The control of sexuality in young people with Down's syndrome

Abstract

Three studies were undertaken of two cohorts of young people with Down's syndrome. One cohort, of 52 people, was born in the 1960s and they were seen in their teens and again in their mid-20s. The other cohort, of 26 people, was born in the 1970s and they were seen in their teens. The studies show that while carers in both cohorts paid lip service to the rights of young people with learning disabilities to have sexual experiences and to marry, they did not necessarily feel that this applied to their own youngsters. Carers of the 1970s cohort at teenage were more permissive than carers of the 1960s cohort at adulthood. How carers controlled the sexuality of their young people is discussed. Carers in both cohorts were rarely in favour of parenthood for people with learning disabilities and over half the carers thought that sterilization might be appropriate, in some circumstances. At teenage, about two-thirds of carers in both cohorts thought that their youngsters needed sex education. By adulthood, in the 1960s cohort, only one-third of the same group of carers continued to hold the same view. According to carers, more young people knew about events that they were unlikely to experience themselves, namely pregnancy and birth, than knew about the most likely event, sexual intercourse. So, in spite of holding permissive views on sexual expression for people with learning disabilities, carers left their own young people ill-prepared for such experiences. Few young people were given the education or freedoms necessary to encourage sexual relationships. Reasons for this discrepancy are discussed.