I’m Autistic And Have Cerebral Palsy — We Need To Get Menopause Support Right

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"The average age for starting menopause is 51, but for people with learning disabilities, it tends to start earlier."By Emma Fraser

I’m 43 years old, I’m autistic, and I have cerebral palsy. Now, I’m also navigating perimenopause.

There are around 13 million people currently peri- or menopausal in the UK, equivalent to a third of the entire UK female population.

I’m grateful to awareness campaigns and celebrities who have brought menopause into mainstream conversations because, finally, people are talking about it.

But for women like me — women with disabilities — the conversation doesn’t always reach us, and the support we need isn’t always there.

The average age for starting menopause is 51, but for people with learning disabilities, it tends to start earlier.

In my case, I was 40 when I started to notice that my periods were getting heavier, which was unusual for me. I also noticed that my mood was all over the place, and I was getting more irritable with people.

I was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at birth and have exceeded many doctors’ expectations for my life milestones, building a full and thriving life for myself. But when menopause symptoms hit, everything felt like a disaster.

Here is the full article from The Huffington Post