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Walking the Tightrope: Promoting Success in the Adolescent with ASD
It is tough being an adolescent. Adolescence is a time fraught with changes at many levels. Physically, the body is growing and changing, evolving from the body of a child to an adult, and becoming physiologically capable of bearing children. There is a tremendous surge of hormones that allow for...
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“Let’s Talk About Sex” with Neurodiverse Couples
On a monthly national conference call, a small group of clinicians who specialize in neurodiverse couples’ therapy meet for peer supervision, support and guidance. Clinicians spanning the country, from California to New York, discuss the current need for clinical expertise in providing...
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Summary of a Systematic Literature Review of Research on Sexuality, Sex Education and Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Individuals diagnosed with Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), currently estimated to occur in one in every 68 births (CDC, 2014), exhibit varying degrees of intellectual ability and social delay. Like other aspects of the diagnosis, typified and challenged by heterogeneity, sexuality is a variable...
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The Risky Road to Adult Sexuality: Know the Unanticipated Dangers
Growing up and developing socio-sexual skills and knowledge can be difficult for any adolescent or young adult, but when the individual has Asperger Syndrome (AS), it is not only challenging, but also potentially dangerous and life altering if missteps are made. The very characteristics of AS...
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Healthy Sexuality Education for Individuals with Autism
Sexuality is a central component of socialization for all people and can play a major role in an individual’s overall self-identify and quality of life. However, the discussion and promotion of this area of adaptive and social functioning in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is...
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Supporting Sexual Independence for Individuals on the Autism Spectrum
As an individual on the autism spectrum, I have struggled with and achieved many types of independence, such as going to college, living on my own, learning how to cook, and starting my own business. While I did receive varying degrees of assistance with each of these endeavors, sexual independence...
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Human Sexuality and Relationship Training for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders in Applied Settings
Development is inevitable. All children will change physically, emotionally, and intellectually. Preparation for these changes can assist in the transition from childhood to adulthood. The goals set in preparing individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) for these changes are no different than...
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A Spectrum of Love: When Romantic Love is Not Attained
Romantic love is a subject with which many in the autism community are preoccupied. They wonder if and how they will find love, and when they do, how they might navigate its occasionally tricky waters. Traditional, romantic relationships can often seem out of reach for a majority of people on the...
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Support and Social Groups: An Essential and Vital Need of the Autistic Community
During all of the years since I was first diagnosed on the autism spectrum, support groups have been a constant part of my life in a variety of ways. Having attended, facilitated, and served in organizations that sponsored such groups, I came to appreciate their importance to those on the spectrum...
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Autism, Sexuality, and Education
Practitioners often construct their programs of research around their clinical practice. Indeed, this is the case with this inquiry. Several years ago, Albee and Piepenbring had the opportunity to work with K, a 19-year-old Caucasian male with a complicated, and well-documented neuropsychiatric...
