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Family Sexuality Communication for Adolescent Girls on the Autism Spectrum

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Abstract

Families are critical for supporting healthy sexuality and relationship development for youth with autism. The objective of this study was to describe family sexuality communication for adolescent girls with autism. Participants were 141 parents of autistic daughters who completed an online survey about sexuality development. Most parents relied on discussion alone rather than visual supports or skills-based teaching techniques. Intellectual functioning, child age, race/ethnicity, and whether youth expressed sexual interest in others affected family sexuality communication. We discuss how most parents covered important basics, but many did not cover more nuanced relationship or sexual health topics during family sexuality communication. Few used enhanced instructional techniques (e.g., visual supports, social stories), suggesting potential utilization barriers such as a lack of affordable and available resources. There is a need for research accounting for diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds, sexual orientations including asexuality/demisexuality, and for transgender and gender diverse youth.

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Acknowledgments

The McMorris Family Foundation provided funding for this research. We would also like to thank Paul Shattuck for his support, and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Center for Autism Research, including Robert T. Schultz and Judith S. Miller for mentorship, and Lindsey DeMarco, Susannah Horner, and Dana Weidig for support in recruitment. This paper is based on earlier research by this same research team and extends those studies to families of girls on the autism spectrum.

Funding

The McMorris Family Foundation, through the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Center for Autism Research, provided funding to support this study (Grant Number N/A).

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  1. Laura Graham Holmes

    Present address: A. J. Drexel Autism Institute, 3020 Market Street Suite 560, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA

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  1. Department of Psychology, University of Utah, 380 South 1530 East BEHS 502, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, USA

    Laura Graham Holmes, Donald S. Strassberg & Michael B. Himle

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LGH conceived of the study, participated in its design and implementation, performed and interpreted the statistical analyses, and drafted the manuscript. DSS and MBH conceived of the study, participated in design and supervised implementation, and MBH contributed to interpretation of the data and drafting of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Laura Graham Holmes.

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Laura Graham Holmes, Donald S. Strassberg, and Michael B. Himle each declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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Holmes, L.G., Strassberg, D.S. & Himle, M.B. Family Sexuality Communication for Adolescent Girls on the Autism Spectrum. J Autism Dev Disord 49, 2403–2416 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-019-03904-6

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