Family Sexuality Communication: Parent Report for Autistic Young Adults Versus a Comparison Group.

Delgado-Lobete et al. (2020) asked 219 parents how often they talk with their young adult about sex. Half had an autistic son or daughter . The other half had a neurotypical child the same age.

Parents filled out an online list of 14 topics. The list ranged from dating rules to birth control. They checked which ones they had ever discussed.

Both groups ticked the same number of boxes. Autistic and non-autistic families talked about about nine topics on average.

The difference was how ready parents thought their child was. Parents of autistic young adults were twice as likely to say, "My kid isn’t interested" or "Not mature enough yet."

Kirby (2016) showed that parent expectations shape real-life outcomes. When parents expect more, autistic adults get better jobs and live more independently. Low expectations may feed the "not ready" story found here.

Lai et al. (2015) found these same parents are already stressed and tired. Extra worry about sex talks can add to that load.

Saré et al. (2020) saw fathers drop out of speech therapy. Likewise, Laura’s study hints that moms may carry the sex-ed job alone.

You can raise the topic even if parents stay quiet. Use role-play, visual schedules, or social stories in sessions. Track skills like asking for a date or saying "no." Share small wins with parents to shift their "not ready" view. Over time, higher expectations and open talk build safer, more independent adult lives.