Autistic Loving-Supporting Autistic People With Relationships and Sexuality-Claire Bates

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During this session from the 2025 Neurodiverse Love Conference, Clare Bates talks about how we can better support autistic people with their relationship and sexuality needs, based on what they have said matters most to them. Clare shares key findings from research and highlights the challenges autistic people face when it comes to relationships, as well as the type of support they want. She also talks about the training that she and colleagues have developed for social care staff to help them provide more meaningful, person-centred support. You can find more about this work in the Autistic Loving section of the Supported Loving Toolkit.

Bio: Claire Bates, is a neurodivergent researcher and leader (and founder) of the UK’s Supported Loving Network, which focuses on improving how social care supports people with sexuality and relationships. Through the network, she’s created a space for sharing best practice, training, and resources to help staff provide more person-centered and rights-based support. Claire is also an active researcher in the field of sexuality and disability, looking at the barriers people with learning disabilities and autistic people face when it comes to building and maintaining relationships. Her work brings together real-world experience and research to push for better support and to make sure people’s voices and rights are at the center of everything.