Rose Matthews (they/them) 🏳️‍🌈

I’m so sorry. That’s such a tough situation to be in.

The Tuesday Poem: Norman Nicholson - The Pot Geranium A blog about writing, publishing, travelling and environmental issues. Includes poetry and prose.

I think about this sort of thing often. One of the poems I console myself with is Norman Nicholson’s pot geranium. If my world becomes much smaller in older old age I hope that I am able to sense the pattern, prod, and pulse of life in a crock of soil kathleenjonesauthor.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-...

Thanks for this. Wonder if someone at @jessicakingsley.bsky.social can advise on availability of this book in the EU - the delivery date for UK orders I’ve placed is this Friday 23 Jan.

Purple book cover with green and gold leaves. Text reads: Autistic Menopause: A Guide to the Menopausal Transition for Autistic People and those Supporting Them. Dr Rachel Moseley and Prof Julie Gamble-Turner. Illustrated by Rose Matthews

Publication day for #Autistic #Menopause: A Guide to the Menopausal Transition for Autistic People and those Supporting Them' by Dr Rachel Moseley and Prof Julie Turner-Cobb, illustrated by me. Knowledge is empowering!
uk.jkp.com/products/aut...
#autism
#neurodivergence
#perimenopause
#postmenopause

Happy New Year! I hope to be more mobile again by this time next year. When I was up in the hills I was aware of time passing and I’m glad I made the most of the opportunities I had. I’ve got a huge cache of pure joy stored away!

Lovely to know that you enjoyed those walks with me. It is hard not being able to escape to remote places as easily as I once did but my mind is filled with happy memories, and I still have lots of videos on my phone. Do hope things have got easier for you, as I hope they will for me.

Last year’s outings were more precious than ever as arthritis continued to reduce my mobility.
Accessible paths made it possible to experience magical moments like this!
#accessibility
#disability
#nature

Same for me, being up on the hills, or on the beach is the same!

#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...

Referred to a specialist by my GP yesterday, an appointment has come through in less than 2 weeks time. When the NHS works well it is brilliant. So many #Autistic people face barriers that prevent them from accessing diagnosis and treatment. My experience shows simple changes can transform outcomes.

It’s disappointing not to be in Dublin this week but the medical treatment I’ve been having over the last few days and yesterday’s urgent referral to a specialist is more than adequate compensation.
I’ll find another way to share my presentation on positive experiences of #Autistic #ageing.
4/end

There’s no more battling with early morning phone calls.
Communication barriers don’t impede clear explanation.
Consultations go more smoothly with advance information.
My practice trains new GPs so this is a wonderful opportunity to alert them to #healthcare issues affecting #Autistic people.
3/

I’m thriving because I’ve finally getting accessible medical care. Conditions that were missed, misdiagnosed, or mistreated for years are being attended to, transforming my quality of life.
I submit online requests to my new primary care practice. These are triaged by a GP and I get a text reply.
2/

#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

YouTube video by Victoria & Stuart Project FREE end of life care planning toolkit sent to your door

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

A screenshot of the “Independent” website. If you would like the article in text form let me know and I’ll copy and paste it. I don’t know if advert-laden website are very screen reader friendly. Anyway, the URL is https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/nhs-adhd-hospitals-government-research-b2805190.html#

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

I thought of an #OccupationalTherapist I worked when I was a social worker.
In one crisis situation, as well as focusing on the person’s immediate physical needs, she planted bulbs in their garden.
After lying dormant over winter, strong green shoots broke through.
We’re alive.
We survived.
10/end

I felt compassionate concern and care. It was the polar opposite of my recent #DWP #PIP assessment.
In a situation that had begun to feel hopeless I started to see faint glimmers of light.
No pressure.
No judgement.
Just a belief that I’d get through this if I had access to the right supports.
9/

There’s more.
Accurate recording. Prompt implementation of planned actions.
Checking back to see if aids and adaptations had improved things.
Importantly, I didn’t have to explain #Autism.
The #OT understood my sensory issues, executive function challenges, social isolation, and spiky profile.
8/

Structure with flexibility.
Active listening.
Close observation of the minutiae of how I move, how I feel, who I am.
Picking up on things, like non-binary identity.
Bridging the gap between physical and mental health.
Considering family and social factors.
Creative problem solving.
Use of self.
7/

Admitting what you are struggling with can be difficult when you’ve always been fiercely independent.
Exposing personal aspects of your life to a stranger’s gaze requires trust.
I’ve tried to unpick why my OT assessment went so well.
It was partly predictability.
Making arrangements. Explaining.
6/

I worked very closely with #OccupationalTherapists as a mental health social worker, so I knew their approach was practical, holistic, and person-centred.
The way we function in our day to day lives is never purely physical. It’s also emotional, psychological, spiritual, and uniquely individual.
5/

If there’s a silver lining it’s that I’ve finally learned to ask for help, and not to give up when help isn’t forthcoming but to keep on asking.
That was how I came to have an #OccupationalTherapy assessment recently.
#OT was a career of choice when I graduated but I went in different directions.
4/

Some of us don’t do well on standard NHS treatment of Levothyroxine monotherapy.
But getting Liothyronine involves a battle it’s hard to find energy for. Hypothyroidism can cause cognitive challenges and emotional dysregulation. #PseudoDementia.
It’s a lonely journey through unknown territory.
3/

One of the effects of low thyroid function is depression.
While it helps to know why I feel this way having all the joy sucked out of life wrecks my motivation.
Chronic illness is exhausting for other people too. There’s no quick fix. Titration of replacement hormones takes months, even years.
2/

#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/

We were surrounded by ripe wild raspberries, more abundant than they’ve ever been.
Every season has its delights and this was a delicious surprise.
Walking is painful and
difficult at the moment, so it really felt like the natural world was encouraging and supporting me.
#SensoryJoy
#Autistic
4/end

From that moment on the walk felt auspicious.
A little further along I spotted a bright flash of blue.
A tiny Jay’s feather was resting on the grass.
I found one once before, but I gave it away.
Feather collections are a family thing and I knew my grandchild would love it as much as I did.
4/