Effectiveness of a Sexual Education Program for Mothers of Young Adults with Intellectual Disabilities on Mothers’ Attitudes Toward Sexual Education and the Perception of Social Support

From words to actions: systematic review of interventions to promote sexual and reproductive health of persons with disabilities in low- and middle-income countries

“…Yildiz and Cavkaytar (2017 ) conducted a case-control study of a Sexuality Education Program for Mothers of Young Adults with Disability (SEPID), an educational programme for families on how to communicate with their children about sexuality education in Turkey. 39 The results showed that SEPID changed attitudes of mothers towards sexuality education for their children and improved perception of social support. However, this study was assessed to have moderate risk of bias as the sample recruitment may have had elements of self-selection.…”

The views and experiences of families and direct care support workers regarding the expression of sexuality by adults with intellectual disabilities: A narrative review of the international research evidence

“…As part of this process, induction and development programmes for direct care support workers need to incorporate sexuality and sexual health issues, thereby ensuring that they are core to practice and effective in providing the type of support that adults with ID want and need (Evans et al, 2009;Gilmour & Chalmers 2010;Pebdani 2016;Saxe & Flanagan 2014;Saxe & Flanagan 2016). Families too, want access to education programmes that builds upon their knowledge and confidence to help them to hold conversations with their family member with ID, and to enable the discussion of personal and sensitive issues and needs that have been found to be effective (Evans et al, 2009;Pownall et al, 2011;Ballan 2012;Kok & Akyuz 2015;Yıldız & Cavkaytar 2017). Central to the development, implementation and evaluation of education and development programmes needs to be the inclusion of adults with ID, which at present appears to be lacking, with a need to be explicit about how the outcomes achieved through such programmes have impacted on the sexual lives of adults with ID (Schaafsma et al, 2015;Schaafsma et al, 2017).…”

“…There is clear international research evidence regarding the scope and extent of the health inequalities and health needs experienced by people with ID, including their sexuality and distinct sexual health needs (Azzopardi-Lane & Callus, 2015;Truesdale & Brown, 2017;Brown & McCann, 2018). There is growing interest in the range of supports available to parents and other caregivers of people with ID regarding sexuality issues (Yıldız & Cavkaytar, 2017). A positive way of addressing some of the issues is through sexuality education programmes aimed specifically at families and carers (Peter et al, 2015).…”

The Sexual Health Needs and Perspectives of College Students with Intellectual and/or Developmental Disabilities and Their Support Staff: A Brief Report

“…In order to effectively instigate the recommendation from the literature [22] for more inclusive and tailored sexual health opportunities and resources for students with IDD, there are important considerations from the literature. Evidence-based sexual health programming is most effective, and evaluative input from participants is essential for ongoing improvements [31]. Sex education should be situated as a proactive strategy, rather than a crisis response.…”