Abord de la vie affective et sexuelle des déficients intellectuels

Abstract

The sexual and emotional life of people with intellectual disability is linked to their personality, and inserted to their global psychological functioning. We have made a review of the literature on the subject, which focused on the social representations linked to the sexuality of the disabled, the way these persons perceived and lived their sexuality, and the sexual education that concerned them. The review included studies from 1980 to 2009. We have found that parents, educators and the community as a whole tend to recognize more and more the presence of a sexual and emotional life in the people with intellectual disability, which indicates a beginning of an evolution of the social representations concerning sexuality and intellectual disability. The question now is not weather people with intellectual deficiency have a sexual life or if they have the right to live it, but what are their specific needs in this field. All studies indicate the necessity of a sexual education to help these persons live better the expression of their sexuality.