TW: mentions of sexual assault

Next month is both Autism Awareness Month and Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

Many people talk about these topics separately and individually, but we rarely see anyone talking about them together, and the role that sexual assault plays in many autistic people's lives. As a sexual assault survivor on the spectrum, this is an issue that not only is extremely close to me but also needs to be talked about a lot more often than it already is.

According to Disability Studies Quarterly, about 1 in 3 neurotypical girls and 1 in 10 neurotypical boys will be sexually assaulted or raped before the age of 18.

There is currently no confirmed data concerning children on the autism spectrum, however, many have noted that due to a lack of social, cognitive, and communication skills that neurotypicals have, children with developmental disabilities are two to four times more likely to be sexually assaulted or raped than neurotypical children. Many also suggest that the effects of sexual assault in developmentally disabled children may possibly also be a result of social isolation and exclusion by their peers.

For many children, interpreting and reading social cues can help them determine who is safe to be around and who is not safe. Autistics tend to lack this ability, and because of this, they are higher at risk for sexual violence. Many autistic self-advocates who were sexual assault survivors have often described significant challenges in this area, and have mentioned how things would have been different if they were able to read their attacker's social cues, so they could have known their intentions.

This played a big part in my sexual assault stories.

I was never able to read how toxic a person was, so when people tried to warn me about toxic people that I would often become attached to, I would not believe them. After I was sexually abused several times by the same person, I had no choice but to cut that person out completely, but even after that I still had issues with reading other social cues, where I had to find out from other friends that another friend of mine was super toxic and should be avoided.

I know this seems like I am going off on a tangent right now, but my story shows how a lack of social cues can potentially lead to issues involving toxic friendships and sexual assault. We as a society would have to teach our children (developmentally disabled or not) about consent as early as humanly possible, and teach autistic children about reading social cues in a way that works for them, and give them ways to help them speak out about this violence in a way that works for them.

Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-4673