This presentation was part of Embody's Safe Healthy Strong 2014 conference on sexuality education (www.ppwi.org/safehealthystrong). Embody is Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin's education and training programs. Learn more: www.ppwi.org/embody DESCRIPTION Young people with disabilities are often left out when teaching sexual health. Perhaps we believe they are incapable of comprehending the messaging or we assume they are asexual or uninterested in sexual intimacy. As a community, we believe we are underestimating both their capacity to understand their critical need to receive sexual health resources. Participants will leave this session with increased knowledge on the importance of teaching sexual health to young people with disabilities and tips on how to adapt existing curricula to work with this population. ABOUT THE PRESENTER Julie Rothwell, MSW, provides technical assistance and program evaluation to programs and strategies that fall within the Health impact area at United Way of Greater Milwaukee. In addition, she manages all activities associated with the Healthy Girls Initiative which is United Way of Greater Milwaukee’s targeted approach to prevent teen pregnancy and sexual violence. Julie has several years’ experience training youth workers and sexuality health educators on how to effectively implement evidence-based sexual health curricula.

1. • You
can
ignore
them
and
pretend
they
aren’t
there
• You
can
feel
them
and
keep
them
private
and
to
yourself
• You
can
masturbate
or
self
pleasure
• You
can
be
sexual
with
another
person

2. Attraction
When
two
people
desire
one
another,
it
is
called
attraction.
This
is
when
you
feel
attracted
to
someone
and
being
with
them
makes
you
feel
sexual
feelings.
Arousal
♥ Your
heart
beats
faster
and
your
blood
pressure
might
rise
♥ Your
muscles
get
tighter
and
you
nipples
ight
get
hard
♥ For
women—your
clitoris
will
swell
and
your
vagina
will
become
wet
♥ For
men—your
penis
will
become
erect
(hard)
and
your
testicles
will
pull
closer
to
your
body
Arousal
Escalates
This
is
when
the
feeling
build
and
build.
This
happens
by
touching
another
person
and
having
them
touch
you.
Any
part
of
your
body
that
feels
good
when
it
is
touched
will
increase
arousal.
Hitting
the
Peak
After
a
person
is
aroused
she/she
may
experience
orgasm.
When
this
happens,
chemicals
in
the
body
release
and
the
person
will
feel
lots
of
pleasure
and
relaxation.
Some
people
feel
flushed
and
warm.
Some
feel
their
muscles
spasm-­‐some
people
will
feel
it
everywhere
and
some
will
only
feel
it
in
their
sexual
parts.
When
a
man
has
an
orgasm,
he
will
ejaculate.
(white
fluid
comes
out
of
his
penis)
Some
women
will
have
fluid
come
out
as
well,
but
most
do
not.
Both
ways
are
normal.
The
cool
down
After
you
have
had
an
orgasm,
your
body
will
slowly
go
back
to
normal.
You
heart
rate
slows
down
and
your
clitoris
or
penis
will
become
soft
again.
You
might
feel
sleepy.
You
might
have
lots
of
energy.
We
are
not
all
the
same
A
person’s
experience
with
this
whole
cycle
can
be
different
at
different
times.
Their
sexual
experiences
can
be
different
for
many
reasons.
Maybe
they
are
tired
or
in
a
bad
mood
or
maybe
they
are
not
attracted
to
or
are
really
attracted
to
the
person
they
are
being
sexual
with.
Communication
and
pleasure
Having
sex
is
not
just
about
private
parts.
It
is
about
a
person’s
whole
body
and
being
touched
in
ways
that
feel
good
and
are
okay
with
both
people
involved.
This
means
we
have
to
talk
to
our
partners
and
listen
to
them.
We
have
to
let
them
know
what
we
like
and
don’t
like.
Many
people
feel
embarrassed
talking
about
this
with
a
partner.
That
is
normal.
But
talking
in
a
kind
way
can
make
you
feel
closer
to
each
other
and
make
sex
more
pleasurable
to
both
of
you.

3. My Learning Needs
Circle below the information you think would be most helpful for you to learn about
during our class
• How to interpret nonverbal behavior
• Flirting
• Dating Issues
• How to use nonverbal behavior
• How to interpret overt (like pornography) and covert (like a commercial) information about
sexuality on TV, in magazines, etc
• Understanding religious and cultural beliefs and values and how they relate to sexuality
• Legal Issues and abuse within a relationship
• Communication differences between men and women
• Making and keeping friendships
• How to develop a long-term relationship
• Assertiveness
• Decision making about relationships or sexual activity
• Masturbation
• Sexual behavior involving another person (like kissing, sexual intercourse)
• Sexual anatomy
• Sexual fantasy
• Sexual dysfunction
• Sexual abstinence
• Safe sex
• Sexually Transmitted Infections
• Contraception
• Sexual Orientation (gay, straight, lesbian, bi-sexual, etc)
Other things I would like to learn about are: (List below)

4. 1
Prioritizing Young
People With
Disabilities in
Sexuality Education
Julie Rothwell, MSW
Operations Manager, Community Impact
Objectives
• Participants will have an increased
understanding on the importance of teaching
sexual health to young people with disabilities.
• Participants will leave with skills and ideas on
how to adapt existing curricula to work with this
population.

5. 2
Outline
• Why Should we Prioritize Them?
• What Are the Fears/Barriers?
• How to Adapt and use Existing Curricula
• Wrap up
• Resources
Why Should We Prioritize?
• The same reasons as typically developing
children!
• Most report lack of information on parenthood,
birth control and STIs
• Less education = increased rates of abuse
• To help them attain a life with more personal
fulfillment
• Because it is their right!

6. 3
Game: Fears/Barriers and Response
Phase 1 (2 minutes):
• Write on left side of newsprint
• Fears that people have about teaching sexuality education to young
people with disabilities
• Also include barriers to teaching sexuality education to young
people with disabilities
SWITCH TO A NEW PAPER
Phase 2 (5 minutes)
• Write on right side of newsprint
• Responses to the fears listed by previous team
Sex education and kids with
disabilities
• People with disabilities are thought to be
• Asexual
• Oversexual
• People with disabilities are often in segregated
school situations and may miss out on the health
classes offered
• People with disabilities and personal care
• People with disabilities and social isolation

7. 4
Sex education and IDEA
• Policy regarding sexuality education varies
throughout the states but includes such things as:
• Puberty
• Reproduction
• Pregnancy Prevention
• STD prevention
• HIV/AIDS awareness
• Healthy Relationships
• Policy regarding Individuals with Disabilities and
education does not include access to sexuality
education
Prison of protection

8. 5
Guardianship
• Just having a guardian does not mean that a person cannot
consent to sexual activity
• If a person is deemed incapable of consent to sexual contact, or
are a high risk of abuse, relationships and what happens within
will be decided on a case by case basis.
• There is no place in a court guardianship order that deals with
this
• A person who has capacity to consent has a constitutionally
protected right to consent to engage in knowing and voluntary
sexual behavior.
• However, sexual contact with a person who lacks capacity to
consent is abuse.
How to Adapt Existing Curricula
• Allow additional time
• Step by Step Instruction
• Repeat/reinforce often
• Practice skills
• Include information on body parts, puberty,
personal care and hygiene, medical examinations,
social skills, self-esteem, sexual expression,
contraception and rights and responsibilities of
sexual behavior

9. 6
More adaptations
• Large Print
• Captioning in videos
• Suction cups on bottoms of models if using
• Using a lot of pictures and hands-on activities
• Biologically and age appropriate information in a
cognitively appropriate way
• Assistive technology for learning (condom
demonstration models; latex and scent free
equipment
Resources
• Sexuality Education for adults with developmental disabilities
• S.A.F.E. (Safety awareness for empowerment)
• Teaching children with down syndrome about their bodies,
boundaries and sexuality
• Getting to the HEART of intimacy
• The Ultimate Guide to Sex and disability
• Making Sense of Sex
• The Rules of Sex
• Circles
• FLASH

10. 7
Puberty and Hygiene
Sexual Feelings: Four things you can do
• You can ignore them and pretend they aren’t
there
• You can feel them and keep them private and to
yourself
• You can masturbate or self pleasure
• You can be sexual with another person

11. 8
Sexual Response Cycle
• Attraction
• Arousal
• Arousal escalates
• Hitting the peak (orgasm)
• The cool down
• We are not all the same
• Communication and pleasure
Julie Rothwell
Operations Manager, Community Impact
jrothwell@unitedwaymilwaukee.org
414-263-8127

12. 9
Thank You!

13. Resources
General:
BabyCanWait (medically accurate sexual health information, information for parents,
Milwaukee area specific resources)
www.babycanwait.com
National Sexuality Education Standards
http://www.futureofsexed.org/documents/josh-fose-standards-web.pdf
F.L.A.S.H. (Family Life and Sexual Health Curricula) Free!
http://www.kingcounty.gov/healthservices/health/personal/famplan/educators/FLASH.a
spx Click on “Special Education FLASH”
The Ultimate Guide to Sex and Disability: For all of us who live with disabilities,
chronic pain and illness (book)
By Miriam Kaufman, M.D., Cory Silverberg and Fran Odette
Sexuality education for adults with Developmental Disabilities
By Kathrine MacLauglin, Karen Topper, Jessica Lindert and Planned Parenthood of
Northern New England
Teaching Children with Down Syndrome about their Bodies, Boundaries and
Sexuality: A guide for Parents and Professionals
By Terri Couwenhoven, MS
Making Sense of Sex: A Forthright Guide to Puberty, Sex and Relationships for
People with Asperger’s Syndrome (book)
By Sarah Attwood
Kissing:
Links 2 Love www.links2love.com – search “kissing explained”
Kissing – www.kissing.com
Video Jug – www.videojug.com – Search site for “kissing”

14. Condom Use:
http://teachingsexualhealth.ca/teacher/resources/demonstrationvideos.html
Contraception Options:
http://sexreally.com/birth-control-101
Masturbation:
www.jackinworld.com
www.clitical.com