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What does the research say?

Right4me believes everyone is the expert in their own life. We are familiar with the various challenges facing people with disabilities from your lived experience, and there is an increasing amount of research that backs it up, too.

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On acting neurotypical (Autistic masking/camouflaging)

  • Masking or camouflaging is, "the difference between how people seem in social contexts and what’s happening to them on the inside." For neurodivergent people (including but not limited to those who are Autistic), masking may include suppressing stims, making eye contact in social situations, pre-preparing socially acceptable scripts, avoiding talking about or acting on special interests, and more.

     

  • Masking is extremely tiring and takes a huge toll on the individual. It can lead to poor mental health outcomes including “increased stress responses, meltdown due to social overload, anxiety and depression, and even a negative impact on the development of one’s identity.”

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On relationship and sexuality education (RSE)

  • Autistic and other neurodivergent people CAN and DO have successful romantic and sexual relationships!

     

  • Research shows that while autistic young people have similar interest in sex and relationships, they are provided with less sex education and have less sexual knowledge than their neurotypical peers.

     

  • Autistic people often require different methods of learning and additional subject content when compared to traditional relationship and sexuality education.

     

  • Autistic individuals in one study did not believe that they needed more RSE or needed to know more about sex than their neurotypical peers, but their sexual experiences and experiences of RSE were extremely different from those same peers. They scored significantly lower on the four measures of sexual awareness [sexual consciousness, sexual monitoring, sexual assertiveness, and sex appeal consciousness].

     

  • Systemic issues have traditionally blocked autistic people from receiving adequate sex and relationship guidance and support, which can lead to low self-esteem, depression, loneliness, isolation from the wider community, aggression and/or confusion.

     

  • Without education and capacity building interventions, socialising challenges typically associated with autism can increase the risk of individuals experiencing sexual abuse and victimisation, and individuals are between two and three times more likely to experience sexual exploitation,

     

  • Some studies report a notable number of autistic individuals who report no sexual attraction. This could point to asexuality, and/or a general lack of knowledge around gender and sexuality,

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On LGBTQIA+ experiences

  • 21.1% of Australian secondary students identify as LGBTQIA+, and this number is constantly increasing worldwide.

     

  • Transgender and gender diverse individuals are 3 to 6 times as likely to be autistic as their cisgender peers.

     

  • Autistic teens and adults consistently report higher rates of non-heterosexual attraction than neurotypical peers.

     

  • A recent study showed that 1 in 3 autistic people had their gender identity questioned because they were autistic.

     

  • 75% of Australian LGBTQIA+ young people experience bullying or discrimination.

     

  • 81% of Australian LGBTQIA+ young people don't feel that their school adequately supports them.

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References (and some interesting reading!)

Dattaro L (2020). Largest study to date confirms overlap between autism and gender diversity, https://www.spectrumnews.org/news/largest-study-to-date-confirms-overlap-between-autism-and-gender-diversity.

Dewinter J, De Graaf H, Begeer S (2017). Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Romantic Relationships in Adolescents and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Autism Dev Disord 47:2927–2934, available at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5570786.

Egeskov C (2019). The Art of Masking: Women with Autism, https://www.tiimoapp.com/blog/art-of-masking-women-with-autism.

Hancock G, Stokes M, Mesibov G (2020). Differences in Romantic Relationship Experiences for Individuals with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. Sexuality and Disability. 38. 10.1007, available at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/333240279_Differences_in_Romantic_Relationship_Experiences_for_Individuals_with_an_Autism_Spectrum_Disorder.

Hannah LA & Stagg SD (2016). Experiences of Sex Education and Sexual Awareness in Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Autism Dev Disord 46, 3678–3687, available at https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10803-016-2906-2.

Hisle-Gorman E, Landis CA, Susi A, Schvey NA, Gorman GH, Nylund CM, DA Klein (2019). LGBT Health. Apr 2019.95-100, available at https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/lgbt.2018.0252.

Hull L, Petrides KV, Allison C, Smith P, Baron-Cohen S, Lai M, Mandy W (2017). Putting on My Best Normal”: Social Camouflaging in Adults with Autism Spectrum Conditions, J Autism Dev Disord. 47(8): 2519–2534, available at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5509825.

Lai M, Lombardo M, Ruigrok ANV,  Chakrabarti B, Auyeung B, Szatmari P,  Happé F, Baron-Cohen S, Quantifying and exploring camouflaging in men and women with autism (2016). Autism, Vol. 21(6) 690–702, available at https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1362361316671012.

Minus18, https://www.minus18.org.au/about.

Mogavero M & Hsu K (2019). Dating and Courtship Behaviors Among Those with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Sexuality and Disability. 10.1007, available at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332365560_Dating_and_Courtship_Behaviors_Among_Those_with_Autism_Spectrum_Disorder.

Russo F (2018). The cost of camouflaging autism, https://www.spectrumnews.org/features/deep-dive/costs-camouflaging-autism.

Warrier V, Greenberg DM, Weir E, Buckingham C, Smith P, Lai M, Allison C, & Baron-Cohen, S (2020). Elevated rates of autism, other neurodevelopmental and psychiatric diagnoses, and autistic traits in transgender and gender-diverse individuals. Nature communications, 11(1), 3959, available at https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32770077.

Wright J (2017). New method aims to quantify ‘camouflaging’ in autism, https://www.spectrumnews.org/news/new-method-aims-quantify-camouflaging-autism.

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