“Students with disabilities are often excluded from sex ed classes, or any materials they receive may not be accessible for different learning styles, abilities, or needs—creating another barrier to access.”
(Aurelien et al., 2025)
The impact of societal misconceptions
Adults across academic, familial, and healthcare settings avoid the topic of sexual and reproductive health education due to longstanding societal misconceptions about the ability, need, and desire for neurodivergent individuals to experience sexual development.
Historically, people with disabilities faced segregation and sexual suppression, creating lasting myths and harmful attitudes that still affect access to services especially those aimed at supporting sexual development. Common myths associated with disability and sexuality are (Siecus, 2021):
- Atypical sexual behavior is a cause & effect of disability
- Disabled people are sexually inadequate
- Disabled people are asexual
- Disabled people have no biological sex drive
- Disabled people can’t marry or have kids
- Relationships between disabled and non-disabled people are exploitative and wrong.
- Disabled people can’t ovulate, menstruate, orgasm, ejaculate, or have erections
- Sexual dysfunction is due to disablity
- Disabled people are hypersexual
- Disabled people have uncontrollable sexual urges
- Disabled people should only marry each other
- Any kind of sexual expression by a disabled person is inappropriate
Neurodivergent students, especially those receiving special education services, are far less likely to receive sexual and reproductive health education than their non-disabled peers.
The inadequacies of sex ed curriculum
When ND youth do receive sex education it is often lacking in a variety of ways.
- Most sex ed curricula are one size fits all and don’t address the unique needs of ND students.
- Over-emphasis on biological processes
- Limited to no time is spent addressing social and emotional aspects of puberty and sex
- Heteronormative
- Most sex ed providers don’t have adequate resources or experience to deliver accessible education.
- Lecture-based lesson delivery
- Limited opportunities for questions and clarification of misunderstandings
- Reliance on non-literal language and euphamisms
- Only 5 states require accessibility in health curriculums
- Only 6 states provide optional resources for adaptive health curriculums
The need for inclusive and accessible sexual health education
Content warning: the following section discusses sensitive and potentially triggering topics regarding sexual abuse.
Neurodivergent individuals are at a higher risk of sexual abuse compared to their neurotypical counter parts (Nicole, 2024). Recipients of comprehensive sex education are better protected against sexual abuse (Schneider & Hirsch, 2018). Puberty and sexuality education that is tailored, inclusive, and accessible can be life saving for neurodivergent youth.
- Autistic youth are 3-4x more likely to experience sexual victimization than their non-autistic counterparts. (Nicole, 2024)
- 40-50% of autistic adults report having experienced sexual abuse in childhood. (Nicole, 2024)
- 90% of people with intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDD) will experience sexual abuse at some point in their lives. (DRTx, 2023)
- People with IDD assigned female at birth are ~11x more likley to be sexually assaulted than those without IDD. (DRTx, 2023)
- 50% of people with IDD experience 10 or more incidents of sexual abuse. (DRTx, 2023)
- More than 80% of neurodivergent adults report experiences of domestic violence (Clinical Partners, 2025)
In addition to the protective factors that sex education provides, tailored and inclusive puberty education supports the unique challenges that many neurodivergent youth face.
Learn More:
- Reframing Autism: Sex Education and Autistic LGBTQIA+ Young People
- Sex Positive Families: Disability
- Teen Vouge: Why Sex Education for Disabled People Is So Important
- Autism Research Institute: Sexual Victimization in Autism
- Teaching Sexual Health.CA: Your Role as a Parent
- Planned Parenthood: Human sexuality: What children need to know and when
- Stop it now: Tip Sheet: Sexuality Concepts for Children (Ages 4-8)
- Planned Parenthood: Preventing Sexual Violence Through Comprehensive Sex Education
- AOTA: Factors Influencing Comfort of OT Practitioners in Addressing Puberty in Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
- Sex Education: Scoping review on sex education for high school-aged students with intellectual disability and/or on the autism spectrum: parents’, teachers’ and students’ perspectives, attitudes and experiences
- Sexuality and Disability: Exploring the Experience of Romantic Relationships and Sexuality Education in Neurodivergent and Neurotypical Young Individuals
- Qual Health Res.: Sex: What Is the Big Deal? Exploring Individuals’ with Intellectual Disabilities Experiences with Sex Education
- JARID: Healthcare providers’ role in providing sexual and reproductive health information to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities: A qualitative study
- International Journal of Developmental Disabilities: Barriers experienced by nurses in communication for sexual health education for children with intellectual disability: a qualitative study
- Autism Research: The Vulnerability Experiences Quotient (VEQ): A Study of Vulnerability, Mental Health and Life Satisfaction in Autistic Adults
- Trauma Violence Abuse: Comprehensive sexuality education as a primary prevention strategy for sexual violence perpetration
- Sex Positive Families The Podcast: Nick Winges-Yanez | Sex Ed for All
- Teen Vouge: Why Sex Education for Disabled People Is So Important