Research on gender and sexuality diversity in autism is relatively new. Previously, sexuality in autism was ignored or thought of as an area for concern. 

Key points: 
- Broader research on autism and LGBTQ+ identity is needed.

- There are far more research studies on autism and gender diversity than there are on autism and sexual diversity 

- Autistic gender diverse people have increased rates of mental health concerns 

- Most research on sexual diversity in autism has been focused on prevalence

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The overlap of autism and LGBTQ+ identity is an intersectional issue. 

- Recent studies have shown that there is a higher prevalence of ASD among people who are gender diverse 
- There may be an association between gender dysphoria and autism
- Some research suggests that gender variance is not associated specifically with ASD, but with neurodevelopmental disorders more broadly 
- More research is needed in order to gain a nuanced understanding of the intersection between ASD and LGBTQ+ identity

Autism & LGBTQ+ Identity 

Dewinter, J., Zaks, Z., Brormann, N., Henczyk, I., Graham, E., Strang, J. (2024). Autism and Gender and Sexuality Diversity. In: Mazzone, L., Siracusano, M., Pelphrey, K.A. (Eds). Autism Spectrum Disorder: Understanding the Female Phenotype. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-62072-0_11

Autism & gender/sexuality diversity

Research has shown a high correlation between autism and transgender identity. While research in this area remains ongoing, some conclusions have been made about the co-occurrence of the two identites.

The current research pulls from a systematic review on autism and trans identity (Bouzy, 2023).

Some conclusions of this research are that

-There is a high co-occurrence of gender dysphoria (GD) and trans identity

 -A significant proportion of autistic people with trans identity have a non-binary identity 

-People with a trans identity may have a later age of diagnosis of ASD

 -Individuals with an overlap of both gender dysphoria and ASD have more psychiatric co-occurrences

-Gender-affirming treatments are less accessible to autistic transgender people

Autism & Transgender Identity 

Healthcare disparities exist for both LGBTQ+ and autistic communities, and there has been little previous research focusing on the intersection of these identities and how it relates to healthcare disparities.

Autistic LGBTQ+ people may face a number of challenges in accessing healthcare services, including a lack of services, inappropriate care, care refusal by providers, as well as many other challenges.

Autistic adolescents and adults are at higher risk for mental health issues, which may be exasperated by intersectional identities.

Wallich et al. (2023) conducted a cross-sectional survey to understand autistic LGBTQ+ healthcare experiences. They found that the LGBTQ+ autistic group reported significantly more days of poor physical and mental health, more health care needs, and a higher number of co-occurring diagnoses. They also found that those with more healthcare laws protecting against discrimination based on LGBTQ+ identity were less likely to have unmet healthcare needs. 

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