The research exploring why some autistic women are not going for smears

The research exploring why some autistic women are not going for smearsImage caption, Dr Aimee Grant hopes her research will find ways to reduce the barriers to cervical screening for autistic womenByJenny ReesWales health correspondentPublished28 June 2026Updated 30 minutes agoAutistic women say smear tests can leave them feeling distressed, dismissed and in pain, with some avoiding them altogether out of anxiety.Research funded by Cancer Research Wales will assess how barriers to cervical screening for autistic women can be removed.Dr Aimee Grant from Swansea University said evidence suggested fewer autistic women had smear tests or the HPV vaccine."Sometimes autistic people can find it hard to explain what's wrong and our pain responses might look muted, so they might then get missed by health professionals," said the associate professor in public health, who is also autistic."All of this leads to really bad health outcomes."Smear tests, also known as cervical screening, check the health of the cervix and help to prevent cervical cancer - though they're not a test for cancer.Women aged 25-64 are invited for smears every five years and for most they will not be painful, but might be uncomfortable.However, they can be painful for some people, particularly those with vaginal dryness or conditions like endometriosis.Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, During a smear test, a soft brush takes a sample of cells from the cervixWillow Holloway said she was over-due a smear because poor experiences had left her with anxieties around the procedure.The 57-year-old from north Wales, who is autistic, said what would be "dismissed as a bit uncomfortable" to others could be "extremely painful" for her.But she said "it wasn't even recognised that I was in distress" when she last had a smear."Overcoming that anxiety and knowledge that my pain may be dismissed just creates too much of a barrier to me."H...