#Arthritis is making walking challenging so I’m grateful for accessible routes like this riverside path. My love of nature encourages me to keep mobile and helps with the pain. #disability #nature

Citizen Science as an Approach for Engaging Underrepresented Communities in Health Research to Generate Research Questions and Priorities - Journal of Clinical Epidemiology www.jclinepi.com/article/S089...

#Thread Flourishing in unexpected ways. I should have been at #AEC2025 in Dublin yesterday delivering a multimedia presentation on ageing as an #Autistic person. Instead I was being diagnosed with my 5th Autoimmune condition. I’ve had medical appointments 4 days this week, but I’m thriving! 1/

Access to appropriate services can be life-changing, sometimes life-saving. As an older, disabled #Autistic person who is increasingly reliant on #health and #SocialCare it’s encouraging to see contextual factors that hinder/support #neuro-affirming practice being explored. #Autism

Be one of the first to order. Launching today! (UK only - other countries can still freely download and print at home) Order link is in this short video. Please share! youtu.be/VrntRIJCdXY?... @andreabruun.bsky.social @mariecurieuk.bsky.social

We made it into the Independent! “NHS ‘needs to do more to support autistic people” www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home... #AutRes #AutismResearch #ADHDResearch #ADHD #Autism

#Thread In praise of #OccupationalTherapy #OT. I’ve been experiencing exhaustion like never before. It’s because of autoimmune thyroid disease, along with painful arthritis, exacerbated by the exhaustion of being #Autistic in an unaccommodating world, and effortful listening due to hearing loss. 1/

🧵 At work yesterday morning the most urgent and important task became helping a large #butterfly to exit the building safely. It took me a while to work out what to do. I closed all the blinds, turned off all the lights, and opened the doors so there was only one source of brightness and breeze. 1/

Great opportunity for anyone local to me in Birmingham UK from @autisticparentsuk.bsky.social A new project designed to meet the unique needs of Autistic people who are also carers living in Birmingham - aimed to empower Autistic carers. www.autisticparentsuk.org/supporting-b...

I was explaining to my Ukrainian colleague the phrase ‘There’s no such thing as a free lunch’. She told me the equivalent in Ukrainian is ‘The only free cheese is in the mousetrap’ - which is so much better

Those of us who get a late in life Autism #diagnosis often have parents, siblings, children, or grandchildren who are also #Autistic but undiagnosed. Our own assessment can start a chain reaction of recognition. Intergenerational, family-centred aspects of #Autism often get overlooked. 1/

In the late 1990s members of an academic interview panel were alarmed when I used some very tame visual images in my presentation. How I wish they could see me now! padlet.com/rosematthews... #AutisticResearcher #CreativeResearch #Artivism

I was interviewed by Tanja Bächler recently for her YouTube channel. The first part is about my life before and after #Autism diagnosis aged 58. At 27 mins the discussion shifts to research I’ve been doing on #Autistic people’s experiences of #menopause #AutisticMenopause youtu.be/DpTsoZsHomw?...

I’ve waited up until the early hours watching my blood test results come in. A couple of them are abnormal which explains why I’m feeling off. Titrating Levothyroxine is tortuously slow aged 65+ so I’m glad it looks like I’m ready for the next increase in dose! #hypothyroidism #Hashimotos

I love rummaging about in old folders because I never know what I’ll find! Here is a narrated PowerPoint presentation on #AutisticMenopause I recorded after a #menopause festival, based on an installation of curious objects I curated. #CreativeResearch #AutoEthnography tinyurl.com/CuratedMenop...

#Thread An important part of reclaiming my life after a very late #Autism diagnosis has involved rekindling my #research career which had burned out years before. Peer reviewed papers representing all 3 phases of the Bridging the Silos #Autistic #menopause study have now been published. 1/

Delighted to share the 3rd peer reviewed paper from our ‘Bridging the Silos’ study of #Autistic people’s experiences of the #Menopause transition which combines lived experience, creative expression, and #ReflexivePractice. #Neurodivergence #Perimenopause #Autism www.scienceopen.com/hosted-docum...

I’ve just sent my response too. #HumanRights #TransRights

Today is #WorldThyroidDay – a reminder of how vital the tiny thyroid gland is to our health. From metabolism to mood, it plays a powerful role. Early detection of thyroid disorders can save lives. Stay informed, get tested, and spread awareness. #ThyroidHealth #EndocrineAwareness

A window in the art museum reveals itself to be a portal to another dimension.

#Thread The benefits of rest and recuperation. An #Autistic perspective. Long before I knew how much I needed it, or why, I booked a short restorative mid-week break at an historic property. A tiny dwelling, above an ancient well, dating back to 1485, at the end of a long tree-lined holloway. 1/

#Thread I woke early because I am going on a long journey and staying away overnight. Travel has always required intense planning and preparation (an #Autism thing) but this has been exacerbated by #arthritis and #hypothyroidism which bring new challenges. It’s both exciting and terrifying. 1/

I’ve had to go to #hospital a lot recently. This film made me cry with gratitude at challenges for #Autistic patients being portrayed so compellingly. Everyone who works in #healthcare should be encouraged to watch this. Barriers sometimes seem overwhelming but solutions can be startlingly simple.

Meanwhile beauty. I love how everything, no matter how small or ethereal casts a shadow, the shadow of a flower is just as shadowy as the shadow of a gun, and if you love light then you should love shadows.

#Thread Accessing emergency healthcare as an #Autistic person. In the early hours of Tuesday morning I was woken by a strange heart rhythm. It was so disturbing that I got dressed in case I needed to go to hospital. That was a dreadful prospect because I rarely fare well in medical settings. 1/

“Each year, over 300,000 people leave their jobs and end up out of the workforce entirely with work-limiting health conditions.” #HealthierWorkingLives #wellbeing #work

#Thread Signs of life. I was out in the garden yesterday for the first time in months. #Gardening used to be one of my great passions, but the insidious advance of Hashimoto’s Disease has been secretly sapping my energy, leaving me exhausted and the plants running wild. I noticed several things. 1/

I can tell a patient is autistic because you ask what their pain is from 1-10 while they're in excruciating pain from kidney stones and they're like "this is entirely subjective, how would I even know what a 10 feels like if I've never experienced it?" and every neurotypical person just tells you 11

In other breaking news, magnolias are in full bloom around here.

So, welcome to the fifth Weird Pride Day, March the 4th 2025. #WeirdPride is about celebrating the things that people have found bizarre about you, because we all need to accept who we are. Hearing about other people's pride in who they are is a powerful thing. weirdpride.day

Tomorrow 4th March is Weird Pride Day! Free tickets available for this super and weirdly wonderful event with @robinince.bsky.social , @josielong.bsky.social =, @katefoxwriter75.bsky.social and @fergus.oolong.co.uk k Find out more: weirdpride.day/wpd2025

Bike shadows are pretty.

What I’m processing personally due to health issues pales into insignificance compared with what is going on in the wider world. Rewatching video clips from yesterday’s gentle beach walk to offset the horror of what is unfolding globally. #SlavaUkraini 1/

Good news for those of us in England who are disadvantaged by the 8am scrabble to get #GP appointments via telephone calls. New contracts have been signed which mean more appointments will be bookable in advance online. There will also be an option to be seen by the same doctor. #autism #health

#Thread In the course of a few months I’ve aged significantly. My joints are painful and stiff, my eyesight has deteriorated, I can’t hear as well as before, I have memory problems, and when I look in the mirror I don’t recognise the face I see looking back at me. #hypothyroidism 1/

Online survey about stimming, #mindfulness, and other contemplative practices, open to #autistic adults in any country. To find out more and take part see: tinyurl.com/Aut-Mindful Reposts appreciated @rosematthews.bsky.social @amase.org.uk @thrivingautistic.bsky.social @eloiseclinpsy.bsky.social 🙏

@krystinl.bsky.social I have had an issue with swallowing a couple of times recently - that was what triggered the scan. I’ve been getting lots of help and encouragement from members in the online forum run by Thyroid UK. Scandalous how many people are being denied proper assessment and treatment.

#Thread Adding to my collection of mostly invisible disabilities. I’m 65, #Autistic, and 11 months away from state pension age. Well-laid plans for a celebratory year have gone slightly awry as my thyroid is about to die, precipitating lots of incapacitating physical and cognitive symptoms. 1/

#Thread Not settling for sub-optimal #health. Reflections of an #ageing #Autistic person. Project managing medical treatment for #hypothyroidism is taking up a lot of my time. It’s like a part time job with blood tests, pharmacy visits, GP appointments, eye checks, hearing tests, physiotherapy. 1/

#Thread One of the things I had to come to terms with after my late in life #autism diagnosis was the need to hold myself back at times, rather than going all out. Enthusiasm can easily become exhaustion especially when I’m juggling competing demands. I felt an urge to make up for lost time. 1/

Happy Valentine's Day, especially to anyone who might identify with one of the letters in LGBTQ, particularly the day after someone Trumpy stripped the letter T and then the letter Q from the National Park Service website for Stonewall in New York City.

I was at the optometrist feeling overwhelmed. After explaining I was #Autistic and mentioning my research on menopause one of the assistants told me about their struggles. They hadn’t had a lunch break and while I was there they were on the receiving end of #microaggression from a colleague. 1/

Why I look forward to seeing the #dentist now. (It hasn’t always been this way!) An #Autistic perspective on #dentistry #autism 1/

#Thread Taking stock. Last year’s theme was ‘going with the flow’; I said “yes” to a lot of things. I had the most amazing time working on multiple autism research projects and sharing ideas in creative ways. I was thriving and felt fully alive. I had no idea a storm was brewing. #AutRes 1/

Exciting news: this year's Weird Pride Day (4th March) is 47 days before the first Sunday after the first full moon following the Spring equinox - and you all know what that means, right? Yes, folks... this year, #WeirdPride Day is *also* PANCAKE DAY! Next Weird Pride Pancake Day isn't until 2087.

#Thread Back from the brink. As I saw in New Year I was fading away. Malaise had sapped my physical and cognitive functioning. It felt like I was slipping into #Autistic #burnout. This wasn’t surprising as I had a busy working life and domestic and caring responsibilities. 1/

Celebrating Audre Lorde’s Impact on DEI “We don’t live single-issue lives” - Audre Lorde As we mark LGBT+ History Month in the UK and Black History Month in the USA, this is the perfect time to honour the legendary Audre Lorde - a Black lesbian feminist, poet, and activist. Long before…