Latest / Aspergers & Autism Podcast [The Aspie World] AuDHD / Autism And Sexuality Secrets to Better Relationships
Transcript
- 0:00All right, let's talk about autism sexuality.
- 0:02In this video, I'm going to cover a lot of the
- 0:05misconceptions, but also some ways to help you if you are
- 0:08wanting to get intimate or you're wanting to make sure that
- 0:10you get the best out of your intimacy with your partner and
- 0:13you're on the autism spectrum, don't go anywhere.
- 0:14It's all coming up guys. What's going on?
- 0:18Welcome back to the ASP world. My name is Dan at autism and
- 0:21ADHD. Now, if you're new around here
- 0:23and you're new to this channel, make sure to hit the subscribe
- 0:25button by clicking the notification bell down below and
- 0:29give this video a like if you feel like it is helping you.
- 0:31OK, so I wrote a book called Autism for Adults.
- 0:34It became an international bestseller in the US, Canada and
- 0:37UK back in 2023. I think I released it.
- 0:40Now the cool thing was I talk about autism in relationships,
- 0:44right? Because I am in a relationship
- 0:48and I have been in other relationships.
- 0:51And what's really interesting is the amount of people who kind of
- 0:55this is 2 things. One is that people don't
- 0:57understand the, the difficulties of the sensory issues or maybe
- 1:02some of the, the, the, the thought processes of autistic
- 1:05individuals and their sexuality and, and sexual intimacy in
- 1:08general. And then the other thing is that
- 1:10a lot of people think because you're classified as a disabled
- 1:13person, you're autistic disabled person, you're not going to be
- 1:15capable of wanting to have intimacy or, or even have sex.
- 1:18I just wanted to say today's video is sponsored by Balassa.
- 1:21Now Balassa is a bi woman company whose mission is to help
- 1:26with everything sexual Wellness right in the world.
- 1:29Now, one of the most interesting things about Bolasa is that they
- 1:32have these silent vibe toys. My friends at Bolasa have the
- 1:37best deal ever. They're going to be sending out
- 1:38a free vibrator or a gift card for a vibrator of your choice to
- 1:43everybody who signs up to the campaign.
- 1:45Now I'm going to leave the giveaway link in the description
- 1:48of this video, so you can go through to that.
- 1:50Now if you're watching on any other platform, just make sure
- 1:53you go through to my YouTube channel and find this video
- 1:55talking about autism and sexuality.
- 1:57Now I am going to just show you a little quick overview of some
- 2:01of the products that they sent me to show you guys because I
- 2:03know that most of you watching are probably a female.
- 2:06OK, so the Pebble is a section vibrator controlled
- 2:11independently, so it's ergonomically built to fit
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- 2:16these little clips, the newest edition of the Pebble Pro is the
- 2:20next Gen. power and it's a longer, stronger and more
- 2:24powerful motor for deeper and more satisfying sensations.
- 2:27Right now. The next one is the air vibe.
- 2:29This is a dual simulator G spot and click stimulator, which it
- 2:33comes with most discreet casing. Again, it's super discreet and
- 2:36it's waterproof, it's rechargeable and it's silent
- 2:39right? This is really interesting for
- 2:41autism and sexual health is because if you're an assistant
- 2:43person and you want access to silent vibrators because this
- 2:47noise could also impact you because this is what we're going
- 2:49to talk about in this video. So the next one is called the
- 2:51flutter vibe. This one is a dual stimulated G
- 2:53spot and click stimulator. It stimulates and experiences of
- 2:57a human tongue, but with an added precision, so mimicking
- 3:02the sensation of oral pleasure. So as you can see in these
- 3:04videos, it comes in the most discreet casing.
- 3:07It's waterproof and rechargeable, and it's powered
- 3:09by a discreet series of technology.
- 3:10So it's like very, very cool. Again, this thing is pretty
- 3:13amazing and I know you guys are going to love it.
- 3:15OK, so make sure you check out the link down below.
- 3:18If you want to vibe for free or you want a gift card to use at
- 3:21the Balassa store, you can do make sure to check out the link
- 3:25in the description. Let's go on with the video.
- 3:26Me and my partner have five children between us.
- 3:29It's a blended situation. People think oh wow, you guys
- 3:32have parents and we're both autistic.
- 3:34So my partner's autistic and I'm autistic and we both have ADHD.
- 3:38And what's really interesting is that it gives lots of insight
- 3:40into kind of like what are the things that are on the spectrum
- 3:45struggle with? What are the things that people
- 3:46on the spectrum have issues and difficulties with when trying to
- 3:49become intimate? Because intimacy is not just
- 3:51kind of like, you know, one Bam, thank you, ma'am.
- 3:54There's a lot more into that. You know, there's, there's
- 3:56feelings and, and connections and touch and sounds.
- 3:59So I'm going to go through all the things.
- 4:00What I did is I went to my book and I listed out some some key
- 4:04areas where we can talk about the areas that may impact you.
- 4:08Like I said before, autism comes with sensory processing disorder
- 4:11and what that means is basically like sight, smell, sounds,
- 4:15temperature, textures, even feeling close to somebody.
- 4:19Now there is different experiences and I've had
- 4:22different experiences with different people and I know this
- 4:24from my current partner. She tells me the same thing.
- 4:26Like I like the touch of my current partner to an extent
- 4:31where it doesn't irritate me or bother me at all.
- 4:34If we're touching too much, I never get touched out and we
- 4:37have a a special connection, hence why we're together.
- 4:39But I have been with other people where too much touch is
- 4:43overpowering and it's too overwhelming for me and I don't
- 4:48enjoy that connection as much. So so how do we navigate this
- 4:50world? Another thing is that if you're
- 4:53wanting to become intimate, you can't just simply think
- 4:58everything is going to be as you want it.
- 4:59Because the temperature, the, the feeling of your clothes, the
- 5:02feeling of the other person's skin them, the smell of them,
- 5:05the smell of you, the smell of the room, the lighting in the
- 5:08room, all of these things could really disrupt how you are in
- 5:14that moment. So I've got some ideas, right?
- 5:17And this is kind of like a sensory consent menu, but it's
- 5:20not more more of a consent menu. It's more of a kind of like how
- 5:23to plan things out. How do you get this?
- 5:24How do you get the most out of it without kind of upsetting the
- 5:26other person? Because at the end of the day,
- 5:28you don't upset the person who you're going to want to kind of
- 5:30be in a relationship with and they don't want to kind of upset
- 5:32you and you don't feel left out, right?
- 5:33So the first thing to do is make a yes and no list.
- 5:36OK, so this is basically you try and make a list of like touch,
- 5:40pressure, temperature and fabrics, sounds and sense.
- 5:44So you just provide any intimacy.
- 5:45So basically you make a A1 to 10 pressure scale, right?
- 5:50So for example, you would have a really simple thing like, Hey,
- 5:53hugs are about A7, right? I can deal with that because I
- 5:56like, you know, full pressure, like I I don't like soft touch.
- 5:59So hugs are about A7 back rubs about a three.
- 6:02And then you can see how different types of touch can
- 6:08shock your system because what happens is, say you wanted to
- 6:10become intimate with somebody, and then you start becoming
- 6:12intimate, but you've got sensory processing disorders for light
- 6:14touch and they lightly go past you.
- 6:15It's going to make you jump. It's going to make you feel a
- 6:17certain way. And that's not something you
- 6:19want, right? You want to avoid that at all
- 6:21costs. So you create these clarity on
- 6:28the matters of touch, right? So you're thinking, OK, so you
- 6:30have predetermined kind of do's and don'ts.
- 6:32They know that you like, you know, firm touch.
- 6:35They know that you, you know, I don't know, don't like hugs or
- 6:38you don't like back rubs or feet rubs.
- 6:40I don't know. It's whatever's personal to you.
- 6:42Now, I would say that you script 2 sentences that would say like
- 6:47every time you know, you want to have intercourse, you'll be
- 6:51like, hey, here's what this makes me feel like if it's good
- 6:53or if it's bad, right? So it's kind of like I want to
- 6:57avoid this tonight because maybe you want to engage in it, of
- 7:01course, because obviously we're humans and we want that need.
- 7:03But maybe you don't want lots and lots of kissing or maybe you
- 7:06don't want lots and lots of like smells or candles or anything.
- 7:11You just want it like the room temperature and the lighting to
- 7:14be the same. So it's kind of like, hey,
- 7:16here's what I want to avoid tonight or here's what I would
- 7:19like to do tonight, right? And if you say those needs, the
- 7:21other person will say to you, well, here, here's what I want
- 7:23or here's what I need tonight. And so then you can come to a
- 7:25compromise in the middle, which is exactly what you want in a
- 7:27relationship because what you don't want is to have an
- 7:31avoidance of intimacy because intimacy is a key path to a
- 7:34solid foundation of a good relationship.
- 7:36So do a quick 5 minutes like scene scan, like just have a
- 7:40quick seat. Like you know what the lights
- 7:42like, what's the noise like? Do we have music on?
- 7:44Do we not have music on? Do I want music on?
- 7:46Is that strong smells? There's something like a candle.
- 7:48Is there an oil we're using? You know, the comfort depends on
- 7:54your needs, right? And so maybe you want no smells
- 7:57or cold room and all the lights off, right?
- 7:59And there's nothing wrong with that.
- 8:00I'm just saying that you need to communicate this to the person.
- 8:02Then the other person needs to also communicate their needs to
- 8:04you because it is a joint partnership, right?
- 8:06And so you simply just make a quick check sheet of all the
- 8:12things that you like and you don't like.
- 8:14And then once you know about your kind of scene, you know
- 8:18about your touch or whatever, you can then do a thing where
- 8:23you have like a pause word or a so say, maybe, maybe you're
- 8:27engaging in intercourse and you're, you know, getting ready
- 8:31and you're doing stuff, but there's something off.
- 8:33Maybe you wanted music at the beginning, but now the music's
- 8:36putting you off now. It'd be a heck of a shame if the
- 8:39other person felt like you weren't into it because of them
- 8:41when it would have been an environmental factor.
- 8:43Like the music or that it's too hot in the room or there's a
- 8:46certain smell in the room. Maybe you kind of like going for
- 8:48a shower and then the smell of the shampoo or something is kind
- 8:52of like coming into the room. So it's always important to to
- 8:56make sure that if there is anything there, you need these
- 8:59kind of code words, right? And so I have this also in a
- 9:01relationship for communication where if my partner's busy
- 9:05because of rejection sensitivity, if I message her
- 9:07and she can't message me back, I worry like, Oh my goodness,
- 9:09maybe I'll upset her. But rather than me worry, she
- 9:11just sends me an emoji symbol that we've agreed upon that I
- 9:14know that she's just busy. So I'll speak to her when she's
- 9:16ready. It's like a loading, you know,
- 9:19you know, pending, I'm busy. I'll message you later.
- 9:22So have a word or a phrase that you use if you need to just stop
- 9:26and rehash something, right? Because it's so important.
- 9:30We don't think about these things, but it's important
- 9:32because autism has caused a communication disorder, a
- 9:35communication issue. So we need to communicate our
- 9:37needs in a way where both parties will understand each
- 9:40other. So I said about doing the the
- 9:43the you know, you check out the noise or the sounds in the room,
- 9:46then low lights, you know, cool room or hot room or whatever you
- 9:49want. I get everything right, the
- 9:51sheet track everything right. And then you agree on the simple
- 9:53word like it could be, Hey, pause for a SEC or whatever it
- 9:57is, right? Just to make a small change to
- 10:00the environment that you don't lose yourself in it, right?
- 10:03So rejection can be difficult for relationships, right?
- 10:06And so to help explain this, you want to be able to be upfront
- 10:08and be like, hey, if, if you know if it's a new relationship
- 10:11or even if it's an ongoing relationship, this could help
- 10:12improve the way in which your sexuality and the time you have
- 10:16with that person actually increases in its potential.
- 10:19Because like I said, it's the core value of everything.
- 10:21Now, it may not work with every single person, but it will work
- 10:25with many people and those people are going to get a lot of
- 10:28benefit from this. OK, so I would also say do a 10
- 10:31minute pre-check together before intimacy, just adjusting, you
- 10:34know, one thing at a time and then retry.
- 10:35Like you're going to find something that works for you,
- 10:38but in order to find that thing that works for you, you have to
- 10:41test things, right? If you don't test something,
- 10:43then you'll never know. And so I would also say build a
- 10:47pressure plan. So you start with firm touch and
- 10:50then, you know, I, I like firm touch.
- 10:53And then maybe if I'm having, you know, a lot of firm touch,
- 10:56then soft touch isn't too much of an issue.
- 10:58And that's really interesting because we are complex creatures
- 11:01as humans, but we're even more complex when we have an autism
- 11:04spectrum disorder, right? So, you know, starting with firm
- 11:09and then going on to, you know, light touch, if it triggers, you
- 11:14then edit it out of the system. But then maybe, you know, you
- 11:18want to not have hugs or you don't want to like lay next to
- 11:21somebody. There's a lot of things that
- 11:22come into it. So all I'm saying is that make a
- 11:23pressure plan. Say, hey, these are the, this is
- 11:25the type of pressure I like. This is the type of pressure I
- 11:27don't like. And if the person's cool with
- 11:28it, then you go, OK, cool. And I guess that there are going
- 11:31to be some compromises where you'll be like, OK, well, maybe
- 11:34we'll have to figure something out, right?
- 11:36If the person doesn't want to, you know, doesn't like hard
- 11:38pressure and they're like soft touch, but you do like the
- 11:41opposite, it could become difficult.
- 11:42But you just eradicate those things from your intimacy,
- 11:45right? And it's really interesting
- 11:47because I found that the more you communicate before intimacy
- 11:50and more honestly and upfront you are with stuff, then there's
- 11:53no ambiguity. There's no kind of going back.
- 11:56So we can't be like, Oh, I didn't know you didn't like
- 11:58this. There may be some things that
- 11:59will arise that you didn't know of, but then you share it
- 12:02afterwards or, or if you say, hey, I didn't realize, I wasn't
- 12:04really into this. Let's go forward and do
- 12:07something else. So practice non asexual touch
- 12:10first. This is a really good tip.
- 12:12So why not like, you know, have a 15 minute kind of like, you
- 12:17know, play around that's non sexual, but you can touch each
- 12:21other where you know, holding hands or touching sitting next
- 12:23to somebody. You're skin to skin because what
- 12:25happens when your skin touches another person's skin,
- 12:27especially if you, you know, phenomenically interested in
- 12:32that person, is you'll have a release of something called
- 12:34oxytocin, which is going to make you feel really, really good.
- 12:36But if you're touching skin with somebody and you're not getting
- 12:39the oxytocin, it could be down to the pressure of that.
- 12:42It could be like if that light touch is not doing it or heart
- 12:44touch is not doing it, maybe you need a light touch and that kind
- 12:46of stuff. So I would say that you start
- 12:48with like just testing the boundaries of like what kind of
- 12:51touching into deal for like 15 minutes and have a stop signal
- 12:54be like, OK, I don't like this, but it's not to offend the other
- 12:58person. It's just to kind of make them
- 12:59aware of your needs, right? And specific needs.
- 13:01And so an example of this would be like 3 minutes of squeezing
- 13:03somebody's hand and then agreed pressure, you know, and then you
- 13:07measure that and then two minutes of rest.
- 13:09So between and then you can repeat this.
- 13:12And so once you both match the pressure.
- 13:15And this sounds kind of very complex thing and we're
- 13:17goodness, all this complexity for just intimacy.
- 13:18But it's, it's important because a lot of people don't cover this
- 13:21and we don't talk about it. And I think intimacy is such an
- 13:24important part of any relationship with autism, right?
- 13:27So one of the things that we never do is maybe like a debrief
- 13:31afterwards. So after intimacy, I would say
- 13:32always debrief with like questions like, hey, was that
- 13:34OK? Or was it too much?
- 13:36Is there anything you'd like to change for next time?
- 13:38Keep it short, very direct, very open and honest.
- 13:41As long as you're open, as long as you're wanting and willing to
- 13:44do and improve the conditions of the intimacy between you, you're
- 13:49going to be fine. And I'd say always do this,
- 13:51right? So you have a quick overview is
- 13:53that you make, you know, a yes, no and try, right?
- 13:56So temperatures, fabrics, sounds and stuff.
- 13:59So yes, I like this. No, I don't like that.
- 14:02Maybe I'll try this. And then you do your, you know,
- 14:06trial touching pressure beforehand.
- 14:10You do a quick scenery scout around you set everything up as
- 14:13much as you can. And then afterwards just have a
- 14:16tiny debrief. I know it sounds more like an
- 14:18operation rather than intimacy, but you want to make sure that
- 14:22you get it right because what? So what will happen is as you,
- 14:26you know, you do this once and then maybe twice and three times
- 14:29and then for the third time, you're going to know what you
- 14:32like, what you don't like and how to manoeuvre around that.
- 14:34And so this is what I would do. Now if you want all of what I
- 14:37spoke about in a nice uniformed pattern or a sheet or PDF, then
- 14:42just go to link down in the description down below.
- 14:44And I'll leave it as I'll just put PDF from video and I'll link
- 14:47it so you can go and download it.
- 14:49And you can go through this at your own pleasure, leisure and
- 14:53time. Don't forget guys, if you are
- 14:55interested in the campaign, make sure to check out Belissa.
- 14:59They are giving away a free vibrator or a gift card for one
- 15:02on the website. All you have to do is get in on
- 15:04the giveaway. Go to link in the description
- 15:06down below. Going to be awesome guys.
- 15:08Peace.