Sex education for persons who are mentally handicapped
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4828989 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Winifred Kempton, Lynne Stiggall |
| Year | 1989 |
| Volume | 28 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 203-210 |
| Publication date | 1989-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Theory Into Practice (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0040-5841 • E-ISSN: 1527-2532 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/00405848909543404 |
| OpenAlex | W1977648781 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 4 |
The large population of disabled people is going to get educated in the area of sex or sexuality in some way. The question is not whether a person should have sex education, but who is going to give it and how it is to be given. Also, do we want children to gain or gather this knowledge indiscriminately as many of us did-from misinformation, dirty stories, myths, and wild fantasies? Or do we want to direct the information they receive in a wholesome way? This is part of our responsibility-to socialize the person, to train the people who have a disability so that living, just plain living, is not so difficult, not filled with guilt feelings and deep apprehension or confusion about [themselves] as sexual being[s]. (Rubin, 1969) Offering sex education in the schools has been a controversial topic for many years. In the 1970s calls for sex education programs to include persons with mental disabilities appeared as a further challenge. In an atmosphere of misgivings about sex education for any student, these new demands brought attention to a group of students whose human sexuality was badly misunderstood and frequently associated with unreasonable fears. This article will examine the legitimate needs of mentally handicapped people for adequate sex education, and will indicate the widespread misconceptions that have historically stood in the way of such education. A brief description will be given Winifred Kempton is a sexuality education consultant and trainer residing in Media, PA; Lynne Stiggall is a sexuality education consultant in Los Gatos, CA. of the subject matter and teaching methods that are appropriate in effective sex education of persons with mental disabilities. Finally, the article will summarize recent progress in this area and realistic hopes for future improvement
Apprehension · Feeling · Human sexuality · Misinformation · Pedagogy · Population · Sex education · Sociology · Trainer · Adolescent and Pediatric Healthcare · Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health · Disability Rights and Representation · Gender Studies · Law · Psychology · Social Psychology
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |