Batteries not Included - an exploration of issues in sex education and sexuality for people with multiple disabilities

Key Practice Considerations from 'Batteries not Included'

4 key practice themes

1. We need to deliver the required information and education in a real-life setting. Learning should be experiential.
2. Where an individual has significant sensory impairments and cannot access information through their vision or hearing, we may need to adopt a ‘hands-on’ approach to supporting their learning, using physical prompts where necessary.
3. We should look for new opportunities, new experiences, new activities and we should actively introduce these to the people we support.
4. We should continue to offer new opportunities throughout a person’s life.

So, is it simple taking these principles and applying them to sex education? Sex is a fundamental activity that millions of people all over the world regularly engage in, at various stages in their lives. If we view sex simply as another activity to offer people, then are we able to chart out a series of lesson plans using our broad principles?

Abstract to concrete

Proactive v reactive