Abstract
ABSTRACT Objective To describe the implications of social inability as a factor that can contribute to sexual abuse in the marriage relationship of people with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Case description A 30-year-old male sought medical attention complaining of being “very nervous” and have difficulties in family relationships. He was diagnosed with high-functioning ASD based on the DSM-5. Married for over 4 years with a woman diagnosed with histrionic personality disorder (HPD), he asked for her to accompany him in the sessions and help him describe difficulties they had during sexual intercourse. His wife reported feeling raped in all of her sexual relations with the patient, especially when he could not understand that she did not want sex. Comments The case study leads us to believe that the social and communicative disability is a complicating factor that can contributes to the occurrence of sexual abuse in marital relationships with individuals with ASD. Social skills training, psychotherapy, and traditional medical therapies should be considered to minimize the risk of occurrence of cases of sexual abuse by individuals with high-functioning ASD against the spouses themselves.
Highlights
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurological and developmental condition that arises in infancy and is characterized by deficits in social communication and by repetitive and restrictive behaviors and some studies suggest a prevalence of up to 1 case per 80 individuals[1,2]
We describe the implications of social inability as a possible contributing factor to sexual abuse in the marital relationship of a patient with high-functioning ASD, because there were no studies that address the issue
Given the information presented here, we can see the importance of the study of the sexuality of people with ASD, especially in the marital relations context
Summary
To describe the implications of social inability as a factor that can contribute to sexual abuse in the marriage relationship of people with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Case description: A 30-year-old male sought medical attention complaining of being “very nervous” and have difficulties in family relationships He was diagnosed with high-functioning ASD based on the DSM-5. Objetivo: Descrever implicações da inabilidade social como fator que pode contribuir para o abuso sexual no relacionamento conjugal de pessoas com transtornos do espectro do autismo de alto funcionamento (TEA de alto funcionamento). Comentários: Este caso nos leva a acreditar que a inabilidade social e de comunicação é um complicador que pode contribuir para a ocorrência de abuso sexual em relacionamentos conjugais de indivíduos com TEA de alto funcionamento. Treinamento de habilidades sociais, psicoterapia e terapias médicas tradicionais devem ser considerados para minimizar o risco de ocorrência de casos de abuso sexual praticados por indivíduos com TEA de alto funcionamento contra os próprios cônjuges
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