Communication on Sexuality Between Parents and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review

The objective of this systematic review was to identify and analyze the information available on sexual communication between parents and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Medline/PubMed, Lilacs, Ebsco, Embase, Scielo, Google Scholar, Scirus and Redalyc databases were used to find articles. The inclusion criteria were studies published in indexed databases in English, Spanish and Portuguese with a quantitative and qualitative approach in full text, studies that include a population of parents of adolescents with ASD and adolescents between 10 and 19 years of age with a diagnosis of ASD, and studies that covered communication about sexuality. Keywords combined with Boolean operators were used. Three topics were identified that covered the communication of parents and adolescents with ASD: sexual issues, parents' romantic expectations, and sexual experiences. This systematic review highlights the need for training of health professionals and sex education programs for parents of adolescents with ASD.