Sexuality education

Parents worry about sexuality education

by Iva and Julie

Please see the Plain English version below

Parents of children with an intellectual disability are concerned about the quality of sexuality education in schools, according to our recent study.

Recently we conducted a study on sexuality education for high-school students with an intellectual disability in New South Wales. Here is what the nine parents we worked with closely told us.

cover of book on sexuality from SECCA in Western Australia
There are many good resources for sexuality education including these books from SECCA in Western Australia.

Most of the parents said they would like to see their daughter get married and have children in the future.

When reflecting on their child’s sexuality education, they expressed many concerns:

  • Sexuality education does not involve other than heterosexual identities;
  • Poor quality of sexuality education;
  • The lack of training that teachers receive in how to support a student who was abused;
  • Schools being short of counsellors;
  • Not being included in a discussion about the sexuality education of their child;
  • Having to fight the school to talk about same-sex relationships.

The parents were also worried about their children’s vulnerability when it comes to sexual abuse.

Parents’ awareness about sexuality education was also rather minimal:

  • The majority of the parents admitted they have not attended any training about how to teach their children about sexuality and relationships;
  • Only three parents were aware of the resources and training for parents (such as those developed by the Family Planning NSW).

Some recommendations:

Here are some resources that could be useful to know about for parents of students with an intellectual disability:

  • A/Professor Patsie Frawley from Deakin University and her team developed Sexual Lives and Respectful Relationships website: https://www.slrr.com.au

It is also critical that teachers talk to students with an intellectual disability and their parents about what they teach in sexuality education classes.

The NSW Department of Education supports what is called “collaborative curriculum planning process”. This is a team approach involving parents/carers, teachers, other important individuals in the student’s life, and most importantly the student with an intellectual disability themselves.

For more information, please see: https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/11-12/Diversity-in-learning/stage-6-special-education/collaborative-curriculum-planning

Iva Strnadová and Julie Loblinkz are research partners and friends. They host the blog Disability and Me. Both are strong advocates for people with intellectual disability.

PLAIN LANGUAGE VERSION

  • We did a study on sexuality education for high school students with an intellectual disability.
  • The schools we engaged were in New South Wales.
  • Parents of children with an intellectual disability were worried about sexuality education in schools.

This is what the nine parents told us.

  1. Most of the nine parents would like to see their daughter:
  2. Get married, and
  3. Have children in the future.

There were a number of concerns that the parents talked about:

  • Poor quality of sexuality education;
  • Lack of training for teachers about how to support a student who has been abused;
  • Schools being short of counsellors;
  • Parents not having a say in sexuality education of their child;
  • Parents fighting with schools to talk about same-sex relationships;
  • Most parents have not attended any training sessions about how to support their child in sexuality and/ or relationships;
  • Three parents were aware of resources or training information from Family Planning NSW.

See below for some resources:

  • A/Professor Patsie Frawley from Deakin University and her team developed Sexual Lives and Respectful Relationships website: https://www.slrr.com.au

Iva Strnadová and Julie Loblinkz are research partners and friends. They host the blog Disability and Me. Both are strong advocates for people with intellectual disability.

Disability writing, Sexuality education

Students can teach us about sex education

by Iva and Julie

Teachers can learn a lot from students with intellectual disability when it comes to educating them about sexuality, according to our recent study in NSW schools.As part of our research into sexuality education in NSW high schools, we spoke to parents, teachers and students. (Sex Education Needs to be Explicit)

The findings from students were most instructive. Students told us that through school they had learned about such topics as relationships, using contraception, having children and taking care of them, sexually transmitted illnesses, puberty, and women’s and men’s bodies. 

Julie (left) and Iva working on their research.
Juile, left, and Iva working on their research

However, not all students in our study learnt about different sexuality and gender identities, leading to some confusion.

One student told us: “I would have liked to know about the different types of sexuality, so I didn’t think I was super-weird. … You had to find out through someone else, like, ‘Oh, if you’re feeling like this, maybe you have this.’” 

“They’re like, ‘Oh, my God, I feel so much better, knowing I have a name to this!  It was like, yes, names help! It also makes you feel like, well, hey, if there’s a name for this, I’m not the only one who’s feeling it! ’ ”

The students also told us that the resources their teachers mostly used in sexuality education classes included videos, books and worksheets. Only one student mentioned the use of pictures. The students had many recommendations for teachers, which included:

  • Using large font size
  • Simplifying language used in classes, as the use of complicated terms by teachers impacted on their ability to understand what they were being taught
  • Explaining vocabulary used in each lesson
  • Using a question box, so that students can pose their questions about sexuality anonymously
  • Teaching students how to do Google searches
  • Allowing students to use time out cards and/ or bean bags when they feel stressed out.

In addition, less than a third of the students attended their Individual Education Plan (IEP) meeting, and none of them ever received a copy of their own IEP. 

This worries us tremendously, as this means that students with intellectual disability might not have a say in planning for their learning and do not even know what their learning plan is! How are they meant to learn self-determination and independence? This really is against the “Nothing about us without us” disability movement motto.

All of the suggestions made by students are in line with evidence-based practices, that is practices evaluated by research as efficient and beneficial for students

Iva and Julie

All of the suggestions made by students are in line with evidence-based practices, that is practices evaluated by research as efficient and beneficial for students. Such evidence-based practices include direct instruction, task analysis, video modelling, active participation in IEP meetings, and many others. 

These are some great resources for teachers to learn about evidence-based practices that can be used across different subject areas, not just sexuality education:

There is also this amazing resources developed by our colleague, Professor Michael Wehmeyer, which helps teachers to explain to students with disabilities the purpose of IEPs, and how to take part in these in a meaningful and self-determined way. The program is called Whose Future Is It Anyway?, and it is accessible here, free of charge: http://www.ou.edu/education/centers-and-partnerships/zarrow/transition-education-materials/whos-future-is-it-anyway 

It is important that students understand what is being taught, get information in a way they understand, and be supported by teachers and family.

PLAIN ENGLISH VERSION

We talked to the following people in our study:

  • Students with intellectual disability
  • Their parents
  • Their teachers.

Students with intellectual disability from New South Wales high schools said the following information in our study:

  • Teachers can learn a lot when it comes to teaching about sexuality.
  • Sexuality education needs to be clearly discussed.

Students also said that they learnt about these topics in their sexuality education classes:

  • Relationships
  • Contraception
  • Having children
  • Taking care of children
  • Sexual Transmitted diseases (STI’s)
  • Puberty and
  • Women’s and men’s bodies

Teachers used the following resources to teach them:

  • Video’s
  • Books
  • Worksheets and
  • One student talked about pictures

Not all students learnt about:

  • Different sexuality or
  • Genders (the fact of being who a person is).

This was confusing to some people. For example, one student said:

  • “I would like to have known the different types of sexuality, so I did not think about I was super-weird.”
  • “I feel so much better knowing I have a name to this.”
  • “It also makes you feel like … I am not the only one who is feeling it.”

Students had many ideas for teachers to think about:

  • Use large font (size 14 or above)
  • Use simple language so students understand
  • Explain language in lessons
  • Use a question box for students to write questions down so it’s private on who said what
  • Support students to learn to use Google searches
  • Use tine out cards, bean bags when stressed
  • Provide information in plain English

Only 3 students attended their Individual Education Plan meeting (IEP).

No students received a copy of their IEP!

This worries us greatly because:

  • Students might not have a say in planning for their learning.
  • How they will learn self-determination (being independent)?
  • It’s going against our saying in disability movement:

“Nothing about us without us”.

All of the suggestions from students are in line with information about practices that work for students.

These practices are called “evidence-based practices”.

Here are some examples:

  • Direct Instructions
  • Task Evaluation
  • Video
  • Taking part in IEP Meetings

There are great resources for teachers about these practices – see list below:

The National Professional Development Center on ASD (NPDC): https://autismpdc.fpg.unc.edu/evidence-based-practices

Iva Strnadová and Julie Loblinkz are research partners and friends. They host the blog Disability and Me. Both are strong advocates for people with intellectual disability.

Disability writing, Sexuality education

Sex education needs to be explicit

by Iva and Julie

Please see the Plain English version below

What are the challenges for teachers educating students with intellectual disability about sexuality?

Recently we conducted a study on sexuality education for students with intellectual disability in New South Wales mainstream high schools. We talked to students with intellectual disability, their parents and their teachers. We found some positive outcomes, but also many problems.

The very best news is that sexuality education is available in the first place. When I (Julie) went to school, students with intellectual disability did not receive sexuality education at all, and I didn’t think it would be ever possible.

But an alarming finding was the extent to which teachers found some students had been abused or subjected to domestic violence. This is a huge concern and consistent with what we know from literature – that people with intellectual disability (and especially girls and women) experience more domestic violenceand other forms of gender-based and sexual violence, such as rape, than other people. In the context of COVID-19, people with intellectual disability are even more vulnerable.

Cover Sex Safe and Fun brochure from Family Planning NSW
Family Planning NSW has some good Easy Read resources

Teachers also highlighted the lack of accessible (Easy Read or plain English) resources that they could use for sexuality education. Some of those that did know of accessible resources say they don’t feel comfortable with the explicit pictures. This is a worry because students with intellectual disability need explicit instruction. If teachers are not comfortable with using these materials, how will the students learn?

It is important that teachers use accessible and straightforward resources and overcome their discomfort about tackling the subject. Here are some ideas:

  • A/Professor Patsie Frawley from Deakin University and her team developed a Sexual Lives and Respectful Relationships website. https://www.slrr.com.au

We will share with you what the students and their parents told us in the forthcoming blogs.

Iva Strnadová and Julie Loblinkz are research partners and friends. They host the blog Disability and Me. Both are strong advocates for people with intellectual disability.

PLAIN ENGLISH VERSION

Iva and I did a study about sexuality education.

We went to mainstream high school students in New South Wales. We talked to:

  • Students with intellectual disability
  • Their parents
  • Teachers

There were positives and problems.

This plain information is about teachers.

Positive

  • Sexuality is being taught to students with intellectual disability.

Problems

  • Students being abused
  • Students going through domestic violence
  • Lack of Easy Read information resources

People with intellectual disability being

  • Abused or
  • Going through domestic violence or
  • Being raped

is a big problem.

In one of our stories we talked about COVID-19 and how people with intellectual disability are at risk.

Teachers should use accessible information resources. See below:

Disability writing, Sexuality education

Sex education needs to be explicit

by Iva and Julie

What are the challenges for teachers in educating students with intellectual disability about sexuality?

Recently we conducted a study on sexuality education for students with intellectual disability in New South Wales mainstream high schools. We talked to students with intellectual disability, their parents and their teachers. We found some positive outcomes, but also many problems.

The very best news is that sexuality education is available in the first place. When I (Julie) went to school, students with intellectual disability did not receive sexuality education at all, and I didn’t think it would be ever possible.

cover of Sex Safe and Fun brochure from Family Planning NSW
Family Planning NSW has some Easy Read resources

But an alarming finding was the extent to which teachers found students had been abused or subjected to domestic violence. This is a huge concern and consistent with what we know from literature – that people with intellectual disability (and especially girls and women) experience more domestic violenceand other forms of gender-based and sexual violence, such as rape, than other people. In the context of COVID-19, people with intellectual disability are even more vulnerable.

Teachers also highlighted the lack of accessible (Easy Read or plain English) resources that they could use for sexuality education. Those that did know of some accessible resources say they don’t feel comfortable with the explicit pictures. This is a worry because students with intellectual disability need explicit instruction. If teachers are not comfortable with using these materials, how will the students learn?

It is important that teachers use accessible and straightforward resources and overcome their discomfort about tackling the subject. Here are some ideas:

We will share with you what the students and their parents told us in the forthcoming blogs.

Iva Strnadová and Julie Loblinkz are research partners and friends. They host the blog Disability and Me. Both are strong advocates for people with intellectual disability.

PLAIN LANGUAGE VERSION

Iva and I did a study about sexuality education.

We went to mainstream high school students in New South Wales. We talked to:

  • Students with intellectual disability
  • Their parents
  • Teachers

There were positives and problems.

This plain information is about teachers.

POSITIVEPROBLEM
Sexuality being taught to students with intellectual disability In the past it was not taught in schools
Students being abused
Students going through domestic violence
Lack of Easy Read information resources

People with intellectual disability being

  • Abused or
  • Going through domestic violence or
  • Being raped

is a big problem.

In one of our stories we talked about COVID-19 and how people with intellectual disability are at risk.

Teachers should use accessible information resources. See below:

Iva Strnadová and Julie Loblinkz are research partners and friends. They host the blog Disability and Me. Both are strong advocates for people with intellectual disability.