By Carolyn Graham
Those of us who love and care for special needs children are familiar with the fact that they need extra care and attention. Protecting children with autism from pornography is no different. A Google search of autism and pornography produces a surprising amount of articles highlighting the reality of the problem. In order to empower families with children with autism, we must first understand why children with autism have a special struggle with pornography.
- Drawn to the virtual. Children with autism are very visual and connected to the virtual world, putting them at a higher risk of developing a pornography addiction. I have seen this fascination with the virtual first hand as one of my students opens up and begins excitedly talking about what he sees on the computer, usually to no one in particular. Even if he is not in front of a screen, his mind is usually replaying something he previously watched, and he is jabbering a narration of the scene for us.
- Strongly habitual. Children with autism are very habitual. They like repetition and can become very confused and stressed when things change. If a child with autism begins looking at porn even one time, it could mean an instant addiction that will be exponentially harder to break than normal.
- Concrete reasoning vs. abstract thinking.Children with autism think in more literal terms and are slower to develop the higher order thinking skills needed to keep them safe. An example would be not being cognizant of the effects porn can have on them, places and people who could be bad influences, and also knowing how and where to seek help when they do have an issue.
- Late developing reading skills. Children with autism are likely to have a difficult time learning to read and an even harder time comprehending what they are reading. All three of my 1st and 2nd grade students with autism are still pre-readers, and it will be a few more years before they learn to read and even longer before their comprehension skills are developed. This is significant because they are at risk of clicking on things before they really understand what they are clicking on, which could make a simple thing like a Google search a mine field.
- Loneliness. Children with autism are prone to have a difficult time forming relationships, especially with peers. This can lead older children with autism to seek out relationships and porn online. Unfortunately many of them relate better to children and seek out child porn, and then they have problems with the law (Robison, 2013).
- Burdensome expectations. Children with autism are developing intellectually at a slower rate than their physical body. There will also likely be some intelligence he or she has that is closer to their peers. This can cause parents to try to give their child more responsibility than they are ready for. In my special populations class, I was thrilled to see a woman with a PhD who also had cerebral palsy all because her mom fought for her and set high expectations for her in a time where others wanted to institutionalize her. But we also must be realistic so we are not giving them more responsibility on the Internet than they are ready for and putting them in danger.
Phew. This is a lot to absorb and could potentially overwhelm a parent who is likely already overwhelmed with the care necessary for a child with special needs. Fortunately there is action that can be taken and success is possible. Click to see part 2 where I discuss the steps we can take to help children with autism be safe on the Internet.
Carolyn Graham has a BS in Interdisciplinary Studies from Texas A&M. She has been a substitute, preschool and kindergarten teacher. She now teaches Special Education.
Curious to learn more? Check out our books, ; How to Talk to Your Kids About Pornography, which is also available in ; and .
Need Help with Tough Topics? We got you covered!Citations:
Robison, J. E. (2013, August 6). Autism and Porn: A Problem No One Talks About. Retrieved 2016, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/my-life-aspergers/201308/autism-and-porn-problem-no-one-talks-about
