A recent study that adapted Sex Ed for Self-Advocates, OAR’s online guide, for use in a direct-instruction intervention found that participants’ knowledge of interpersonal relationships increased on average between 16% and 20% on pre- and post-intervention measures.
Participants also reported the intervention as helpful, with 92% indicating that their knowledge either improved or greatly improved across all content areas, while 83% indicated that their confidence in their understanding of interpersonal relationships either improved or greatly improved. Seventy-five percent felt the sexuality and relationships class greatly applied to their goals for independent living.
A team of investigators headed by Katherine Wheeler, Ph.D., at Texas Tech University, recruited 12 young autistic adults to participate. The goal of the study was to determine whether a holistic approach utilizing direct instruction of a developed sexuality curriculum would benefit a group of young autistic adults. The researchers do not have any prior financial affiliation or conflict of interest with OAR.
The findings, published in the Journal of Intellectual Disabilities in December 2023, noted that OAR’s online guide, coupled with direct instruction, increased the participants’ understanding of sexual education and interpersonal relationships.
The research team also noted that the online guide is free and adaptable. “Given the free access to the content as well as the description provided within this paper, the accessibility of this intervention is of great benefit to other instructors working alongside the young autistic adult population.”
The research team sees the study as a first step in how to teach young adults about sexuality education and interpersonal relationships. The curriculum allows autistic adults to follow along at their own pace, incorporates videos and visuals, and asks questions, all components that make an effective intervention approach to teaching about interpersonal relationships and sexual education.
Peter Gerhardt, Ed.D., chair of OAR’s Scientific Council and executive director of the EPIC School, lauded the study and its results as a much-needed step forward in providing young adults with the information and knowledge they need to have healthy, safe, and fulfilling relationships. “Parents and educators have access to many resources to teach their children about sexuality, but far fewer resources for teaching about sexuality to autistic children. Rarer still are resources for autistic adults to learn about sexuality themselves. This study demonstrates the possibilities available to autistic adults.”
The post OAR’s Sex Ed Guide for Young Adults Increases Knowledge first appeared on Organization for Autism Research.
