Sex Education; meeting the curricular challenges for young people with multiple disabilities, including sensory impairments
Tuesday 28 February 2006
Emerging Sexuality - Supporting Cathy
HELP!
Profile:
- Cathy is deafblind
- 14 years old
- She has no useful vision and is profoundly deaf
- Lives in care setting
Why was support needed?
- Cathy often spent time masturbating
- She did not understand the concept of modesty
- Staff did not know how to help
- Staff/family were also concerned about onset of menstruation
The Process:
- Multi-Agency collaboration
- Observation – 2 days
- What was really happening?
~ Environment
~ Contact with others
~ Interaction/communication
~ Activity levels and content
2 day workshop/staff training:
- Evaluation - What had we learnt?
~ importance of relationships
~ interaction style and the impact on Cathy’s behaviour
~ how different attitudes/cultural issues were affecting practice
~ what Cathy liked to do
Intervention: What support did Cathy need?
- consistent and gentle approach
- better communication through co-active sign and OR's
- relationship - joyful interaction
- an increase in motivating activity – her focus of interest
How can we measure success?
- reduction in need to masturbate
- pleasure measure - more smiles!
- increased understanding of public/private and use of own room for masturbation
- change in staff awareness and attitudes
Which Resources were useful?
Sense Policy on Sexuality and Relationships
Sex in Context
Ann Craft & Caroline Downs 1997
Sexuality Education for Individuals who are Deafblind..
Kate Moss & Robbie Blaha. 2001
Next Steps
- key 1:1 staff attended Sense Intervenor training
- ongoing monitoring and consultancy support from Sense
- consideration of wider needs including start of menstruation