Sexual health education for adolescents with developmental disabilities

2019 ◽  
Vol 78 (8) ◽  
pp. 1000-1011 ◽  
Author(s):  
B Lee Murray
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Developmental Disabilities ◽  
Health Education ◽  
Sexual Health ◽  
Education Programme ◽  
Sexual Relationships ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
Sexual Health Education ◽  
Sexual Identities ◽  
Services And Supports

Background: While statistics related to the sexual abuse of people with developmental disabilities are alarming, there remains a gap in the services and supports available to promote sexual health and healthy relationships and prevent sexual abuse of this population. Objective: To develop and deliver a sexual health education programme for adolescents with developmental disabilities and to identify the reactions and perceptions of students, teachers and parents involved in the programme. Methods: Using an interprofessional collaborative community development model, we developed and delivered a sexual health programme to young people aged 16–21 years with developmental disabilities in five Saskatchewan, Canada high schools. The project adapted, modified and administered the Canadian Red Cross RespectED questionnaires to all participants following the programme to allow for the identification and implementation of best practices with regard to the project’s future operation. Results: Data collected from the feedback and comments were summarised, and major concepts were identified. The information gathered identified meaningful educational experiences for students, their parents and teachers. Conclusion: Project findings reinforce the importance of sexual health education for people with developmental disabilities to increase opportunities for healthy sexual relationships and intimacy, to promote positive sexual identities and to decrease the risk of sexual victimisation.

scholarly journals Opportunities and challenges in school-based sex and sexual health education in Nepal

1970 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 445-453 ◽  
Author(s):  
DR Acharya ◽  
ER Van Teijlingen ◽  
P Simkhada
Keyword(s):  
Health Education ◽  
Sexual Health ◽  
Sex Education ◽  
Web Sites ◽  
Community Support ◽  
Education Programme ◽  
Personal Contact ◽  
Sexual Health Education ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
School Based

This article identifies and addresses opportunities for and challenges to current school-based sex and sexual health education in Nepal. Key literature searches were conducted of electronic databases and relevant web-sites, furthermore personal contact with experts and the hand searching of key journals was included. The review of this literature generated the following challenges: Limitations to teaching including lack of life skill-based and human right-based approach, inappropriate teaching aid and reliance on conventional methods, existing policy and practice, parental/community support, and lack of research into and evaluation of sex education. Diverse methodology in teaching, implementation of peer education programme, partnership with parents, involvement of external agencies and health professionals, capacity building of teachers, access to support and service organisation, and research and evaluation in sex education have been suggested for improving the current practice of sex and sexual health education in Nepalese schools. Key words: Sex education; education; school; adolescence; Nepal DOI: 10.3126/kumj.v7i4.2773 Kathmandu University Medical Journal (2009) Vol.7, No.4 Issue 28, 445-453

Orienting Toward Possibility: Girls and Bisexuality at School

2021 ◽  
pp. 152483992110450
Author(s):  
Laura Mamo ◽  
Jessica Fields ◽  
Jen Gilbert ◽  
David Pereira
Keyword(s):  
Health Education ◽  
Sexual Health ◽  
Sexuality Research ◽  
Sexual Health Education ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Sexual Identities ◽  
Narrative Intervention ◽  
Sexuality And Gender ◽  
The Status ◽  
And Gender

While many more high school girls identify as bisexual than as lesbian, queer, or other marginalized sexual identities, girls who identify as bisexual remain peripheral to sexuality research and to many sexual health education programs. Nevertheless, research suggests that bisexuality is a distinct claim and experience for girls, marked by highly gendered discourses of sexuality and queerness. Based on the Beyond Bullying Project, a multimedia storytelling project that invited students, teachers, and community members in three U.S. high schools to enter a private booth and share stories of LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning) sexuality and gender, this article explores the work the identity “bisexual” and the category “bisexuality” accomplish for girls when claimed for themselves or another or put into circulation at school. We consider the range of meanings and identifications mobilized by bisexuality and, drawing on insights of critical narrative intervention, explore how sexual health and sexuality educators might receive girls’ narratives of bisexuality as capacious and contradictory—as claims to identity, as uncertain gestures toward desire, and as assertions of possibility and resistance. We show that in the assertion of bisexuality, girls align themselves with the surprise of desire and position themselves to resist the disciplining expectations of heteronormative schooling. Critical narrative intervention, with its focus on using stories to challenge the status quo, allows educators and researchers to recognize in girls’ stories of bisexuality, the potential of new approaches to sexual health education and social belonging.

Gaps and Barriers to Sexual Health Education for People With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: OT's Role

2021 ◽  
Vol 75 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. 7512515293p1-7512515293p1
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Koss ◽  
Natalie Robek ◽  
Megan Dougherty ◽  
Anna Murray ◽  
Lindy Weaver ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Disparities ◽  
Developmental Disabilities ◽  
Health Education ◽  
Reproductive Health ◽  
Sexual Health ◽  
Sexual And Reproductive Health ◽  
Usability Testing ◽  
Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities ◽  
Sexual Health Education ◽  
Primary Author

Abstract Date Presented 04/8/21 This study describes the results of usability testing of activities designed to address the gaps and barriers to sexual health education (SHE) for clients with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Recommendations from stakeholders were incorporated, and the feasibility of a 5-week SHE program was evaluated. OTs can use the results of this study to address significant sexual and reproductive health disparities currently faced by individuals with IDD. Primary Author and Speaker: Elizabeth Koss Additional Authors and Speakers: Yong-Fang Kuo, Kenneth Ottenbacher

scholarly journals Parents’ and teachers’ perspectives on children’s sexual health education: a qualitative study in Makwanpur Nepal

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dev R Acharya ◽  
Malcolm Thomas ◽  
Rosemary Cann ◽  
Pramod R Regmi
Keyword(s):  
Health Education ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Sexual Health ◽  
Sex Education ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Education Programme ◽  
Sexual Health Education ◽  
School Students ◽  
Teachers And Parents ◽  
Health Teachers

Sex education is taught to secondary school students in Nepal. Nevertheless, there are concerns that the school-based sexual health education is not effective and adequate to address young people’s necessities. We carried out a qualitative study comprising key informant interviews with teachers (n=8) and parents (n=6) in Makwanpur district in Nepal. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and translated into English. Thematic analysis was performed to identify patterns or themes within the qualitative data. Most participants (both teachers and parents) had thought of delivering sex education preferably from grade seven to avoid the effects of globalised mass media and the internet. The practical aspects of school sex education programme and the importance of parent-child communication were of major concerns. Comprehensive training to health teachers, an informal approach to teaching sex education and seeking outside health professionals, such as health facilitators were the frequently reported issues. There is a need to offer sexual health services along with sex education to protect young people from potential dangers of STIs including HIV infection. Particularly, health teachers should be trained properly to mitigate the social and cultural impacts, and to allow a smooth sex education discussion in the classroom. The curriculum for sex education should be relevant, engaging and developmentally suitable with clear progressive avenues for learning experience.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document