AUTISM SEXUALITY RESEARCH

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Autism Spectrum Disorders and Sexuality

Hi, I am Mary Marley, a Masters student at Queens University Belfast. I am currently studying part time for a Masters in Autism while working as a Family Support Facilitator in an Autism Charity.

I am now recruiting participants for my dissertation study on sexuality in the lives of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD’s)

Past research has relied on parental and caregiver reports to study the sexuality of people on the autism spectrum rather than personal accounts from the individuals with autism themselves (Ruble & Dalrymple, 1993; Stokes & Kaur, 2005; Van Bourgondien, Reichle & Palmer, 1997). There are only two qualitative studies that review the domain of sexuality from the viewpoint of individuals with ASD themselves (Sperry & Mesibov, 2005; Hatton & Tector, 2010). Given that romantic relationships are private aspects of an individual’s life, a child may not divulge these details of their lives to family members. Consequently, parents may not have a complete picture of their child’s romantic relationships and the information that they provide about their child’s sexuality might not be reliable (Stokes, Newton & Kaur, 2007). A goal of this study is to document the experiences of sexuality and romance from the individuals with autism themselves.

Following this, the study aims to expand our knowledge base of autistic sexuality to include other domains, relevant in autism and sex research such as, sexual-sensory difficulties, influences on sexual development and sexual well-being and satisfaction. A further goal of this study is to explore if negative societal perceptions about the sexuality of individuals on the autism spectrum shape autistic individual’s sexual expression and romantic relationships. Do negative stereotypes and attitudes about autistic sexuality have a detrimental impact on the sexual self-esteem of autistic individuals? How are the intimate lives of autistic individuals regulated through social norms?

Participants must be 18 years or over and identify as an individual on the autism spectrum. If you decide to participate in this study you will be asked to take part in a semi-structured interview.

You can choose to participate in a face to face interview, an oral interview via Skype, an email interview or a text based interview via instant messenger. The choice of interview format is up to you.

I would like to explore the sexuality experiences from all ASD individuals and am particularly interested in individuals who identify as non-heterosexual (e.g. asexual, bisexual, homosexual)

Ethical approval for this research proposal was granted from Queens University Belfast on the 9th June 2015.

If you would like to take part in this study please contact mmarley03@qub.ac.uk . I will be happy to answer all questions or concerns that you may have regarding the study. Alternatively, you may contact my dissertation supervisor, Dr Alison MacKenzie on 02890975930 or email a.mackenzie@qub.ac.uk

I had previously posted a similar recruitment advertisement previously on this site. Following comments from wrong planet members I have adapted the information to include more background information on who I am and to provide more information about the research

First, asexuality is NOT a sexual orientation, nor has anything to do with the typical sex-spectrum (LGBT). Second, by focusing on neurotypical sex preferences you will get nowhere in sexuality research on ASD. Third, you seem to be confusing romantic desire with sexuality, which is a common mistake by NTs that think they are all the same.

What any ASD / neurodiversity research should focus on in order to get anywhere:

1. The attachment process, how it works and produces superior attachments. This is essential to understand in order to help forming meaningful relationships.

2. The romantic orientation, including same-sex and polyamory.

3. Asexuality and how it relates to disgust for neurotypical relationship preferences.

4. Public nudity and exhibitioinism, which has been extensively documented in many materials on ASD, but
never published.