The effective use of group in sex education with people diagnosed as mildly developmentally disabled

Overcoming Barriers to the Sexual Expression of Women with Developmental Disabilities

“…More formally, social skills training groups may be organized to assist women with a wide range of developmental disabilities in gaining the necessary skills for developing healthy relationships, and in increasing their sense of self-efficacy to seek intimate and fulfilling relationships. Providing developmentally appropriate sex education classes in conjunction with social skills workshops is an integral component of on-going support for women with developmental disabilities (Rhodes, 1993;Ragg & Rowe, 1991). As previously discussed, sex education remains a barrier unless it is comprehensive, gender-specific, and matches individual learning needs.…”

“…Therapy also may be useful for addressing relationship issues, such as couple's issues or problems that might arise when a family struggles to support a family member with her sexuality. To this end, individual therapy (Downes, 1982;Ragg & Rowe, 1991), as well as cojoint couples therapy may be appropriate for some women with developmental disabilities either exclusively, or in addition to group therapy.…”

Who’s Missing? Awareness of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender People with Intellectual Disability

“…Ideally, sex discussion groups should have separate men's and women's workshops and be in a space which feels safe and private to allow participants to talk about their own sexual experiences and preferences, and to introduce good and bad sex, and good and bad relationships. Educational programs for people with intellectual disability should be age appropriate, not centred on their cognitive capacity, and focus on sexual expression as an ordinary part of ordinary life [29]. Talking about sexuality helps people with intellectual disability to recognize if someone is trying to take advantage of them, to avoid social mistakes that might make them look foolish or might be taken for criminal activity, and to be aware of the consequences of sexual activity [30].…”