I have been looking for information on periods that doesn't also involve other information on puberty changes and sex education -- I have other resources for those topics and have discussed them separately. My daughter, almost age 10, has been asking to learn more specifically about periods in detail and this book really steps up to the plate.

I love that it discusses what a period is, what different products are with photos and descriptions of how they are used, and also outlines what to expect emotionally and physically. It also covers concerns young menstruaters might have -- like what do I do if I bleed on my clothes? -- and prepares them on how to confidently handle those scenarios. I appreciate that there is coverage of reusable options (cups and cloth pads), not just disposable ones, along with descriptions of ease of use/how to store/how to discard or clean.

The only two things I would note are that, if you are American, the book does have some words that aren't as common in America or uses measurements that aren't standard here. Also, in the section about tampons (in the 'cultural' section) there is mention of some religions not allowing tampons until after marriage in relation to the concept of virginity. That might spark discussions. Most puberty education at this stage will also involve sex discussion, but I thought it was important to share in a review in case that matters to you.

I hope that the title of the book wouldn't deter folks from giving it a read. It's amazingly accessible information for neurotypical and neurodivergent kids, with trans and non-binary inclusive language, and makes this overwhelming topic into something a lot less 'scary' for my kid.

Thank you, Robyn Steward, for taking the time to create this amazing resource! I've already recommended it to my friends.

...this was an excellent book! It covered several topics, such as sensory issues and when/with whom to talk about periods, that I haven't seen addressed in other books about periods and puberty.

I absolutely loved the photos! One of the stressful things about getting a period as an autistic tween/teen was how different it looks than the commercials with their blue liquids being poured onto uncomfortable-looking paper products (and we don't actually pour it onto them from a beaker either, so confusing!). So it's wonderful to me that there are pictures of what a used pad and tampon will look like, as well as an example of spotting, and how it can look when you wipe and find blood there.

The clear photographed visuals would've been so helpful for me when I was that age. There's no nudity shown, just photos of a reproductive system model, and various menstrual products being placed within the model or on a pair of underwear. The way they showed the photographed examples made a lot of sense and the descriptions were clear, concise, and easy to understand.

Some of the idioms (for hinting about needing menstrual products instead of overtly asking for something) were more UK-specific and mostly not phrases I've heard in the US, but parents should be able to help with alternative phrasings if needed. I was mostly able to figure out what they meant by the context.

This book is written in a gender-neutral way. It's good to remember that a higher percentage of autistic people are trans, gender nonconforming, and/or nonbinary compared to the general public, so when choosing a health-specific resource for your autistic tween/teen it can be helpful to avoid very gendered resources and instead seek out more gender-neutral resources such as this one.

This book is great for kids going through puberty regardless if they are autistic or not. A parent could also use it to help teach brothers what’s going on with their sibling.

This book has been amazing for my child. The breakdown of the information is awesome. Everything is explained, with photos. I love how the pages are set up in frames. So that you can take in one piece of information at a time.

It goes over physical and emotional feelings for each week of the 4 week cycle. It goes over every type of product and how to use them. It's very detailed but put simply for anyone to understand.

Download the sample for the table of contents. I highly recommend this book. I have already suggested it to our ABA therapist, who is going yo buy it for the clinic. The book also includes a list of other suggested books to check out

This is definitely a book you need to order the physical book. I have the kindle edition, and because of the graphics and layout, it’s just illegible.

That being said, it’s a great book. The author refers to “people who have periods” and “people who don’t have periods”. A few reviewers on Amazon seemed to be confused by this, but I appreciated the inclusiveness of the terminology.

The first section is just a description of what have a period is. I think the author might be British because some phrases were not standard for typical American expressions. Tjere was also a list of period products people might use.

The second section is the one I truly appreciated. A step by step picture guide of putting a menstrual pad in your underwear and changing your menstrual pad. For kids who do not read between the lines and have difficulty figuring some things out without assistance, this was great. There were similar instructions for using cloth menstrual pads, tampons with an applicator (using a model of the uterus and vagina for illustration), tampons without applicators, removing tampons, and inserting, using, and removing a menstual cup.

The third section is the really detailed information. There’s a more detailed explanation of the hormones involved in the full 28 cycle. There’s the author’s own experience with menstruation, and there’s a section on where autistic folks may differ from their neurotypical peers in sensory issues related to using various menstrual products and how they feel to hyposensitive folks who need help identifying how often to change their menstrual products.

This book is perfect! Very well thought out and the pictures and descriptions are very helpful "social stories" for girls on the spectrum - or really any girl that likes as much detail as possible. My daughter is only 8, but I am buying this book now and saving it for the appropriate time. It is too good to chance it not being available later!

I bought this for my autistic 11 year old daughter. She is on the brink of puberty but she still likes my little pony and paw patrol. This book is very informative but not for her. It TOTALLY freaked her out! Probably a good book for other little girls but not this autistic 11 year old.

I was super excited to receive this book just to see that is super wet and super damaged. I am so unhappy.

This was a useful book for a family member. It is well written and easy to understand.

Es un libro ideal para explicarle la menstruacion a una persona autista. Está escrito por una autora autista y muy bien explicado. muy gráfico y visual, por tanto, perfecto.

Ok

I bought this for my eldest daughter who is autistic. The book explains everything very clearly and simply but doesn't leave anything out. There are lots of pictures and diagrams to explain things like how periods happen and how to change pads and tampons. There's also a section on sensory needs which is more specific to autistic kids.

One of the things I liked was that the language was gender-neutral, because a lot of autistic people are trans or non-binary. This book doesn't leave them out.

I would recommend this book to all parents. Even if your child isn't on the spectrum then this is a good book that explains everything in a simple way. It would be especially good for kids who start their period at a young age.

Very descriptive. Like, VERY. it’s broken down and informative. I haven’t given it to my daughter yet, but it’s a lot of information that will be helpful in trying to explain what she’s going to go through.