Research: Supporting autistic adults’ intimate lives

Research summary

• July 2021 – December 2022

The study aims to help autistic people have fulfilling intimate relationships by developing social care resources that reflect their experiences.

The quality of our intimate and sexual relationships – and whether we have them at all – can affect our physical and mental health and our overall wellbeing.

Research suggests that autistic people find it particularly challenging and stressful to initiate and maintain sexual and romantic relationships. This may be due to differences in communication or a lack of awareness of neurodiversity among non-autistic people. As a result, dating and intimate situations can be difficult for autistic people.

There is currently a lack of research into this issue and few resources.

Objectives

We aim to build the evidence base for social care support and resources that can help autistic adults to enjoy intimate and sexual relationships.

Methodology

We will:

• analyse existing policies and guidance
• identify which groups and organisations could help shape and support changes to policy and practice
• gather data about the experiences of autistic adults
• host workshops with stakeholders to translate our findings into useful resources

Expected outcomes and outputs

We will produce two digital toolkits — one for autistic people and one for social care providers and neurotypical people.

We will share the toolkits and our findings with policymakers, social care providers, and support groups.