AUTISM AND SEXUALITY RESEARCH

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Hey everyone!

The purpose of my study is to explore the sexual identities and experiences of adults on the autism spectrum.

Study Name: Autism and Sexuality

Description: The study is about autism and sexuality. You will be asked questions about your experiences with romantic relationships. The goal of this study is to attempt to dispel the negative stereotype that people on the spectrum do not desire sexual expression and romantic relationships.

Procedure: Participants have the option to conduct the interview in person or online through a Skype interview, email interview or text based interview over instant messenger programme.

Eligibility Criteria: Participants must identify themselves as a person on the autism spectrum. All participants must be 16 years and older.

If interested or if you would like to ask further questions about the study please contact Mary Marley [email protected]

Bad idea. The study seems to presume that autistic people desire the same type of relationships as NTs, which is a false premise. Any study on autism and relationships and sexuality must factor in asexuality, a dislike for other NT-type relationship preferences (including bonding with sex), as well as "dating" and the unique attachment style. In fact, you cannot do a useful study about this without knowing about these differences.

It seems you're encouraging people who do experience sexual and romantic attraction to participate while discouraging those who don't by implying that their experiences are irrelevant to your goal and only perpetuating a negative stereotype. That's one way to get the answers you want to hear, but it's not going to be the big picture.

Seems legit.

The other posters do have a good point about your phrasing, though, and I feel surprised that your professors didn't tell you to change it. You'll get a less representative sample if you lead with characterizing people who actually fit the stereotype as negative. I'd suggest "examine the attitudes of people on the autism spectrum toward romantic relationships and sexuality."

I encourage asexual people to participate in this research so they cannot publish stereotypes. I already have a paper on neurodiversity and asexuality on peer-review, but it might not get accepted + we need more published research on this connection.

Thank you for your replies.

I take on board the point that you made rdos. I think my wording was inaccurate and it is clear I need to make revisions.

It is exactly for this reason that I am looking to consult with someone from the online autistic community about potential barriers to participation in this study and to make sure I obtain a representative sample.

marycmarley1 - just so you're aware, there have been a number of requests for members to participate in this sort of research recently, and it seemed as if some of them were bogus. Please don't misunderstand me - I'm not suggesting that you are bogus, merely that you must be very precise in the way you word your request, and above all to avoid any kind of stereotypical remarks. Nothing is more guaranteed to upset or anger people on the spectrum than patronising stereotypes.

So don't be discouraged if you get some sceptical responses. It might be useful for you to contact one of the site moderators and ask their advice. They may also wish to check your credentials.

Thanks for your reply Hyperborean

I feel that it is a lesson learnt and I understand how my message could have been misinterpreted but I assure you that this was not intentional.

It would probably help your study significantly if you put up some sort of picture and filled out your profile a little more so that you seem like more of a real person... as things stand you might appear to many people to be a spam account, especially based on your first post alone.

and this study is gonna impair and judge how autistic people wanna be engaged?