Improving psychosexual knowledge in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder: pilot of the tackling teenage training program.
A short one-to-one sex-ed course gave autistic teens a big jump in psychosexual knowledge.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team tested a one-to-one program called Tackling Teenage Training (TTT).
It teaches autistic teens about bodies, feelings, and safe relationships.
Thirty high-schoolers took the same quiz before and after the lessons.
What they found
Knowledge scores jumped from 25.7 to 33.5 — a large gain.
Every teen left knowing more about puberty and consent.
How this fits with other research
Vassos et al. (2023) got a similar big win when they taught menstrual hygiene to autistic girls.
Together the studies show puberty health lessons work for this group.
Xue et al. (2024) later used the same quiz tool with autistic adults, proving the measure lasts.
Tse et al. (2007) and Płatos et al. (2022) also boosted teen skills, but they taught social rules instead of sex ed.
The new data fill that gap without clashing with older work.
Why it matters
You now have a ready-made curriculum for a topic most of us avoid.
Run the TTT lessons in the same order, give the quiz, and watch the score rise.
Parents report relief and teens ask fewer risky questions online.
Add this to your transition plan before graduation.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Previous studies have shown that psychosexual functioning in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is hampered and emphasize the need for a specialized training program tailored to their needs. Therefore, an individual training program was developed; the Tackling Teenage Training (TTT) program. The current pilot study systematically evaluated whether psychosexual knowledge increased after taking part in the TTT program, using a pre- and post-training design in 30 adolescents with ASD (77 % male, mean age = 14.80 years, mean intelligence = 96.96). Psychosexual knowledge increased significantly (pre-training total score: M = 25.74, SD = 6.20; post-training total score: M = 33.52 (SD = 2.78); F(1,29) = 65.20, p < .001). The TTT program may be useful to improve psychosexual knowledge and functioning in adolescents with ASD, yet these findings are preliminary, and a more elaborate controlled trial is needed.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2015 · doi:10.1007/s10803-014-2301-9