Providing Education on Sexuality and Relationships to Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Their Parents

Corona, Laura L.; Fox, Stephanie A.; Christodulu, Kristin V.; Worlock, Jane Ann

doi:10.1007/s11195-015-9424-6

Cited by 56 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Sexuality programs at school appear to be the predominant source of sexuality information for adolescents with ID (Corona, Fox, Christodulu, & Worlock, 2016;Jahoda & Pownall, 2014;Löfgren-Mårtenson, 2012;Tissot, 2009). Adolescents with ID reportedly received significantly less sexual information from doctors than their non-disabled peers; while both groups of teens received sexual information from the media (Jahoda & Pownall, 2014).…”

Section: Sources and Delivery Of Sexuality Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Verbal delivery of sexuality educationincluding complex questions, multiple-choice questions, and the use of conditional clauseshave reportedly contributed to poor comprehension in this group (Finlay, Roehlder, Taylor, & Culfear, 2015). Adolescents with ID seemed to learn better from visual materials, visual activity schedules (Corona et al, 2016), audiobooks, TV shows, roleplaying activities, pantomime-style theatre (Löfgren-Mårtenson, 2012), and visual aids (Tissot, 2009). Specifically, Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) and visual pictures depicting steps (jigs) were found to be effective in non-verbal adolescents with ID (Tissot, 2009).…”

Section: Sources and Delivery Of Sexuality Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…According to the literature, students with ID tended to create a superficial indication of comprehension due to teacher prompts, suggestive rephrasing, automatic 'yes' answers, guessing, and copying the teacher or other students (Finlay et al, 2015). Sexuality education that was concurrently delivered at home and school was found to be effective in two studies (Corona et al, 2016;Tissot, 2009).…”

Section: Sources and Delivery Of Sexuality Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The aforementioned authors theorised that adolescents with ID do not retain the information presented in sexuality education due to inappropriate teaching modalities (Corona et al, 2016), such as reliance on verbal explanations for abstract concepts (Finlay et al, 2015). Sexuality education therefore ought to be tailored (Healy et al, 2009), potentially on an individual level, as the group setting makes it difficult to cater to a wide range of knowledge levels (Corona et al, 2016), and reduces the educator's ability to ensure individuals have understood (Finlay et al, 2015).…”

Section: Sources and Delivery Of Sexuality Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Adolescents with ID reportedly understand the physical changes that occur during puberty (Corona et al, 2016), with some expressing that sexual anatomy and contraception were their main areas of sexual knowledge (Löfgren-Mårtenson, 2012). Corona et al (2016) reported that many of their research participants understood how reproduction works.…”

Section: Sexual Knowledgementioning

confidence: 99%

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Sexual knowledge in adolescents with intellectual disabilities: A timely reflection

Rowe

Wright

2017

Journal of Social Inclusion

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Sexuality is a fundamental part of being human. Adolescents with intellectual disabilities (ID) 1 have the same sexual desires and needs as everyone else, yet their sexuality is generally portrayed as problematic (Plaks et al., 2010). Despite an ideological shift towards normalisation and inclusion of people with disabilities (Evans, McGuire, Healy, & Carley, 2009), sexuality education for adolescents with ID remains an under-explored field. At its core, sexuality education for adolescents with ID is an international human rights issue. Sexuality education is essential to meet all adolescents' right to access adequate information to protect their health, development, and participation in societyincluding sexual and reproductive informationas per the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), 2009). Moreover, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) stipulates the rights of people with disabilities to receive accessible sexual and reproductive education, without discrimination (UN, 2008). Although great strides have been made since 1 ID is defined by the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities as being characterised by "significant limitations both in intellectual functioning and in adaptive behaviour as expressed in conceptual, social, and practical adaptive skills. This disability originates before age 18" (Schalock et al., 2010).

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Section: Sources and Delivery Of Sexuality Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Sources and Delivery Of Sexuality Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Sources and Delivery Of Sexuality Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Sources and Delivery Of Sexuality Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Sexual Knowledgementioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Sexual knowledge in adolescents with intellectual disabilities: A timely reflection

Rowe

Wright

2017

Journal of Social Inclusion

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Teaching Personal Safety

Kenny¹

2020

Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders

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Teaching personal safety skills involves educating children about their private body parts, boundaries with others, personal privacy, and ability to say "no" to touches they do not want or are inappropriate. Conceptualized as part of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) prevention, educating youth about personal safety typically consists of teaching children knowledge and skills related to recognizing, responding to, and reporting potentially abusive situations (three R's of prevention). Teaching personal safety skills considers the developmental and cognitive level of the child, and instruction can begin with very young children. Historical Background Childhood sexual abuse is a serious issue in the United States (USA). The latest figures estimate that approximately 57,964 children were confirmed victims of sexual abuse last year in the USA (US Department of Health and Human Services 2019). According to results from three administrations of the National Survey of Children's Exposure to Violence, Finkelhor et al. (2014) reported an estimated prevalence of 27% for females and 5% for males, or approximately 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 20 boys. The results of CSA on youth are far reaching and can cause a multiplicity of emotional and behavioral problems into adulthood (Pérez-Fuentes et al. 2013). While all children are at risk of victimization, there are some characteristics that make certain children more vulnerable to sexual assault. One of those characteristics is the disability that children may experience, such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Certain social-emotional and communication challenges, when present in children with ASD, may be interpreted by sexual offenders as vulnerabilities that they can exploit (Edelson 2010). Research has confirmed that children with disabilities are 2-3 times more likely to be sexually abused (including raped) than children without disabilities (Brown-Lavoie et al. 2014; Sullivan and Knutson 2000). Mandell et al. (2005) found that 16.6% of caregivers reported their child with ASD had been sexually abused. Brown-Lavoie et al. (2014) reported that 78% of their respondents with ASD reported at least one instance of sexual victimization, compared to 47% of a comparison group. There appears to be certain characteristics that children with ASD possess that may make them more vulnerable to abuse including lack of communication, limited understanding of personal boundaries, and difficulty interpreting others' intentions. Muccigrosso (1991) discusses

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