Sexuality in High-Functioning Autism: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
Autistic girls know the facts yet still get hurt, so teach safety, not just biology.
01Research in Context
What this study did
van Timmeren et al. (2016) pooled every paper they could find on sex and dating in high-functioning autism.
They compared males and females to see who knew more, who did more, and who got hurt more.
What they found
Girls with autism knew more about sex, but they also faced more bad sexual experiences.
Boys with autism said they wanted sex more often and had done more sexual things.
How this fits with other research
Whitehouse et al. (2014) saw the same danger: adults with autism were victimized more and knew less.
May et al. (2017) later showed autistic teen girls feel less straight and more unsure—backing the review’s hint that girls’ sexuality looks different.
Cohen et al. (2018) then found almost 70 % of autistic adults call themselves non-heterosexual, stretching the picture beyond male–female boxes.
Ballan (2012) adds why knowledge stays low: parents skip the talk when they think their child “won’t get it.”
Why it matters
If you teach sex ed to learners with autism, give girls extra safety skills even when they seem “in the know.” Ask every teen—regardless of gender—about orientation and gender feelings; the numbers say these kids are diverse. Bring parents in early and show them their child can learn.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Preliminary research examining sexuality within High-Functioning Autism (HFA) has been yet to consider the impact sex may have on the sexual/romantic functioning of this population. A systematic database search was carried out to identify 27 observational and cross-sectional publications meeting predetermined inclusion criteria. Using standardised mean differences, a random-effects meta-analysis pooled data from 9 eligible studies. Exhibiting higher levels of sexual understanding, females with HFA were subject to more adverse sexual experiences than males with HFA and neurotypical counterparts. Males reported greater desire for, and engagement in both solitary and dyadic sexual contact. Findings have provided initial insight into characterising the sexuality of males and females with HFA, yet also necessitated the need for future research in the field.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2016 · doi:10.1007/s10803-016-2892-4