Staff profile

Rose Matthews (they/them)

I am a part-time PhD student in the Department of Anthropology at Durham University, specialising in Autistic ageing and neurodiversity-affirming research methodologies. Prior to this my career spanned the public, private, and VCSE sectors, including academic and academic-related roles at UEA, the Open University, the University of Essex, and Durham University. 

My interdisciplinary doctoral research is a longitudinal ethnographic study, using creative research methods to explore how Autistic individuals navigate life transitions and experience sociality and community after retirement. This builds on previous research I conducted on experiences of preparing for, and adjusting to, retirement. 

As a late-diagnosed Autistic and Neuroqueer person, and former social work academic, my auto-ethnographic research is deeply rooted in social justice and participatory frameworks. I aim to address the critical gaps in our understanding of neurodivergent experiences in older age through action focused research that benefits Autistic people directly.

Alongside my PhD, I am engaged in projects on late-in-life autism diagnosis, the Autistic menopausal transition, and equitable health and social care access for Autistic adults. I am a public committee member for NIHR, and a member of the NIHR Policy Research Unit’s Independent Advisory Group for Reproductive Health.

Supervisory team

Primary supervisor: Dr Roslyn Malcolm (Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology); co-supervisors: Dr Monique Botha (Associate Professor, Department of Psychology) and Dr Fraser Riddell (Associate Professor in Literary Medical Humanities).

Recent publications 

Davies J., Matthews R., Romualdez, A.M., Pellicano, E., Remington, A. (2026). “Retirement Is One Hell of a Change”: Autistic People’s Experiences of Retiring. Autism in Adulthood. 8(2):162-174. doi:10.1089/aut.2023.0155  

Bhattacharya, P., Matthews, R.J., Field, R., Heath, H., Woodcock, K.A., Surtees, A.D.R. (2026) Experiencing Independence: Perspectives from Autistic Adults. J Autism Dev Disord 56, 3523–3538 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-025-06812-0

Matthews, M. R., Jenkins, C. A., van Rensburg, M. J., Brady, M. J., Moseley, R. L., & Gamble-Turner, J. M. (2025). Stepping into Who I Fully Am: A Creative Exploration of Autistic Menopause. The International Journal of Disability and Social Justice, 5(1), 76–105. https://doi.org.10.13169/intljofdissocjus.5.1.0004  

Jenkins, C. A., Moseley, R. L., Matthews, R. J., van Rensburg, M. J., Gamble-Turner, J. M., & Brady, M. J. (2024). “Struggling for Years”: An international survey on Autistic experiences of menopause. Neurodiversity, 2. https://doi.org/10.1177/27546330241299366  

Bates, C., & Matthews, R. (2024). No “cookie cutter rules”: Best practice for social care staff in supporting autistic adults with relationships and sexuality. Advances in Autism, 10(2), 69-81. https://doi.org/10.1108/AIA-05-2023-0027

Brady, M. J., Jenkins, C. A., Gamble-Turner, J. M., Moseley, R. L., Janse van Rensburg, M., & Matthews, R. J. (2024). “A perfect storm”: Autistic experiences of menopause and midlife. Autism, 28(6), 1405-1418. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613241244548

Find out more about my consultancy work, creative projects, and publications on my website: Rose Matthews Research