Brief Report: Sexual Attraction and Relationships in Adolescents with Autism.

May et al. (2017) asked autistic teens about who they like and if they have dated. They compared answers to non-autistic teens in the same schools.

The team used a short survey. Kids marked boxes for straight, gay, bi, or unsure. They also wrote how many boyfriends or girlfriends they had before.

Girls with autism picked 'bi' or 'not sure' far more often than other girls. Boys with autism said they had fewer past relationships than other boys.

The pattern was strong enough that the authors call it 'markedly different.' It shows up early, right in middle school.

Stevens et al. (2018) saw the same thing in 47,000 adults. People with autistic traits were also more likely to pick bi or 'none of the above.' The teen data now prove the trend starts young.

Cohen et al. (2018) asked autistic adults online. About 70% said they are not straight. Tamara’s numbers look lower, but both studies agree that non-straight IDs are common in ASD. The teen sample is just smaller and earlier.

van Timmeren et al. (2016) reviewed earlier papers. They warned that autistic girls know the words yet still face more bad sexual experiences. Tamara’s finding helps explain why: if girls are still figuring out who they like, standard ‘boy-girl’ safety lessons may not fit.

When you teach relationship skills, drop the guess about ‘he’ll like girls.’ Ask each autistic teen directly who they are into. Build safety lessons around bi, unsure, or fluid labels. Start early—attraction diversity shows up by middle school.