Attitudes of Speech and Language Therapists to Intimate Relationships Among People With Learning Difficulties: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

This study explored the attitudes of speech and language therapists (SLT) to intimate relationships among people with learning difficulties. A stratified random sample of SLTs (n=66) were sent a short, written scenario concerning two young adults with learning difficulties who were about to set up home together. Half the SLT's received a scenario in which ‘John’ was said to have a severe learning difficulty, the other participants received a scenario in which ‘John’ had a mild learning difficulty. The two scenarios were otherwise identical. All participants were asked to rate the scenario using a semantic differential scale. Forty completed questionnaires were analysed and the results indicated relatively favourable attitudes toward someone with a mild learning difficulty. Attitudes toward a person with severe learning difficulties were significantly less favourable (p<0.001), however, it could not be concluded that the unfavourable attitudes were directly related to engaging in an intimate sexual relationship.