An empirical qualitative investigation into sexuality development in and sex education for youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) : insights from young adults with ASD and typically-developing young adults

Abstract

Sexuality development serves as a major developmental task during adolescence. This can be particularly challenging for adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), who already struggle with difficulties in social communication and interaction, as well as restricted and repetitive behavioural patterns that cause significant impairment in their daily functioning. Despite showing a similar trajectory of sexuality development as their typically-developing (TD) peers, little research has been done to study their experiences in navigating romantic relationships and sex. The current research thus aims to explore the lived experiences and perception towards sexuality development and sex education received during adolescence among young adults with ASD, and how they coincide or differ from that of TD young adults. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 young adults with a clinical diagnosis of ASD and an Intellectual Quotient of 70 or above, and 10 TD young adults without any clinical diagnosis of neurodevelopmental disorders, all participants aged between 18 and 24 years old. The transcripts were analyzed using comparative Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to provide a more in-depth understanding of participants’ experiences. Four superordinate themes emerged upon analysis: 1) “Who am I as a sexual being?”; 2) Making sense of sexuality development; 3) Sources of information; 4) “Dear developers of sex education programmes”. These findings shed light onto how experiences, views, and needs differ between participants with ASD and TD participants as they embark on the journey of sexual exploration during adolescence, offering important implications on the development of sex education programmes for adolescents with ASD.