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No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. Although many more similarities than differences were observed between the groups for views and desires about romantic relationships e. Significantly higher rates of participants with ASD felt their knowledge about sexuality was limited and found it difficult to understand sexual education compared with typically developing TD participants.
Significantly lower rates of participants with ASD reported that they identify to their assigned gender compared with TD participants. Multiple regressions revealed that being older at first diagnosis and possessing better knowledge about sexuality were significant predictors of both positive and negative sexual experience. Keywords: autism spectrum disorder, sexuality, adolescent, asperger, young adult. Personal e. One major challenge faced by most adolescents, with or without ASD, is the discovery and exploration of personal and interpersonal sexuality 5.
Adolescent sexuality is particularly complex because it is a multidimensional process involving areas as diverse as expanding sexual knowledge about oneself and others , exploring sexual preference, wanting or not to develop intimate partnerships, fulfilling or not important socio-sexual needs e. Although transition into adulthood in general and sexuality in particular are challenging for most adolescents, it might be even more so for those with ASD 7.
Contrary to traditional belief [e. However, available studies about sexual health of persons with ASD are typically based on adult participants or indirect reports from parents or counselors of adolescents, often without comparative data. These conclusions are uncertain, however, because parents of children with ASD tend to overestimate their own knowledge about their child's sexual life In addition, these parents tend to underestimate the sexual experience and activities of their child 18 β As stressed by Dekker et al.
