Our culture suffers from an ‘eternal child’ bias — the reluctance to acknowledge or see individuals with developmental differences as mature and capable of self-determination. This bias extends to self-determination around sexual orientation and gender identity.

In contemporary media, portrayals of autistic people are typically stereotyped and conventional: heterosexual, cisgender and, more often than not, naïve. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning/queer and similar (LGBTQ+) autistic identities, unfortunately, remain taboo.

However, emerging evidence suggests that autistic people are more likely to identify outside of conventional genders and sexualities than the general population is. The reasons for this are unclear, and they need to be studied.

Our research suggests that autistic LGBTQ+ people face specific challenges, from having their self-assessments dismissed to difficulties advocating for their gender needs. Clinicians, parents and teachers must respect autistic individuals’ sexual orientation and gender identity, which may unfold over time.

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