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People with disabilities are at increased risk of exposure to HIV, yet they lack access to HIV prevention, treatment care and support including sexuality education. Lack of knowledge, skills and confidence of educators teaching sexuality education to learners with disabilities is related to this increased vulnerability. This study identifies possible challenges educators of learners with disabilities face when teaching sexuality and HIV education. Five focus groups were conducted in three purposely selected types of special schools representing four impairment groups in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Educators recognise that teaching about sexuality is part of the South African Life Orientation curriculum and understand its importance to learners. However, they identified a number of challenges to such work, including barriers in communication and language, cultural values and expectations, learners' knowledge and behaviour, handling of sexual abuse cases and the teachers' own life experiences. Educators feel a lack of support from parents, departments of education, fellow educators and members of the community. They report the need for training and adapted HIV and sexuality education tools and resources to accommodate learners with disabilities. This training needs to provide knowledge on disability and HIV, offer guidance on disability-appropriate communication strategies, deal with sexual abuse and include educational tools for the classroom. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Finding suitable curriculum materials for Sexuality and Relationship Education for young people with autistic spectrum disorder can be a challenge for teaching staff. In this article, Sue Hatton and Angie Tector who both formerly worked at Coddington Court School discuss findings from their research project asking pupils with autistic spectrum disorder in a residential specialist school setting to reflect on their curricular experience and share what would have helped them and prepared them better for relationships. Sue Hatton and Angie Tector have used their research findings to develop materials to support a personalised approach to Sexuality and Relationship Education suitable for both classroom and residential settings. They have also tried to ensure that staff who are responsible for delivering the curriculum are given adequate training. Recommendations from their study have now been incorporated into the training offered across the West Midlands to teaching and support staff in mainstream and educational settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to obtain a greater understanding of the willingness of graduate students in rehabilitation counseling to discuss sexuality with clients. This was done by testing a model of factors predicted to influence the willingness of rehabilitation counseling master's students to discuss sexuality with clients, using path analysis. The results of this study suggest that sexuality knowledge, sexuality education, attitudes toward the sexuality of people with disabilities, and comfort with sexuality affect the willingness of rehabilitation counselors to discuss sexuality with clients, with sexuality knowledge and comfort with sexuality having direct effects on willingness. Understanding the relationships between these variables may facilitate the design of interventions that promote the willingness of rehabilitation counselors to discuss sexuality with clients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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All children have a need to acquire knowledge about their own body and the way it functions. Also it is necessary to learn the rules of the society they live in, understand what is acceptable, and what is unacceptable behavior. Starting off previous experiences we supposed that in an insufficient measure and in an inadequate way have been provided the sex education in the frames of educational institutions and families of the persons with disabilities in the Republic of Macedonia. According to that the basic assignment of the paper, using the methods of structural, descriptive and comparative analysis and the questioners as instruments, was to give detail image of the factice situation. By the analysis of the 314 examinees, including control group, special educators and rehabilitators and parents, we determinate that the knowledge about sexual development, characteristics and sex relationships the examinees with disabilities at most acquire by the mediums and peers conversations. The got results pointed the fact that knowledge of this topic, which persons with disabilities have, is superficial and often unexplained, where to there is misunderstanding between the persons with disabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present article is an approach towards the importance of the experience of sexuality of children and young people with disabilities. It tries to demystify the current ideas around the theme of sexual education in people with disabilities, as well as to offer the necessary tools so that the sexual education of them begins in early ages, with the objective to form men and women able to feel independent to be able to live totally within the society; without feeling limited by its physical or mental condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the role of parents and teachers in implementing sex education to handicapped children in the U.S. Parental attitudes and actions will always be important influences in the child's life. The responsibility of a teacher is to fill in the gaps of knowledge and to add dimension to the child's understanding of himself and his relationships with others. According to studies, more parents of retarded children show concern and are ready to participate in a sex program than are parents of normal children. One of the most common aspects of sexuality causing friction between teacher and parent is student's masturbation.

Presents some components of the Massachusetts Statewide Head Injury Program's Sexuality Education Program. Needs Assessment Questionnaire; Sexuality related occurrences sheets; Participation agreement sheet and weekly evaluation questions; Reflections on human sexuality and development; Role boundaries.

This paper reviews progress and competence in HIV prevention work for people with intellectual disabilities in Britain. It identifies key challenges for specialist residential support and sex education services for people with intellectual disabilities, as well as for mainstream health promotion services. The discussion is informed by research and practice evidence and explores ways to develop competence in safer sex education, offering suggestions for HIV risk assessment and risk management. While the paper demonstrates that the politics of sexuality and HIV are difficult for services to manage, the rights of people with intellectual disabilities to information and support for sexuality and sexual health should be put first. Key words: HIV; prevention; sex education [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the sex education program for mentally retarded people. It is expected that marriage and family life will be a long range possibility in young mentally retarded persons. Educators are charged with the job of providing appropriate learning experiences to the mentally retarded. The educators also will prepare the mentally retarded for all aspects of family life and marital adjustment. The aim of the sex education program is to bring up young men and women who will have wholesome respect for themselves.

Discusses the need for effective sex counseling and education for handicapped persons. Experience of the physically and mentally handicapped of a full range of sexual feelings and needs; Importance of the re-education of society so that the handicapped can discuss and fulfill their needs and emotions.

The article focuses on research papers related to personnel management. The paper American Minority Groups and Contemporary Education, which was published in "Journal of Negro Education," highlights the condition of minority groups of the United States. Background and issues are followed by studies of selected minorities like Black and Puerto Rican Americans, Appalachian children, Jews and American Indians. The book "Facts About Sex for Exceptional Youth" was written for young people who have neurological, physical and/or learning disabilities. An introduction for parents and selected references give the book added value. Aided by a medical illustrator, the author makes explicit the functions and effects of sex. The paper "Employing the Minority Group College Graduate" is addressed to employers. The author focuses on black Americans as representing generalizable problems related to recruitment, evaluation, and retention, recognizing the multiplicity of minority groups. It can be taken as much-needed modern manual to maximize minority employment.

An introduction to the journal is presented which discusses articles on topics including training videos for people with disabilities, the opening of Disability Studies to various areas of inquiry such as poetry and history, and a contemporary policy designed to service intellectually disabled people in Ontario.

The article presents a letter by three persons suffering from learning disabilities. All the three, John Tattersall, Durbali Roy, and Paul Zulu, work at CHANGE, an organization that works for the interests of people with learning disabilities. All of them are working on Sexuality project at Leeds University, Leeds, England, which focuses on relationships and sexuality for young people with learning disabilities, and educates them on the same.

The article discusses the barriers faced by community practitioner in giving sexual health and advice to people with learning disabilities in Great Britain. The author considers sexual health of people with learning disabilities as a taboo despite the move of health practitioners to develop their sexual relationships. It cites that community practitioners are the key for providing sexual health advice for this group of people. According to the author, the social and personal perceptions of healthcare professionals regarding these people are the most common barrier that hinder them to provide sexual health advice.

Comments on the 1998 Volume 16 Number One issue of "Sexuality and Disability' which focused on the sexuality education program of the Massachusetts Statewide Head Injury Program. Call for the need for sexuality education in the rehabilitation of patients with traumatic brain injury.