Sexual Education and Empowerment Amongst People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) supports several rights that relate directly to sexuality. In spite of this, those with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) have poor sexual health outcomes, including increased risk for sexually transmitted infection, unplanned pregnancy, and sexual abuse. Further, those with IDD express a desire for intimate relationships. Accessible, inclusive, comprehensive sexual health education can improve these outcomes. This education can be provided by a number of people, including, but not limited to, parents or caregivers, peers, educators, and health providers. Strategies to support education include Universal Design for Learning, videos, visuals, modeling, role playing, and digital interventions. Educators should evaluate outcomes of sexual education in the areas of sexual knowledge, attitudes, and skills to ensure the strategies they utilize are effective for the specific individual(s) with whom they are working. Research suggests utilization of accessible, inclusive, comprehensive sexual health education, while incorporating the above-mentioned strategies, has the potential to improve sexual knowledge, attitudes, and skills, as well as to improve sexual self-advocacy and support the sexuality-related rights articulated in the CRPD.