La recherche sur l’autisme, « tout tourne autour des mecs et des enfants » : des femmes autistes brisent le silence sur la ménopause

Titre original en anglais : Autism research is ‘all about the blokes and the kids’: Autistic women breaking the silence on menopause

Moseley, R., Druce, T., & Gamble-Turner, J. (2020). Autism research is ‘all about the blokes and the kids’: Autistic women breaking the silence on menopause. British Journal of Health Psychology, 26(3), 709-726. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjhp.12477

Date de publication: 30/09/2020 Ajout dans AutiHub: 06/07/2026 Type: Article Langue de l’article: Anglais

Cette publication est intégrée dans AutiHub via :

Auteurs

Auteur·ices des publications
3
Auteur·ices de la publication identifié·es comme autistes
1 / 3 (33,3 %)

Résumé

OBJECTIFS : La ménopause est une transition majeure marquée par des défis considérables pour la santé et le bien-être. Son impact sur les femmes autistes a été presque largement ignoré, mais il est très préoccupant, compte tenu de la moins bonne santé physique et mentale, des capacités de régulation émotionnelle et d’adaptation, ainsi que de l’isolement social fréquent de ce groupe. Nous avons cherché à explorer la connaissance et la perception de la ménopause ; les expériences ménopausiques et leur impact dans la vie de chaque individu ; les manières dont la ménopause avec l’autisme pourrait différer d’une ménopause non autiste ; et à quoi pourrait ressembler un soutien optimal. PLAN D’ÉTUDE : Une étude qualitative par entretiens. MÉTHODES : Des entretiens approfondis ont été menés auprès de 17 participants autistes, dont 16 s’identifiaient comme des femmes cisgenres. Une analyse thématique inductive a été utilisée, guidée par les principes de l’IPA et la littérature. RÉSULTATS : Quatre thèmes majeurs ont été identifiés : (1) le long parcours de nos participants vers la reconnaissance de l’autisme à l’âge adulte ; (2) la connaissance et les perceptions de la ménopause ; (3) les symptômes et leur impact ; et (4) les manières dont une ménopause neurodiverse pourrait différer de la norme. Les expériences ménopausiques variaient grandement et certains participants ont connu une détérioration marquée du fonctionnement quotidien et des capacités d’adaptation, de la santé mentale et de l’engagement social. La connaissance de la ménopause était souvent faible, tout comme la confiance dans l’aide apportée par les professionnels de santé. CONCLUSIONS : Ces résultats impliquent que la ménopause pourrait gravement compromettre la santé et le bien-être des personnes autistes et indiquent un domaine de besoins de soutien insuffisamment pris en charge.

OBJECTIVES: The menopause is a major transition marked by considerable challenges to health and well-being. Its impact on autistic women has been almost largely ignored but is of significant concern, given the poorer physical and mental health, emotion regulation and coping skills, and the common social isolation of this group. We aimed to explore awareness and perception of the menopause; menopausal experiences and their impact across each individual's life; ways that menopause with autism might differ from a non-autistic menopause; and what optimal support might look like. DESIGN: A qualitative interview study. METHODS: Comprehensive interviews were conducted with 17 autistic participants (16 of whom identified as cisgender women). Inductive thematic analysis was used, guided by IPA principles and literature. RESULTS: Four major themes were identified: (1) covering the long journey of our participants to recognizing autism in adulthood; (2) menopausal awareness and perceptions; (3) symptoms and their impact; and (4) ways that a neurodiverse menopause might differ from the norm. Menopausal experiences varied greatly and some participants experienced marked deterioration in daily function and coping skills, mental health, and social engagement. Menopausal awareness was often low, so too was confidence in help from health care professionals. CONCLUSIONS: These findings implicate the potential for menopause to severely compromise health and well-being of autistic people and indicate an area of underserved support needs.

Bibliographie citée par cette référence

Les références citées sont importées depuis des sources externes de métadonnées lorsqu’elles sont disponibles. La liste peut être partielle.

Vue d’ensemble de l’inclusion dans la bibliographie

Ces indicateurs décrivent la bibliographie citée importée pour cette publication. Les métriques de références citées utilisent le total des références citées comme dénominateur. Les métriques d’auteurices cité·es indiquent si elles utilisent toutes les occurrences d’auteurices cité·es ou seulement les occurrences rattachées à des auteurices déjà intégré·es à la base de données AutiHub. Ils utilisent les rattachements mis en cache entre les auteurices cité·es et les auteurices intégré·es à la base de données AutiHub. Dernier calcul : 16/08/2026 11:31.

Références citées
57
Nombre total de références citées intégrées pour cette publication.
Références citées avec un·e auteur·ice identifié·e comme autiste
4 / 57 (7,0 %)
Occurrences d’auteur·ices cité·es identifié·es comme autistes
4 / 191 (2,1 %)
Parmi les occurrences rattachées à des auteurices intégré·es à la base de données AutiHub : 4 / 72 (5,6 %). Auteurices cité·es distinct·es identifié·es comme autistes : 4 / 172 (2,3 %).
Occurrences citées rattachées à la base AutiHub
72 / 191 (37,7 %)
Auteurices cité·es distinct·es rattaché·es : 59 / 172 (34,3 %)
Occurrences rattachées, non identifiées comme autistes
68 / 72 (94,4 %)
Parmi les seules occurrences rattachées. Sur l’ensemble des occurrences d’auteurices cité·es : 68 / 191 (35,6 %). Auteurices cité·es distinct·es rattaché·es, non identifié·es comme autistes : 55 / 59 (93,2 %).
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