Brief Report: Parent–Child Sexuality Communication and Autism Spectrum Disorders

• Published in: Journal of autism and developmental disorders Vol. 44; no. 11; pp. 2964 - 2970
• Main Authors: Holmes, Laura G., Himle, Michael B.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston Springer US 01.11.2014; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescents; Adult; Autism; Autism Spectrum Disorders; Autistic children; Bachelors Degrees; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Biological and medical sciences; Brief Report; Child; Child and School Psychology; Child clinical studies; Child Development Disorders, Pervasive - psychology; Communication; Communication (Thought Transfer); Complications and side effects; Comprehension; Demographic aspects; Developmental disorders; Education; Female; Guidelines; Humans; Infantile autism; Intelligence Quotient; Interpersonal Communication; Interpersonal Competence; Male; Medical sciences; Mild Intellectual Disability; Neurosciences; Online Surveys; Parent Child Relationship; Parent Surveys; Parent-Child Relations; Parents - psychology; Parents as Teachers; Pediatrics; Pervasive Developmental Disorders; Pregnancy; Psychology; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychometrics; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Puberty; Public Health; Public Schools; Quality of Life; Rating Scales; Resistance (Psychology); Sex Education; Sexual Behavior - psychology; Sexuality; Sexuality - psychology; Social aspects; Social Behavior; Social Cognition; Social Responsibility; Social Support Groups; Verbal Ability; Young Adults; United States; Puberty; Adolescence; Sexuality education; Parent–child sexuality communication; Sexuality; Parents; Adulthood; Social environment; Human; Parent; Developmental disorder; Autism spectrum disorder; Parent child relation; Autism; Pervasive developmental disorder; Parent-child sexuality communication; Social interaction; Adolescent; Family environment; Adult; Communication
• ISSN: 0162-3257; 1573-3432
• DOI: 10.1007/s10803-014-2146-2

While considerable research has focused on promoting independence and optimizing quality of life for adolescents and young adult with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), sexual development and sexuality education have been largely neglected. Experts recommend that parents be the primary source of sex education for adolescents with ASD, and that sex education be tailored to a child’s developmental level. Prior studies show that parents of youth with ASD are uncertain about how to best communicate about sex and which topics to discuss with their children. In the current study we administered an online survey to 190 parents of adolescents with ASD in order to better understand sexuality communication patterns between parents and adolescents with both low and high functioning ASD.