Sexuality in People with Disabilities

This week we learned about a subject that I have never learned about before. Coming from a religious background, talking about sex at all was taboo and sex was certainly something that was saved for after marriage, and between a man and a woman in order to procreate. Because of these assumptions I grew up with, I assumed that people with intellectual and physical disabilities did not engage in or desire sex. I was so wrong. After learning a lot more about sex this semester, and throughout my life after I have distanced myself from the narrow view of sex I grew up with, I understand that almost everyone desires and engages in sex in some way.

I love how this group made sure to include different kinds of disabilities because the nature of every single disability is different, but that doesn't mean that treatment is impossible. In fact, one of the most important things I learned this week is that no matter what the disability is, a couple with a disability who comes in for sex therapy will likely be receiving similar treatment to a couple without disability. The main difference was the part about having to be open to being more creative in trying different things to make each partner feel sexual. However, in any type of relationship both partners should be open to trying things that would make their partner enjoy sex so working with a couple where one or both partners has a disability is not likely to be entirely different.

The main difference, and this is something that I have known for many years but was reinforced today, was how important it is not to talk down to someone with a disability and to approach them with the assumption that they are adults of average intelligence. It is important to gauge how much sexual education they have and what their personal experiences have been, but ultimately not to compare them too much to the general population of people with their disability because we cannot make assumptions about how it manifests in them.

In looking through the wiki, my favorite part was the myths and facts about how people with disabilities treat sex and the pictures and visuals that showed creative ways they can and do enjoy sex. I have also worked with kids and teens with intellectual disabilities and know that the idea of sex is shielded from them a lot of the time, so I felt that the inclusion of that section was crucial.