A Pilot Program for Teaching Sexuality and Relationships to Adults with Autism and Developmental Disabilities

Abstract

People often have an innate interest in both platonic and romantic relationships. In fact, feelings toward sexuality and sexuality education do not differ between various individuals. Yet, autistic individuals have been shown to score significantly lower on measures of sexual awareness than their typically developing counterparts. The current project sought to investigate the benefits of a specially tailored socio-sexuality curriculum on the interpersonal relationship knowledge of 12 autistic young adults. The eight-session sexuality education intervention was carefully tailored from an existing, online guide from the Organization for Autism Research. Pre- and post-test data were collected via the Assessment of Functional Living Skills Interpersonal Relationships domain. T-tests were conducted to determine significance. Results from paired-sample t-tests indicated significant gains in interpersonal relationship knowledge from pre- to post-intervention. When provided with specifically tailored sexuality education, young autistic adults can experience socially valid, significant gains on interpersonal relationship knowledge.

Keywords

sexuality sex education autism direct instruction adults post-secondary education

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

American Psychiatric Association . (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596

Ballan

M. S.

Freyer

M. B.

(2017). Autism spectrum disorder, adolescence, and sexuality education: Suggested interventions for mental health professionals. Sexuality and Disability, 35, 261-273.

Brener

N.D.

Demissie

McManus

Shanklin

S.L.

Queen

Kann

(2017). School health profiles 2016: Characteristics of health programs among secondary schools. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Brown-Lavoie

S. M.

Viecili

M. A.

Weiss

J. A.

(2014). Sexual knowledge and victimization in adults with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 44(9), 2185-2196.

Charalambous

C. Y.

Hill

H. C.

(2012). Teacher knowledge, curriculum materials, and quality of instruction: Unpacking a complex relationship. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 44(4), 443-466.

Corona

L. L.

Fox

S. A.

Christodulu

K. V.

Worlock

(2016) Providing education on sexuality and relationships to adolescents with autism spectrum disorder and their parents. Sexuality and Disability 34: 199–214.

Crooks

R. L.

Baur

Widman

(2020). Our sexuality. Cengage Learning.

Curtiss

(2013). Educating the educator: Delivering sexuality education to individuals with autism spectrum disorder (thesis).

Curtiss

S. L.

Ebata

A. T.

(2016). Building capacity to deliver sex education to individuals with autism. Sexuality and Disability, 34, 27-47.

10.

DeMyer

M.K.

(1979). Parents and children in autism. V.H. Winston.

11.

Eaves

L. C.

H. H.

(1996). Brief report: Stability and change in cognitive and behavioral characteristics of autism through childhood. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 26(5), 557–569. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02172276

12.

Eyres

R. M.

Hunter

W. C.

Happel-Parkins

Williamson

R. L.

Casey

L. B.

(2022). Important conversations: exploring parental experiences in providing sexuality education for their children with intellectual disabilities. American Journal of Sexuality Education, 17(4), 490-509.

13.

Fly

(2017). Sexuality education for adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (thesis).

14.

Garcia

Fields

(2017). Renewed commitments in a time of vigilance: Sexuality education in the USA. Sex Education, 17(4), 471-481.

15.

Gilmour

Schalomon

P. M.

Smith

(2012). Sexuality in a community based sample of adults with autism spectrum disorder. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 6(1), 313-318.

16.

Hall

J. P.

Batza

Streed

C. G.

Boyd

B. A.

Kurth

N. K.

(2020). Health disparities among sexual and gender minorities with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 50, 3071-3077.

17.

Hannah

L. A.

Stagg

S. D.

(2016). Experiences of sex education and sexual awareness in young adults with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 46, 3678-3687.

18.

Hartmann

Urbano

M. R.

Raffaele

C. T.

Qualls

L. R.

Williams

T. V.

Warren

Kreiser

N. L.

Elkins

D. E.

Deutsch

S. I.

(2019). Sexuality in the autism spectrum study (SASS): Reports from young adults and parents. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 49(9), 3638–3655. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-019-04077-y

19.

Hiebert

Grouws

D. A.

(2007). The effects of classroom mathematics teaching on students’ learning. Second Handbook of Research on Mathematics Teaching and Learning, 1(1), 371-404.

20.

Hellemans

Colson

Verbraeken

Vermeiren

Deboutte

(2007). Sexual behavior in high-functioning male adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 37, 260-269.

21.

Houtrow

Elias

E. R.

Davis

B. E.

Council on Children with Disabilities (2021). Promoting healthy sexuality for children and adolescents with disabilities. Pediatrics, 148(1), e2021052043. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2021-052043

22.

Kantor

Levitz

(2017). Parents' views on sex education in schools: How much do Democrats and Republicans agree? PloS one, 12(7), e0180250. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0180250

23.

Kenny

D. A.

(1975). A quasi-experimental approach to assessing treatment effects in the nonequivalent control group design. Psychological Bulletin, 82(3), 345-362.

24.

Koo

T. K.

M. Y.

(2016). A guideline of selecting and reporting intraclass correlation coefficients for reliability research. Journal of Chiropractic Medicine, 15(2), 155-163.

25.

Leung

Shek

D. T.

Leung

Shek

E. Y.

(2019). Development of contextually-relevant sexuality education: Lessons from a comprehensive review of adolescent sexuality education across cultures. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(4), 621-645.

26.

Maenner

M.J.

Shaw

K.A.

Bakian

A.V.

Bilder

D.A.

Durkin

M.S.

Esler

Furnier

S.M.

Hallas

Hall-Lande

Hudson

Hughes

M.M.

(2021). Prevalence and characteristics of autism spectrum disorder among children aged 8 years—autism and developmental disabilities monitoring network, 11 sites, United States, 2018. MMWR Surveillance Summaries, 70(11), 1-16.

27.

MacKenzie

(2018). Prejudicial stereotypes and testimonial injustice: Autism, sexuality and sex education. International Journal of Educational Research, 89, 110-118.

28.

McGinnis

Gerow

Gregori

Davis

(2022). Caregiver-implemented interventions for autistic adolescents and young adults: A systematic literature review. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, 35(2), 167–188. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10882-022-09877-2

29.

Partington

J. W.

Mueller

M. M.

(2016). The Assessment of Functional Living Skills: Independent Living Skills Assessment Protocol. Behavior Analysts, Inc. and Stimulus Publications.

30.

Pask

Hughes

T. L.

Sutton

L. R.

(2016). Sexual knowledge acquisition and retention for individuals with autism. International Journal of School & Educational Psychology, 4(2), 86-94.

31.

Penwell Barnett

Graham Holmes

McLaughlin

Moyher

Strang

Zhou

Davila

(2022). Sex ed for self-advocates: OAR. Organization for Autism Research. Retrieved March 24, 2023, from https://researchautism.org/self-advocates/sex-ed-for-self-advocates/

32.

Pound

Langford

Campbell

(2016). What do young people think about their school-based sex and relationship education? A qualitative synthesis of young people's views and experiences. British Medical Journal Open, 6(9), 1-14.

33.

Pugliese

C. E.

Ratto

A. B.

Granader

Dudley

K. M.

Bowen

Baker

Anthony

L. G.

(2020). Feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a parent-mediated sexual education curriculum for youth with autism spectrum disorders. Autism, 24(1), 64-79.

34.

Raudenbush

S. W.

(2008). Advancing educational policy by advancing research on instruction. American Educational Research Journal, 45(1), 206-230.

35.

Rowe

D. A.

Sinclair

Hirano

Barbour

(2018). Let's Talk About Sex… Education. American Journal of Sexuality Education, 13(2), 205-216.

36.

Selassie

A. H.

(1995). International conference on population and development, Cairo 5-13 September 1994--IAC presence. Newsletter (Inter-African Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children), (17), 19.

37.

Sevlever

Roth

M. E.

Gillis

J. M.

(2013). Sexual abuse and offending in autism spectrum disorders. Sexuality and Disability, 31, 189-200.

38.

Shapiro

Brown

(2018). (rep.). Sex Education Standards Across the States. Center for American Progress. Retrieved 2023, from https://www.americanprogress.org/article/sex-education-standards-across-states/

39.

Shattuck

P. T.

Narendorf

S. C.

Cooper

Sterzing

P. R.

Wagner

Taylor

J. L.

(2012). Postsecondary education and employment among youth with an autism spectrum disorder. Pediatrics, 129(6), 1042-1049.

40.

Shrout

P. E.

Fleiss

J. L.

(1979). Intraclass correlations: Uses in assessing rater reliability. Psychological Bulletin, 86(2), 420-428.

41.

Solomon

Pantalone

D. W.

Faja

(2019). Autism and adult sex education: A literature review using the information–motivation–behavioral skills framework. Sexuality and Disability, 37, 339-351.

42.

Stankova

Trajkovski

(2021). Sexual education of persons with autistic spectrum disorders: use of the technique: ‘social stories. Sexuality and Disability, 39(2), 377-393.

43.

Stokes

M. A.

Kaur

(2005). High-functioning autism and sexuality: A parental perspective. Autism, 9(3), 266-289.

44.

Sullivan

Caterino

L. C.

(2008). Addressing the sexuality and sex education of individuals with autism spectrum disorders. Education and Treatment of Children, 31(3), 381-394.

45.

Tarnai

Wolfe

P. S.

(2008). Social stories for sexuality education for persons with autism/pervasive developmental disorder. Sexuality and Disability, 26, 29-36.

46.

Tullis

C. A.

Zangrillo

A. N.

(2013). Sexuality education for adolescents and adults with autism spectrum disorders. Psychology in the Schools, 50(9), 866-875.

47.

UNFPA . (2014). Operational guidance for comprehensive sexuality education: A focus on human rights and gender. United Nations Population Fund.

48.

Weir

Allison

Baron-Cohen

(2021). The sexual health, orientation, and activity of autistic adolescents and adults. Autism Research 14(11): 2342-2354.

49.

Wolfe

P. S.

Wertalik

J. L.

Monaco

S. D.

Gardner

(2019). Review of curricular features of socio-sexuality curricula for individuals with developmental disabilities. Sexuality and Disability, 37, 315-327.