Don't go it alone: Locating the sexual health curricula available to families of students with intellectual disability

Abstract

AbstractStudents with intellectual disabilities (ID) have reduced access to sexuality education at school, tasking families with filling the gap. This limited access contributes to persistent health inequities, psychosocial risk, and reduced self‐determination for individuals with ID. To understand the resources that families may encounter when filling this service gap, a naturalistic scoping review and content analysis of ID‐specific sexual health curricula (SHC) was conducted. This analysis found a limited number of SHC available to family members who may seek them out online, and even fewer SHC designed for the specific needs of family‐led delivery. While curricula identified in this study generally include the minimum recommended content areas for comprehensive sexuality education, they less frequently provide actionable guidelines for caregivers tasked with adapting teaching practices and outcomes assessment to the diverse profiles of students with ID. By understanding the SHC available to families of students with ID, school psychologists can improve their partnerships with families, disseminate needed resources, implement collaborative intervention practices, and advocate for inclusive sexuality education practices.