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Disabled not dead - How People Overcome Disabilities for Sexual Health |
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Written by Chad Cook
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Sunday, 11 March 2007 |
Disabled not dead - How People Overcome Disabilities for Sexual Health
There is a prevalent myth, commonly believed in society, that when a person is disabled, the satisfaction of sexual experience which may have been enjoyed in the past, is no longer possible. This is not generally so. Many people are disabled in some manner and continue to enjoy the intimacy and good feelings that come from being with a partner. A vital aspect of therapy for a disabled individual is recovering their self assurance and sexual identity. To learn again that they are a sexual person and not just a person with a disability, is an important part of their individuality.
There are those who think that people with disabilities are not sexual beings or should not want to be sexually active. Despite this viewpoint, a person living with a disability does not stop wanting to be loved, touched, and intimate with another person. It is necessary then, to avail the disabled person of sexual information relevant to their disability, and demonstrate to them how they can conquer the challenges they face in this new area of their life.
Here is a look at the issues of reproduction and pregnancy among women with disabilities. As with men living with disabilities, both men and women are individuals first. These people are individuals who have a disability and should not be defined by their disability. The desire of those with disabilities to have children requires a decision which should be seriously approached. There are considerations regarding the disabilities that either one or both may have.
Are the disabilities genetic?
How will pregnancy impact the health of the woman if she is disabled?
What effect will caring for the child have on the lives of the parents? Is it only one parent with the disability or both?
The medical professional will talk with the prospective parents to be sure that all their questions are answered.
The woman has many points to consider before taking on the challenges of pregnancy, labor and delivery, and finally child rearing. There is assistance available and she should not hesitate to consult with her doctor regarding every area of childbirth. If the woman has a disability and has significantly surmounted the emotional demands that often accompany limitations, it is important that she be made aware of the emotional changes that occur during pregnancy, giving birth, and postpartum. It is very easy to be in the position of wanting something so desperately that you think you can go through anything to achieve it. It is an altogether different picture when you are in the middle of a pregnancy wondering what is happening to you.
Those who deal with disabilities are entitled to be treated with respect. They deserve to be validated just as everyone else is on a daily basis as to their sexuality and desires. They do not deserve to be treated as if they have no right to experience pleasure or to be looked down upon for having a normal desire for sexual gratification. To totally accept a person with a disability means to support his or her right to find a partner and marry if they should so desire. They also need support to exercise their right to propogate. A man or woman may have a disability but that does not alter the fact that they have desires and would like them met like any other individual on this planet. They also deserve the same access to sexual information as anyone else and having it will help them to make wise choices in regard to their sexual behavior.
It is essential that sexual information not be withheld from a person with a disability. If that individual has a question, they are entitled to an answer and if they want to find it on their own, they should be given appropriate access to a library to do their own research. The numbers increase daily of those individuals with disabilities that attend public schools and are employed in public businesses. People with disabilities are educated in the mainstream of society and who has the right to tell them they do not have access to places easy accessable to everyone else in society. Libraries now are providing handicapped ramps for those with disabilities and are beginning to equip the inside of the library as well to meet the needs of those with disabilities. If a disabled person does not have access to appropriate material on sexuality then they could literally be putting their life at risk. Unless they are aware of the various sexually transmitted diseases and ways to be protected, they could engage in high-risk behavior and become infected needlessly, to say nothing of potentially spreading the disease. |