Abstract
Autism commonly refers to neurological developmental disorder that affects communication and behavior of individual. The characteristics of autism are mainly communication impairments and restricted repetitive behaviours. Although autism unique characteristics are often associated with sexual behavior, it is believed that sexual misconduct by individuals with autism indicates symptoms of sexual victimization that they experience. Realizing the absence of systematic literature review focusing on extrinsic factors that cause autism pectrum disorder (ASD) individuals to behave sexually, hence this study is based on the belief that there are extrinsic factors that cause individuals with autism to engage in sexual misconduct. This article aims to synthesize literature dated from 2000 to 2020 using ATLAS.ti 8 to answer research question of this study. The researchers have used keyword search, followed by filters using criteria from SCOPUS, Science Direct and Mendeley which resulted to 30 peer-reviewed journal articles. Next is the inclusive and exclusive process with selection of 24 articles as final articles for study review. The thematic study of 24 articles have identified 52 early codes on extrinsic factors causing ASD offenders involved in sexual misconduct.The codes are categorized into four groups namely sexual abuse, lack of sexuality education, social misconception, internet and pornography. The study proposes that there should be early intervention and education in sexuality to alleviate negative elements that may intensify sexual symptoms among idividuals with autism.
Highlights
Autism is a neurological developmental disorder that affects psychological and behavioral development of the individual experiencing it
The search for articles was mainly on autism and sexual misconduct or a factor linking autism to sexual misconduct, it appears that a collection of journals lists various published articles
This research structure refers directly to the 24 articles identified through several publications namely Journal of Autism, Journal of Intellectual Disabilities and Offending Behavior, Sexuality Disability, Journal of Child Sexual Abuse and others (Table 1)
Summary
Autism is a neurological developmental disorder that affects psychological and behavioral development of the individual experiencing it. Being referred as High Functioning Autism (HFA), the individuals often have good language skills, high IQ and proficiency in matters of logic and visual thinking (Worthington, 2019). They may face difficulty to initiate social interaction and prefer to stick to their routines rather than accepting changes. The most severe of autism is at level 3 whereby the individuals need the most support to perform their daily activities. They face extreme difficulty in communicating, establishing contact and changing their daily routines. The three levels of autism provide more clarity on different capabilities and needs of individuals with autism
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