'It's quite difficult to put Autistic relationships in a box': A qualitative exploration of romantic relationships in gender and sexually diverse Autistic adults.

ABSTRACT: Autistic people enjoy friendships and sexual and romantic relationships. Many Autistic people are also part of a gender or sexual minority, yet gender and sexual minorities are often under-represented in autism research. The current study asked, 'How do gender and sexually diverse Autistic adults experience and perceive romantic relationships?' Sixteen gender and/or sexual minority Autistic adults took part in semi-structured interviews. Interviews were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. Four main themes were identified from the interview data: (1) 'It's Quite Difficult to Put Autistic Relationships Into a Box', (2) Challenging Social Norms, (3) The Perks and Perils of Online Dating and (4) Understanding and Neurotype. Overall, participants described their relationships as i

SUBMITTER: Ciric T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12923615 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature