No abstract

The Internet has become an increasingly common way for people to contact each other, to flirt, fall in love and start relationships. How does this development influence today's young people with intellectual disabilities? The article presents a picture of the Internet experiences of some young adults with intellectual disabilities and discusses how others view this usage. It is based on a qualitative study in Sweden where 10 young people with intellectual disabilities and 12 staff members were interviewed. The interviews show that young people with intellectual disabilities also use the Internet, mainly for social and romantic reasons. They view the Internet as a positive arena where they can be ''like everybody else'' and therefore generally present themselves without mentioning their disabilities. However, people around them tend to worry considerably and focus mainly on the risks involved in this usage of the Internet.

No abstract

In Sweden sex education has been compulsory since 1955. However, access to sex education seems to be insufficient in schools with special education programs. Concerns about unwanted pregnancies, sexual abuse and sexual risk situations make personnel insecure about how to best deal with the subject. A largely heteronormative perspective of sex education renders young gay people with ID an invisible group. Stereotyped gender norms where girls are supposed to be oriented towards love and relationships and boys towards sexuality make it more difficult for young people with ID to find a more subtle way to act. The aim of this study is to strengthen sexual health among young people with ID, and to develop a knowledge base culled from their own experiences that can help teachers in special schools to supply sufficient sex education. What are the experiences of sex education in young people with ID aged 16-21? In what way, and by whom, should sex education be supplied? What themes do the young people with ID consider important? Qualitative research interviews with 16 young females (9) and males (7) with ID aged 16-21 years have been conducted. Guiding the analyses is an interactionist perspective on sexuality. Results show that a restrictive script is geared toward informants with ID, focusing on sexual risks instead of challenging a discourse of pleasure, desire and intimacy. The study also shows that using critical pedagogy can help personnel develop a professional and adequate teaching model for sex education at schools for adolescents with ID.

The aim of the article is to identify, describe and understand the opportunities and hindrances for young people with intellectual disabilities (ID) in expressing a variety of sexual expressions, such as homosexuality and bisexuality. The method is qualitative interviews with people with ID in the age of 16-27, staff members and parents. The study found young gay people with ID to be an invisible group, and that the possibilities to show a variety of sexual expressions are depending on the surroundings attitudes and behaviors toward them. Therefore it is important to teach about different sexualities in the sex education at special schools and also to do more research concerning homosexuality and bisexuality and intellectual disability, without having the heterosexual norm as a starting point.