Prevention of Sexual Abuse in Children with Learning Disabilities
C hildren with learning disabilities are vulnerable to sexual abuse. Recognising the importance of prevention and believing that the best way to achieve this is by the systematic introduction of knowledge, a programme, `Sexual Education for Health' was introduced in a special needs school in Buenos Aires. A central premise to the programme was the belief that the child's family should also be aware of issues concerning sexuality. Thus, the sta ยฎrst worked with parents, with the aim of providing them with a common vocabulary and insight into healthy and private sexual behaviours. The work then focused on the children themselves.
Workshops for parents, in which they reยฏected on their own sexuality, were used, to help them gain an understanding of the sexuality of young children and adolescents. The children were taught to access their sexuality by learning about conception and birth.
Workshops with parents
During the academic year, six workshops were run. Thirteen parents attended the ยฎrst meeting; after three meetings, the number attending had reduced to ยฎve, who continued until the ยฎnal meeting. Methods used in the workshops included:-1) Post-box of questions.
- Group response to randomly selected topics, which were printed beforehand on cards. The topics were related to sexuality and disabilities. 3) Printed material, which provided information about adolescents, genitalia, the menstrual cycle, contraceptive methods, and articles on various disabilities, e.g. My Painful and Prophetic Childhood.