Family Network on Disabilities

INformation Hub

FND & ASAN – Relationships and Sexuality

FND & ASAN – Relationships and Sexuality

Relationships and Sexuality

In order for all of us to live in relative harmony with one another, we form relationships and interact with each other in such a way as to become friends, gain trust, and create strong emotional bonds. In time, we may find a person we wish to spend the rest of our lives with. But these relationships never come about automatically. They require practice, effort, patience, understanding, and experience. We’ve arranged this series of tipsheets to help you on your way toward forming the relationships we hope you will be able to sustain for the rest of your life.

Consent and boundaries are important to keep in mind. This is how we tell others how close we wish to be with each other, or how distant. However, when these concepts are misunderstood or mistreated, the potential for abuse and exploitation exist. That is why communication is so important when forming relationships and understanding sexuality. The more we understand each other, the better the chances for meaningful and symbiotic relationships become.

Before we begin working at understanding others, it may become necessary for us to understand ourselves. We must also work at feeling comfortable in our own skin. We all only get one body. We might as well make the best out of it that we can.

When you get down to basics, we are all different from one another. No two people are the same. When we form relationships, we come to understand that we may be more alike than we realize at first, but there will always be differences to consider. It is because of these differences that forming relationships and understanding sexuality becomes so important. We hope you will find the following tipsheets insightful and helpful.

Tipsheet, in English – https://fndusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/ASAN_RelationshipsandSexuality.pdf

SOURCE ARTICLE:  FNDUSA.org & ASAN (Autisitc Self Advocacy Network)