Sexuality and Relationships E-Book - Autism Awareness

Sexuality and Relationships E-Book

Author: Maureen Bennie
Publishing Info: E-Book 26 pages / June 2020
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Sexuality is always a difficult topic to think about and discuss, especially for parents. It’s hard to see your child as a sexual being. Sometimes people believe that if a person has an autism diagnosis, they won’t have sexual feelings or want a relationship. This simply isn’t true. Biological urges, body changes, and sexual feelings will happen so it’s important to address these in a sensitive and supportive way.

There are the questions of when to start providing information and what do you teach at what age. How do you present the information? Should sex education be solely the job of the parents or should other community members be involved?

As children mature, so will the complexity of their needs. Children need to understand how their body works and why it’s changing as they age. Their sexuality is a normal part of development and an aspect of being human. They need accurate, concrete information that is well explained and presented in a variety of formats such as visual supports, videos, print material and possibly through group work.