Abstracts Regarding ASD and Sexuality
This collection assembles abstracts of research on autism spectrum disorder and sexuality, development, assessment, and related clinical topics. The abstracts describe varied study questions and findings, including sexual education needs and diagnostic assessment of intellectually able adults, rather than presenting a single new study or unified conclusion.
ASD and Online Sex Offense: seminar handout
This June 2021 State Bar of Arizona seminar handout reviews autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in cases involving online child pornography and outlines issues for defense attorneys and prosecutors. It covers ASD and sexual development, case preparation and evaluation, plea negotiations, pretrial motions and trial, sentencing, treatment, and appendices with diagnostic criteria and research abstracts.
ASD and Sexual Development
This handout reviews sexuality and sexual development among people with autism spectrum disorder, noting that sexual interests may develop alongside social and communication challenges that affect relationships and socially appropriate expression. It summarizes literature on sexual education, limited access to peer learning, privacy and social-norm knowledge, and the need for explicit instruction, while acknowledging limitations in the cited research.
ASD in the DSM-5
This document reproduces the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for autism spectrum disorder, including persistent social-communication and interaction deficits and restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior or interests. It also presents severity levels based on support needs and specifies that symptoms begin in the developmental period and cause clinically significant impairment in important areas of functioning.
Overview of ASD
This overview describes autism spectrum disorder as a developmental condition involving differences in social communication and interaction, restricted or repetitive interests and behaviors, and varying effects on independence and daily functioning. It summarizes cited accounts of social-cue, perspective-taking, communication, and flexible-reasoning challenges, while noting that abilities and support needs differ across individuals.
Testing for ASD
This handout describes assessment tools used in autism evaluations, including interviews and measures of autistic traits, social communication, and social responsiveness. It cautions that common personality tests may not be normed for adults with ASD and discusses limits of traditional reoffense instruments alongside the CPORT-V2 checklist for adult male child-pornography offenders.