The Complexities of Sexual Health Among Adolescents Living with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Stanojević, Čedomir; CTRS, Tyler Neimeyer, MS,; Piatt, Jennifer

doi:10.1007/s11195-020-09651-2

Cited by 5 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…LGBTQ+ people with IDD have a unique sexual socialization experience [37] due to their intersecting identities [38], and their living situations (e.g., residing in group homes, assisted living facilities, living with parents).…”

Section: Limited Opportunities For Healthy Sexual Socializationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Few opportunities for social interaction outside their home were possible [43]. Isolation from sexual socialization that individuals with IDD often experience has been hypothesized as harmful and may result in sexual behaviors inconsistent with sexual norms, viewed as socially "inappropriate" [38]. Thus, this lack of exposure to sources of sexual socialization creates a disadvantage for LGBTQ+ people with IDD by making it difficult for them to learn about their sexuality in a way that is consistent with sexual norms allowing them to explore and participate in romantic and intimate relationships.…”

Section: Limited Opportunities For Healthy Sexual Socializationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…With limited social networks and dependence on family support and services provided by the community to help conceptualize and determine sexual identity, there are limited opportunities for sexual socialization of LGBTQ+ persons with IDD, including limited opportunities to find a partner [ 9 , 36 ]. LGBTQ+ people with IDD have a unique sexual socialization experience [ 37 ] due to their intersecting identities [ 38 ], and their living situations (e.g., residing in group homes, assisted living facilities, living with parents).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Increasing Opportunities for Healthy Sexual Socialization in LGBTQ+ People with IDD: The Role of LGBTQ+ Organizations and Community

et al. 2023

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In the current intersectionality-focused discourse within sexuality research, individuals existing at the convergence of intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer+ (LGBTQ+) are often overlooked. Individuals with IDD face difficulties acquiring sexual knowledge and skills due to limited opportunities for sexual socialization, misconceptions concerning sexuality and IDD, lack of comprehensive sexual education, restricted support from staff and caregivers, and a lack of community experiences that facilitate the development of healthy sexuality. When an individual with IDD identifies as LGBTQ+, these disability-related barriers can exacerbate the stigma and discrimination some LGBTQ+ people experience. Using the intimate justice framework, we explore avenues to support and foster inclusivity within the LGBTQ+ community for members with IDD. Several recommendations were identified from the literature search, including logistical considerations and using accessible language for outreach events, presentations, workshops, training, and other activities and opportunities for sexuality education while challenging disability-related stigma in LGBTQ+ spaces.

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Section: Limited Opportunities For Healthy Sexual Socializationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Limited Opportunities For Healthy Sexual Socializationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Increasing Opportunities for Healthy Sexual Socialization in LGBTQ+ People with IDD: The Role of LGBTQ+ Organizations and Community

et al. 2023

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“…Due to obstacles with the process of communication and social interaction, one of the biggest challenges they encounter is their inability to express and understand their sexual feelings toward others and themselves. This inability to express themselves can have a negative impact on the development of sexual relationships (Stanojević et al, 2021;Teliti and Resulaj, 2022). The results of the Turner et al (2017) study showed that inappropriate sexual behavior is more common in adolescence and adulthood for people with ASD, as they show sexual interests and behaviors in public, and this is what makes the behavior inappropriate and problematic.…”

Section: Need For Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While the importance of sex and reproductive health education is important everywhere, worldwide, it is especially true in Saudi Arabia as sex and reproductive health education is not included in the formal curriculum (Horanieh et al, 2020a,b). Likewise, there is a lack of evidence-based sex and reproductive health education curricula geared towards the needs of adolescents with ASD (Stanojević et al, 2021). The curriculum, rather, is restrictive, consisting of a specific structure, related to core subjects, such as biology, and Islamic studies (Saudi Arabia Ministry of Education, 2019).…”

Section: Role Of Schoolsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges of sex education for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder from the Saudi family’s perspective

Shakuri,

Alzahrani

2023

Front. Educ.

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The purpose of this research was to better understand the challenges, as well as ways to overcome the aforementioned challenges, associated with sex and reproductive health education for parents of adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) from the perspective of parents. A qualitative multiple case study approach, including interviews and document analysis, was conducted to answer the research questions. The participants included 9 parents of adolescents with ASD, including (4) fathers and (5) mothers. Their children’s ages ranged from (13–19) years. Inductive coding was conducted to analyze the data collected. The findings suggested several challenges exist, including parents’ lack of knowledge regarding sex and reproductive health education and training on how to effectively teach their children. This lack of knowledge may contribute to unacceptable social demonstrations of sexuality by individuals with ASD, which creates another challenge for parents. The findings related to the second research question indicated families of individuals with ASD need more awareness and education, particularly on how to effectively educate their children on sexual matters. The importance of education regarding sexual matters for individuals with ASD within the school and community was also realized. The findings could help the Ministry of Education establish educational programs to ensure schools are equipped to educate individuals with ASD on sexual matters. The programs could also be beneficial if they provided training to parents on how to effectively provide sexual education to their adolescent children. The findings of this research could additionally provide insight to parents, general education teachers, and special education teachers on the importance of sex and reproductive health education for children with ASD.

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Broad Perspectives of the Experience of Romantic Relationships and Sexual Education in Neurodivergent Adolescents and Young Adults

Smusz,

Allely,

Bidgood

2024

Sex Disabil

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Neurodivergent young people tend to struggle with building and maintaining their romantic relationships. Despite this, there appears to be a lack of appropriate sexuality education delivered to them. This review aims to present and discuss the most current literature (conducted between 2015 and current) on romantic relationships and sexuality education in young people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and ASD co-occurring with ADHD. Six internet-based bibliographic databases were used for the present review that followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Thirty-one studies were identified in this review. Twenty-six studies investigated the topic in the autistic young population. Four studies explored qualitatively and 11 quantitatively young people’s perspectives of their romantic relationship experiences. One study investigated qualitatively and three quantitatively young people’s perspectives on sexuality education. One study explored qualitatively and five quantitatively young people’s romantic relationship experiences and two explored qualitatively and three quantitatively sexuality education from caregivers’ perspectives. Five studies (all quantitative, self-reports) investigated romantic relationship experiences in the young population with ADHD. The studies conducted on the topic from the educational professionals’ perspectives were absent in the literature. The literature was also non-existent on the topic in the population with ASD co-occurring with ADHD. To the researchers’ knowledge, this is the first review exploring romantic relationships and sexuality education in three groups of neurodivergent young people (with ASD, ADHD, and ASD co-occurring with ADHD).

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The Complexities of Sexual Health Among Adolescents Living with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Cited by 5 publications

References 46 publications

Increasing Opportunities for Healthy Sexual Socialization in LGBTQ+ People with IDD: The Role of LGBTQ+ Organizations and Community

Increasing Opportunities for Healthy Sexual Socialization in LGBTQ+ People with IDD: The Role of LGBTQ+ Organizations and Community

Challenges of sex education for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder from the Saudi family’s perspective

Broad Perspectives of the Experience of Romantic Relationships and Sexual Education in Neurodivergent Adolescents and Young Adults

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