A Study on Sexuality with the Parents of Adolescents with Intellectual Disability

The objective of this study was to determine the knowledge, opinions, attitudes and concerns of the parents regarding sexuality of their children with intellectual disabilities. Forty parents who have children with intellectual disabilities formed this study’s sample from Turkey. The children had mild to moderate intellectual disabilities aged between 15 and 21 years in an occupational school. The data taken from questionnaires was evaluated with SPSS 13.0 package program. 87.5% of the parents consisted of mothers and 12.5% consisted of fathers. Seventy five percent of the parents had not received any professional education on sexuality and 32.5% never talked on sexuality with their children. Fifty-five percent of the parents thought that sexual education should start during elementary school years. While 45% of the parents acknowledged their children engaging in masturbation, more than half had false opinions on masturbation. 57.5% of the parents stated that they inform their children on the physical characteristics of the adolescence period and 27.5% of them provide information to their children on subjects like the reproductive organs. In addition, a large majority of the parents (72.5%) had concerns regarding the future of their children. The parents of the adolescents with intellectual disabilities had not received any professional education on sexual development. It is very crucial that parents with children who have special needs be informed by health care professionals.