News | Wednesday, 8th February 2023
Policy makers must recognise autistic adults’ intimate lives, urge researchers
Intimate lives of autistic people not included in national health and social care policy
The negative impact of continuing to overlook autistic adults’ intimate lives in health and social care policy has been highlighted in a new report.
Experts have warned that social isolation and poor mental health are risk factors associated with continuing to exclude autism-specific sex and relationship needs.
Researchers at Manchester Metropolitan University have identified how policy documents including the Government’s latest five-year Autism Strategy - created to improve all aspects of life for autistic people by 2026 - omits important issues surrounding sex and relationships.
The academics are now calling for policy makers to acknowledge that autistic people may have specific intimacy needs, implement sex and relationship education and support, and change health and social care strategy so that autistic people’s expressed concerns about their intimate lives are addressed in ways that they themselves identify.
Dr Monique Huysamen, senior research associate at Manchester Metropolitan University and lead author of the report, said: “Our research shows that because we live in a society that operates according to neurotypical people’s communication needs and styles, autistic people face more social barriers to, and experience greater social anxiety around, intimate relationships.
“This leads to increased loneliness and social alienation, but instead of recognising these inequalities and prioritising services to support such an important part of life, policy makers appear to have forgotten them. This needs to be addressed urgently.”
Dr Huysamen and fellow authors analysed a suite of health and social care policy documents, including the Autism Strategy, and found that while they prioritise many aspects of autistic people’s social lives including work, hobbies and relationships with parents and carers, they do not include similarly weighted discussions about intimate relationships or sex.
Additionally, they found that on the occasions where the documents refer to issues around sexuality they do so disproportionately in terms of risk, vulnerability, and threat of sexual offending.
“This points to broader damaging, infantilising and stereotypical ideas about autistic people as either disinterested in, or incapable of, developing intimate relationships. Our research refutes these myths and shows that autistic people can and do have rich, diverse, and pleasurable intimate lives,” said Dr Huysamen.
“When people aren’t recognised as having legitimate intimate lives and needs like everyone else, it can be profoundly dehumanising.”
"Our research shows that because we live in a society that operates according to neurotypical people’s communication needs and styles, autistic people face more social barriers to, and experience greater social anxiety around, intimate relationships."
Dr Huysamen is the lead researcher of SAAIL (Supporting Autistic Adults’ Intimate Lives), a participatory research project based at Manchester Metropolitan University that explores and represents autistic adults’ intimate lives in positive ways.
She adds: “It’s not good enough that such an important part of our lives has been written off for autistic people, who are a very diverse group of people. Society is set up according to neurotypical dating and relationship scripts, with very narrow ideas and definitions about what ideal relationships should look like, and our studies show that these present barriers for autistic people throughout their lives.
“The failure by policy makers to recognise and support autistic adults’ intimate lives proportionately and accurately is having dire consequences on mental health and wellbeing. We want to see an urgent reform of health and social care policies, so this balance is finally redressed.”
Read the report, ‘Acknowledging Autistic Adults’ Intimate Lives in Health and Social Care Policy: Analysis and Recommendations’ here and the full journal article, ‘A Critical Overview of How English Health and Social Care Publications Represent Autistic Adults’ Intimate Lives’ here.
The study was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research School for Social Care Research (NIHR SSCR).
(The study represents independent research funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) School for Social Care Research (NIHR SSCR). The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NIHR SSCR, NIHR or Department of Health and Social Care).
