Though studies exploring the link between Autism Spectrum Disorder( ASD) and asexuality are limited, there has been a vested interest in the topic with correlations found between the two identities.
In 2009, researchers from the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry conducted a study on adults with ASD and found that 33% of an 80-person sample had no interest in sexual relationships, suggesting a possible link to asexuality.
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Multiple studies have been conducted since then, finding several overlapping factors in how neurodivergent (ND) people are more likely to identify as ace than neurotypical individuals. Additionally, a Tumblr poll from 2017 found that of 7,340 ND voters, 32.7% identified as either aro or ace.
Additionally, several more recent studies have found that ND people are more likely to identify as LGBTQ+. While the numbers do shed light on aspects of both identities, it can also be stigmatizing and hurtful to both groups.
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Autistic people are often portrayed in Western media as alien, unemotional robots incapable of understanding basic social interaction. Often this is played for laughs in comedy, but these stereotypes do create a very harmful social environment where ignorance is allowed to thrive.
Keep in mind that these numbers represent one-third of autistic people and that ASD is a spectrum, meaning not every case will be the same, and different people with the same condition will have vastly different characteristics.
