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

Abstract

Background: 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. Aims: 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. Methods and Procedures: 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. Outcomes and Results: Results from paired-sample t-tests indicated significant gains in interpersonal relationship knowledge from pre- to post-intervention. Conclusions and Implications: When provided with specifically tailored sexuality education, young autistic adults can experience socially valid, significant gains on interpersonal relationship knowledge.

Keywords: adults; autism; direct instruction; post-secondary education; sex education; sexuality.