What Treatment Is Available for Autistic Teens With Hypersexuality?
Oxbow Academy helps teens struggling with sexual boundaries by providing specialized therapy and support focused on understanding sexual compulsiveness, addiction, and the reasons behind sexually inappropriate behavior. Our clinicians use sexual-specific therapy to help students understand the connection between their emotions, behaviors, and sexual boundaries.
If your son is on the autism spectrum and you’ve noticed him struggling with pornography, fixating on unusual sexual interests, or crossing boundaries he doesn’t fully understand, you’re not alone. Many parents in your shoes feel torn between fear, confusion, and a desperate need for answers.
Call 855-676-4272. We understand the unique intersection of neurodiversity and sexual boundaries. A compassionate professional is ready to listen.
Oxbow Academy is a residential treatment center for teenage boys dealing with sexually inappropriate behavior. If you have an autistic son who struggles with hypersexual behavior, we can help. Whether he's battling chronic masturbation, a pornography addiction, or something else, our expert therapists will know how to help your son.
Our program has been carefully designed to cater to the needs of neurodivergent teenagers. We have a dedicated campus that is specifically tailored to support boys who face challenges related to autism and hypersexuality. Our Neurodiverse Campus may be appropriate for your child if he struggles with:
- Level 1 Autism Symptoms
- Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD)
- Nonverbal Learning Disorder (NLD)
- Recognizing and decoding social cues (Social Pragmatic Communication Disorder)
- Social skills difficulties
- Sensory issues
- Difficulties with understanding how other people think and feel, or how their behavior affects other people
- Narrow interests, which could include unusual sexual interests.
You can place your son in a therapeutic living environment where we can address his issues with a unique style of social interaction. We use repetition and role modeling to help students understand and incorporate therapeutic principles without the frustrations they sometimes experience in programs where the main focus is on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), or in other words, “talk therapy”.
Since 2006, Oxbow Academy has provided a therapeutic, residential, and academic program that treats each student in a personalized, holistic way. At Oxbow's Neurodiverse Campus, you can give your son a smaller, more personalized therapy setting to help him deal with his sexually inappropriate behavior and social challenges.
Call 855-676-4272. Learn how we move beyond "talk therapy" to help autistic teens incorporate real-world boundaries through role modeling.
How Does Oxbow Evaluate Teens for Its Neurodiverse Program?
It is important that each student goes through a thorough evaluation process conducted by our team before admission to determine if our program is appropriate for your son’s needs. The evaluation process at Oxbow Academy allows for our clinical team to learn more about your son and his developmental history, sexual behaviors, mental health, social challenges, and any other factors in his life that might affect his treatment. If your son is on the autism spectrum, this evaluation will also determine if the ASD House on campus will provide the structure and support that he needs.
The goal of the evaluation is to understand your son as a whole person, not just his behaviors. This evaluation will allow his treatment team to create a specialized plan that is tailored to help him and address his specific needs.
How Does Oxbow Academy Help Teens Struggling With Sexual Boundaries?
Clinicians at Oxbow Academy will help your son understand the root causes of his problematic sexual behaviors and help him learn healthier coping skills. Oxbow Academy clinicians do so by understanding the connection between sexual compulsiveness, addiction, trauma, stress, and emotional regulation while developing healthier ways to manage difficult emotions and respect sexual boundaries.
Many parents worry that their son will be labeled as a sexual “predator,” “pedophile,” or “sex offender”. Courts create these terms for adult offenders. It’s important for parents, consultants, and private clinicians to understand that this kind of court language is clinically inaccurate when it comes to describing Oxbow students.
Students at Oxbow Academy have broken sexual boundaries and struggle with sexual compulsiveness. They commonly have been victims of sexual abuse or sexual trauma. Our East Campus students are often emotionally disconnected from their surroundings. Oxbow students use sexual acting out as a means of coping with stress and anxiety, in the same way as other teens may choose to abuse substances or other self-harm behaviors. They are not in the same category clinically or developmentally as adults with histories of sexual misconduct.
Typically, a path of addiction has led your son to break sexual boundaries. Oxbow clinicians are trained in sex-specific therapy. You and your son can identify and understand the connection between addiction, sexual reactivity, and sexual compulsiveness with the help of our clinicians.
Will My Son Be Safe?
Your son’s emotional and physical safety is our first priority. Oxbow Academy is not a state-mandated detention facility. We are a therapeutically-based residential treatment center where our students are privately placed in treatment by their families.
To ensure the emotional and physical safety of the group, both the East and West campuses have a series of specific safety protocols. These safety procedures include:
- 24/7 camera and motion sensor monitoring of sleeping areas
- Line-of-sight supervision at all times by staff
- Private bathroom/shower facilities used by students one at a time
What About the Other Students?
Some parents worry that their son will get worse from associating with other boys with similar struggles. At our campus, our students help each other in their healing process. Because they share two commonalities, adolescent sexual behavior problems and developmental issues, the boys at our East Campus can create a community of support and understanding. This promotes disclosure and helps create group therapy environments where boys feel physically and emotionally safe to participate.
How Is The Staff Qualified to Help Neurodiverse Teens?
Our clinical and mentor staff are specially trained in the cognitive, emotional, and social attributes of students who struggle with ASD, NLD, PDD, and other developmental concerns. Our supportive residential environment helps prepare non-neurotypical students to progress in therapy sessions. Therapists and residential mentors work together to help students start the healing process and feel comfortable in our living community.
Want to Learn More About Teen Autism and Hypersexuality?
Listen to Our Podcast.
Welcome to our podcast, Navigating Problematic Sexual Behaviors in Teenage Boys. If you're a parent whose son battles autism and hypersexuality, you may wonder why teens on the spectrum struggle with sexually inappropriate behavior.
While Oxbow Academy treats a variety of compulsive sexual behaviors in teenage boys, this podcast will specifically address how parents can help teenage boys diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder who struggle with hypersexuality and sexually inappropriate behavior.
Our goal with this podcast is to provide support and guidance to parents who have an autistic teenage boy engaging in sexually inappropriate behavior.
We understand the challenges and want you to know that you are not alone in facing this difficult situation. There are support, strategies, and resources available to help you navigate through this complex and distressing experience. It is important to note that while we offer general guidance, this podcast is not a replacement for therapy, and advice should be sought from a qualified professional for your specific situation.
Understanding the "Why" behind Autism and Hypersexuality.
After you listen, you may have questions about your son's specific triggers. Our advocates are available at 855-676-4272 to discuss the strategies mentioned in this episode.
You Have Questions, We Have Answers. Your Call is Confidential.
Contact us if you need help with treatment for sexual addiction, sexual abuse, pornography abuse, and other compulsive behavior issues.
You may want to seek professional help when your autistic teen’s sexual behaviors become difficult to control, interfere with daily life or relationships, or involve repeated violations of sexual boundaries.
Many parents find it difficult to tell healthy curiosity about sex from a potentially dangerous situation. There are clinical evaluations that can help make that determination easier. One of these evaluations is the Sexual Addiction Screening Test (SAST).
On the SAST, you will answer a series of simple yes or no questions about your teen. The answers are completely confidential. No information connects you to your assessment. After you complete the SAST, you will be taken to a new page that shows a score representing the level of risk.
After you get your score, you will have the chance to request a call from someone who can help answer your questions. You will only be contacted if you make a request. Whether you request a call or not, your information will remain confidential, and you will be under no obligation.