Why is this research important?
Comprehensive sexuality education is known to improve the health and well-being of all populations. Yet, there is a lack of sex education programs that effectively meet the needs of adolescents and young adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities (youth with IDD). The few programs that exist for this population focus on abuse awareness and prevention. This leaves out important sexual health and relationship information needed to support well-being.
In this study, researchers used the information gathered from adolescents and young adults (AYA) with IDD and their caregivers, educators, and health professionals to learn about the sex education this population receives and come up with recommendations for how to make it better. This is important because following such recommendations will help professionals provide effective, comprehensive sexuality education to youth with IDD. This, in turn, will improve their overall health and well-being.
Research findings
Teaching Methods
Study participants shared which teaching methods they felt were most effective for providing sex education to youth with IDD.
- Educators and healthcare professionals suggested that worksheets and handouts were most effective
- Adolescents and young adults with IDD felt that worksheets and handouts were ineffective compared to methods using multimedia such as videos
- Parents, educators and youth with IDD all believed roleplaying activities were effective at teaching about sexuality with this population
Overall, researchers found that using a variety of teaching methods to teach about sexuality to youth with IDD had the best results.
Setting
Most participants in this study had recommendations for the ideal setting for sexuality education. These settings were:
- Small group settings
- One-on-one settings
- Online settings
However, only one youth with IDD reported preferring a one-on-one setting despite its overall popularity among the professional participants. Additionally, while some participants felt online sessions could be best for group discussions and participation, others criticized this setting as not being accessible for all youth with IDD.
Parent Support
Parent participants in the study emphasized the need for programs that would build their confidence with teaching their child(ren) with IDD about sexuality. They suggested parent education programs that:
- Provide tools and resources to share accurate and unbiased sexual health information
- Include humour so parents are more able to find humour in the subject when they're talking about it with their own child with IDD
Practical implications
This research shows that professional beliefs about what is most effective for teaching sex education to youth with IDD may not reflect what is most effective as explained by the youth participants with IDD.
Professionals can use the recommendations in this study to tailor their practice to meet the learning needs of youth with IDD and their families when it comes to providing sexuality education. Specifically, they would ensure that when teaching about sexuality, they:
- Use a variety of teaching methods including videos, roleplaying, group discussions, and direct and explicit instruction
- Are flexible in providing a setting that would meet the need of their specific youth
- Find ways to also provide parent support and education so parents can also teach their child(ren) with IDD about this topic
Following the recommendations of stakeholders in this study, people working with youth with IDD can provide more effective sexuality education which can improve the sexual and overall health and wellbeing of people with IDD.
Reference:
Schmidt, E.K., Robek, N., Dougherty, M., Hand, B.M., Havercamp, S., Sommerich, C., Weaver, L., Darragh, A. (2021). Recommendations to Improve Accessibility of Sexual Education for Individuals with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities: A Qualitative Study. American Journal of Sexuality Education, 16(1), 38-56
DOI: 10.1080/15546128.2020.1860177
