Menstrual Health Literacies of People With an Intellectual Disability and/or Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Scoping Review

Menstrual health literacy is essential to wellbeing. While people who are neurotypical often show suboptimal menstrual health literacy, far less is known about the experiences of individuals with intellectual disability and/or autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This scoping review synthesized literature on menstrual health literacies among people with intellectual disability and/or ASD in Australia. It identified two central limitations: the conflation of sexual and menstrual health literacies, and a lack of first-person accounts from this population. Developing inclusive, evidence-based menstrual health education that centralizes and values their lived experiences is crucial for improving menstrual health literacy within this cohort.