to menopause study protocol. BMJ Open. DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2024-088343

  • Grant, A. et al., (2024).Co-developing an Autism research funding application to facilitate ethical and participatory research: the Autism from menstruation to menopause project. In Bertilsdotter Rosqvist, H. and Jackson-Perry, D. (eds). Autism Studies: research, ethics and methods. Palgrave. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-66127-3_4

  • Williams, G. (…) Grant, A. (2024). ‘Building our own house’ as an insider-only Community Partnered Participatory Research Council: co-creating a safe space for Autistic knowledge production. Autism. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613241253014

Autistic Maternity:

  • Grant, A.et al. (2025).“I just gritted my teeth to get through it all”: An online survey of Autistic people’s experiences of maternity care in the UK. Autism in Adulthood. https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/aut.2024.0275

  • Grant, A. et al. (2024). “I felt belittled and ridiculed for being in pain”: an online survey of Autistic people’s experience of care for pregnancy loss in the UK. Midwifery. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.midw.2024.104266

  • Grant, A. et al., (2023). “It felt like I had an old fashioned telephone ringing in my breasts”: an online survey of UK Autistic birthing parents’ experiences of infant feeding. Maternal and Child Nutrition. https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.13581

  • Grant, A. et al. (2022) Autistic women’s views and experiences of infant feeding: A systematic review of qualitative evidence.  Autism. DOI: 10.1177/13623613221089374

Health, Social Care and Policy:

  • Grant, A, Williams, G, Williams, K and Woods, R. (2023). Unmet need, epistemic injustice and early death: how social policy for Autistic adults in England and Wales fails to slay Beveridge’s five giants. Social Policy Review 35