Teach your young adult about sexuality and relationships
Begin by asking your local school system what type of Family Life Education (human sexuality) they offer. Keep in mind that you should think ahead of the stage your young adult is in. Sexual issues should address the person’s biological age.
Dr. Peter Gerhardt gives a comprehensive and lively overview of the issues people with autism face regarding sexuality. Dr. Gerhardt shares perspectives, recommendations and helpful resources to educate people on the challenges faced by the autism community and how to help individuals learn about their sexuality.
Like it or not, if you have a child, sexuality and sexual issues are things you’re going to deal with eventually, either directly (and positively), or indirectly (and most likely negatively) from the imprints made on your child by other people or sources. If your child has autism, this blissful topic gets even more interesting, or uncomfortable, depending on your perspective. What you must remember is that sexual behavior in child development is normal and it can be tracked through the developmental stages of your child. You can either ignore it, pretend the issue doesn’t exist, or you can do what the boy scouts always tell us: “Be Prepared!”
Our Whole Lives helps participants make informed and responsible decisions about their sexual health and behavior. It equips participants with accurate, age-appropriate information in six subject areas: human development, relationships, personal skills, sexual behavior, sexual health, and society and culture. Grounded in a holistic view of sexuality, Our Whole Lives not only provides facts about anatomy and human development, but also helps participants clarify their values, build interpersonal skills, and understand the spiritual, emotional, and social aspects of sexuality.
SIECUS educates, advocates, and informs. They help schools and communities develop comprehensive sexuality education curricula, train teachers to provide high quality sexuality education in the classroom, and help parents talk to their kids about sex. They educate policymakers and their staff about issues related to sexuality and train advocates on the local, state, and national levels to build support for comprehensive sexuality education and access to reproductive health information and services. They produce countless resources for a wide variety of audiences—from policymakers to parents, healthcare providers to teens—to ensure that everyone has access to accurate, complete, and up-to-date information about sexuality.
Scarlet Teen is an independent, grassroots sexuality education and support organization and website. Founded in 1998, Scarleteen.com is visited by around three-quarters of a million diverse people each month worldwide, most between the ages of 15 and 25. They provide articles, interactive services, referrals, outreach, mentoring, and leadership.
This feature issue contains informational articles and personal stories on self-advocacy in sexuality, the parents’ role in sexual education, and preparing your child for puberty.
This guide is a sexuality and sex education resource written specifically for people on the autism spectrum age 15 and up. People on the autism spectrum sometimes don’t have the chance to learn about sexuality and sex in ways that work for them, so OAR created this guide as a starting point to change that.