Sex Ed for Persons With Disabilities

Contributor: Matheri89 Matheri89
I'm starting to explore the forums, and came upon this one. I thought very highly of this community before, and think ever more highly now.

I work in a clinical fashion with people who have intellectual and developmental disabilities. This is a population who has really been left behind in terms of receiving good sexual education. There are several reasons for this. They include:

-Parents who don't know how to talk about these issues.
-The thought that adults with intellectual disabilities (formerly mental retardation) are childlike
-Society's reaction of revulsion towards the topic
-The misconception that people with disabilities are hypersexual or deviant

Either way, this lack of education is dangerous. If people don't know the names of their private parts, they won't be able to report sexual abuse. If people don't understand consent, they may face legal issues they are ignorant of. If people don't understand boundaries, they won't be able to be in healthy relationships. If people don't learn masturbation, they will do it in ways that are unsafe and inappropriate.

In this vein, I have trained to be able to teach persons with disabilities about relationships and sex, to the ability that they will be able to understand and consent. It's empowering, creates independence, and prevents abuse. I'd be happy to share my thoughts on this topic, as an expert of sorts. Again, thank you for this forum to discuss this important issue.
10/27/2010
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Contributor: Niahflame Niahflame
Quote:
Originally posted by Matheri89
I'm starting to explore the forums, and came upon this one. I thought very highly of this community before, and think ever more highly now.

I work in a clinical fashion with people who have intellectual and developmental disabilities. ... more
Yes, I understand the need for education. I can't believe parents are so dense as to think their disabled offspring have no desires!

I was lucky to have a mother who taught me about my body, periods, and sex. All she asked of me was to be on the pill, no questions asked. Now I'm 26 and have my tubes tied, I've been in a relationship with a man for 5 years, and have a healthy sex life.

I'm an amputee woman, and wear prosthetics. Luckily my disability isn't very noticeable.

Society treats the disabled as children. When I'm in my wheelchair sans legs, people will talk to my mother as if I'm not sitting right there. It's a pain.

I feel for the wheelchair-bound. It must be extra hard.

As for the "hypersexual" or "deviant," never heard that one! But I am a nymphette!
10/30/2010
Contributor: Sir Sir
Thank you, thank you, thank you for posting this. A VERY, VERY long time ago, I posted a thread asking if there were any mentally/otherwise disabled individuals in the community and how they dealt with it and their sexuality. I sadly got no responses, and this is probably the reason why - there is little to NO sexual education for these individuals for the exact reasons you listed: people think that they are "children," that they will not understand, and a number of other various problematic things.

I agree that these things need to be taught, especially to these individuals because of how uneducated their surrounding friends, family, and others keep them. My best friend has autism, actually, and most of what he learned about sex was through the internet and self-teaching. This was good for him in some aspects, but for others it could be potentially dangerous, with all of the incorrect information given on the internet.

That's why it's so essential that these individuals, and others too, are given sex education in a safe environment.

Again, thank you for posting this! I really enjoyed reading your ideas on this topic.
10/30/2010