The Birds and Bees: A Pilot Study of a Parent-Led Sexual Health Education Program for Autistic Youth

Abstract

Parents of autistic youth often express uncertainty in addressing topics related to sexual health and puberty with their children. The purpose of this pilot study was to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of the Birds and Bees program, a novel, group-based sexual and reproductive health education (SRE) program for parents of autistic youth. Parents (n = 10) completed measures of their knowledge about SRE topics, self-efficacy, outcome expectations for discussing these topics with their children, and child daily living skills pre- and post-intervention. Of the ten parents enrolled in the intervention, six completed the program. Treatment completers attended 77% of sessions (an average of 6 of the 8 sessions). Parent acceptability of the program was high. There was support for increased parent knowledge (Hedge’s g = 0.79), self-efficacy (Hedge’s g = 0.75), and outcome expectations (Hedge’s g = 0.51) from pre- to post-intervention. No meaningful changes in parent report of their child’s personal daily living skills were reported (Hedge’s g = 0.15). Implications of these results illustrate the positive impact of an innovative parent-led SRE program for caregivers of autistic youth.