Existing research suggests that people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are more likely than those without ASD to self-identify as asexual, or as being on the asexual spectrum. This study contributes to the literature by exploring aspects of sexuality and well-being in a large, community-based sample of young women (18-30 years old) with ASD (N…

Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and the Broad Autism Phenotype (BAP) are more likely than individuals with typical development (TD) to report a sexual minority orientation (e.g., Bejerot and Eriksson, PLoS ONE 9:1-9, 2014; DeWinter et al., Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 47:2927-2934, 2017; Qualls et al., Journal of…

Autistics are more likely than neurotypicals to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, asexual, and other sexual orientations. Autistics and sexual minorities represent populations at high risk for depression, anxiety, and suicidality. Little is known about the experiences of individuals living at this intersection. In this phenomenology, 67 individuals who…

This experimental study explored the use of online expressive writing interventions to cope with distress from heterosexist events among a sample of autistic-LBGQ + individuals. This study included an open writing condition and an emotion focused therapy guided writing condition. Over 89% of the participants indicated that the writing exercises…

Individuals with higher levels of the broad autism phenotype (BAP) have some symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Like individuals with ASD, people with higher-BAP may have fewer sexual experiences and may experience more same-sex attraction. This study measured BAP traits, sexual experiences, and sexual orientation in typically developing…

We examined the association between autistic traits and sexual orientation in a general adult population (N = 47,356). Autistic traits were measured with the ten items Autistic Quotient questionnaire using a cut-off score of = 6. Sexual orientation was assessed by self-report. Multinomial logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs)…

Despite research exploring autism in gender-diverse adolescents, no studies have elicited these individuals' perspectives. In-depth interviews with 22 well-characterized autistic gender-diverse adolescents revealed critical themes, including: recollections of pre-pubertal gender nonconformity; vivid experiences of gender dysphoria; a fear of…

Past research suggests more variation in sexual attraction in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) using clinical samples. This study utilised a population representative group of 14/15 year olds from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. Ninety-four adolescents (73 males, 21 females) with ASD and 3454 (1685 males, 1675 females) without…

There is increased mental-health adversity among individuals with autism spectrum disorder. At the same time, sexual and gender minority groups experience poorer mental-health when compared to heteronormative populations. Recent research suggests that autistic individuals report increased non-heterosexuality and gender-dysphoric traits. The…

This study compared sexual orientation and romantic relationship experience in a large sample of adolescents and adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (n = 675) and general population peers (n = 8064). Gender identity was explored in the ASD group in relation to assigned gender at birth. Compared to general population peers, more people with…

The research investigated feelings towards sex education and sexual awareness in young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Data were generated from the sexual knowledge, experiences, feelings and needs questionnaire (McCabe et al. 1999), the sexual awareness questionnaire (Snell et al. 1991) and semi-structured interviews. Twenty typically…