Effectiveness of an affective-sexual intervention for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder and their parents: A randomized trial

The interest for affective-sexual education of autistic people has increased in recent years, resulting some proposal of programs. Most of these interventions have structural and methodological deficiencies that have limited their effectiveness. This study describes the design and shows the preliminary effectiveness of an affective-sexual education intervention for autistic adolescents and their parents (Saludiversex-A), using a randomized trial. A total of 38 Spanish’ adolescents and their parents (n = 38) participated in this study and completed several assessment tools before and after the intervention. Multilevel analysis showed an increase in knowledge about sexuality and their self-protection skills to prevent sexual abuse experiences had increased significantly among those who received the intervention compared to those who did not. In addition, after the program was implemented, parents reported an improvement in addressing sexual health issues in the family. Thus, the Saludiversex-A program is a methodologically sound and effective strategy for improving the sexual health of autistic adolescents by involving their parents. • A sexual education intervention was implemented with adolescents with ASD and their parent. • Knowledge about sexuality and self-protection skills to prevent sexual abuse showed improvement following the intervention. • Positive changes were evident in standardised questionnaires.