In the current research climate, in which many autistic and autism communities are increasingly calling for a move towards collaborative forms of research, we consider how a loosely formed epistemological community may serve to challenge ‘business as usual’ in the academy. Mindful of the need to move beyond theory, we use this experience to concretely consider how knowledge about autism and neurotypicality can be meaningfully (co)-produced, and made available both to the research community and also to autistic and autism communities. Here, we use our own co-production of this article to explore how autistic experience may trouble normative meanings of academic knowledge production. We also consider the limits and possibilities of a neurodiverse research collaboration to reflect on ways in which a loose epistemological space may serve to contribute to knowledge about both autism and neurotypicality, adding to debate around collaborative research.

Autism is conceptualized in much scientific literature as being associated with restricted and repetitive interests, characterized by an ‘empathy deficit’, and negatively impacting social communication. Meanwhile, ‘good and healthy’ sexuality is largely considered to be a social endeavor: asexuality and sexualities defined by acts rather than by partner gender—for example kink or BDSM—are broadly pathologized. Perhaps, therefore, first-hand autistic experiences of sexuality challenge existing assumptions about ‘good and healthy’ sexualities within couplehood. As a theoretical starting point to explore this potential, we revisit Gayle Rubin’s notion of ‘sex within the charmed circle’ to ask whether autistic sexuality can ever truly ‘fit’ within this (neurotypically defined) virtuous sexual arena. We further consider the ways in which the intersection of autism and sexuality is understood and experienced in first-hand autistic accounts of sexuality within a specific context, through analysis of a Swedish online discussion forum in which autistic people discuss sexuality. In doing so we seek both to better understand autistic sexual experience, and to track and deconstruct potentially restrictive assumptions of (non-autistic) couple sexuality more generally. We also consider ways in which assumptions of deficit concerning both non-normative sexualities and autism may have a deleterious effect on autistic people and on research more broadly, limiting theoretical and conceptual understandings of autism and autistic ways of (sexual) being by a default comparison to sexual and neurological norms.