Voices Of The Adults With Intellectual Disabilities: The Needs Of Relationship, Sexuality And Intimacy

Introduction and objectives: Satisfaction of interpersonal relationship, sex and intimacy needs is basic human right. People with disabilities are entitled to enjoy the same right as everybody else in the society. However, in reality, those needs are often neglected and overlooked among people with intellectual disability. Double standards are not uncommon among families and health professionals. On one hand, they advocate for the acceptance of people with intellectual disability by the general public. On the other hand, they set limits to control their social and intimacy aspects of life. The objectives of the study were to describe the concepts of sexuality of adult persons with intellectual disabilities, to explore their sexual concerns, and to identity their service needs. Method: Adult informants with intellectual disability were recruited. Fifteen individual in-depth interviews and 3 focus groups of another total 18 persons were conducted. Thematic analysis was employed to identify themes and issues as emerged from the data. Results: The concept of sexuality of the adults with intellectual disability was often associated with “sexual abuse”. They were curious about sexuality, but did not know how to express their needs. Informants reported of encountering problems in handling intimacy and interpersonal issues. They often experienced pressure from parents or caregivers to restrict their expression of sexual needs. For intimacy and marriage, they expressed strong desires, but felt incompetence to deal with the practicalities and challenges in daily living. Conclusion: Adequate and relevant sexuality education, and support from family and health professionals are important for the adults with intellectual disabilities. It is not only to prevent sexual abuse, but also to facilitate the expression and fulfillment of sexual needs appropriately. Thus, they can enjoy intimacy and love, and even marriage. Implications for sexuality education and counseling will be further discussed at the congress.