Abstract
Sexual education for children in today’s society is significant to enable them make right choices in life. This should also include children with multiple disabilities. The sexual education should include how to express themselves, individual hygiene, modesty towards a person of the opposite sex and proper touching. When it comes to touching and setting personal boundaries, the instructor should respect the curiosity of child and show how to apply signs in recognizing strangers.
Sexual education is paramount for young children before they attain adulthood. This involves how to interact with member of the opposite sex, how to control their sexual feelings, dating and controlling menstruation cycles for girls. On the other hand, there are different techniques of teaching normal children without any impairment and the ones who are physically impaired (Moss & Blaha, 2001). This is because sexuality affects everybody irrespective of their physical disability or sexual orientation. Therefore, this reflection is going to discuss how a child with multiple disabilities can be assisted in under his sexuality through proper touching and setting individual boundaries.
There are numerous approaches to teaching concepts related to sexuality to students with multiple disabilities. For example, there are different areas to orient the impaired student through areas of development and personal expression in terms of gender identity, modesty and proper touching. Similarly, the orientation should also entail areas of menstruation, personal hygiene, masturbation and physical health among others. These topics can also cover the areas of dating, sexual orientation and engaging in protected sex (Moss & Blaha, 2001). On that note, this paper will focus on teaching the multiple disable child issues of proper touching and individual boundaries. Therefore, because of the hardships suffered by these impaired children in terms of inappropriate touch of other people, there is imperative need for instructors to devise ways of helping them cope. On that aspect, the instructor should begin by respecting the child’s learning skills on appropriate touch and individual boundaries.
This takes the form of permitting them to apply their instructional strategies which is critical in their impaired vision and hearing. Other learning skills that should be respected also entail passing of sensory information using their feet, legs, tongues and arms other body parts. Alternatively, instructors should incorporate essential social skills objectives in every child’s annual Individualized Educational Plan (IEP). On this perspective, the child should be taught essential interaction skills based on IEP early in life. These include stressing on proper forms of greetings so that impaired child does not hug or kiss everybody (Moss & Blaha, 2001). In addition, the learning should also involve the particular body parts that one can touch without asking for authorization, the distance one should maintain when standing with another person when asking for food in a hotel. Similarly, child should taught fundamental etiquette when he is in a crowded elevator or bus. In addition, the basic social skills should include seeking for permission to touch another person.
Therefore, in terms of greetings the instructor should understand that a greeting is a two-way traffic. On that note, the impaired child should be taught how to greet familiar and strange people. This also includes how strangers present themselves to your child and their reaction of towards the stranger. Therefore, the instructor or the parent should use modeling techniques for giving instructions to the child. For example, another person can hold the hand the child and then direct the child’s hand to a ring, a short braid of hair, and the shoulder of seated of seated person or some significant place the person might prefer (Moss & Blaha, 2001). On that aspect, after the greeting ritual has been inculcated into the child, the approach towards him will rarely engage searching the person to identify who is present. In addition, the instructor can apply the use of signs with pair names or symbols to individuals who constantly interact with the child. On that case, the child can easily recognize them without the need to explore them physically every meeting time.On the other hand, when it comes to proper methods of seeking attention and asking for authority to touch somebody, there are techniques to use. This can be through instructing the child on either affirmative or non-affirmative when they naturally draw closer to person. This will teach the multiple impaired child to realize that there are instances of touch and others when he is not permitted.
In conclusion, it is imperative for society and other members of the community to respect the sexuality of children with multiple disabilities. This begins by understanding that they also have sexual feelings and hence can date, have sexual intercourse and even marry (Moss & Blaha, 2001). Therefore, it is the parent or the instructor to inculcate into the child how to respond to the member of the opposite sex in terms of appropriate touch and setting of physical boundaries. In addition, measures should be put in place to help the child with both vision and sight to know how to touch people and the appropriate places to touch.
Reference
Moss, K., & Blaha, R. (2001). Introduction to Sexuality Education for Individuals who are Deaf-Blind and Significantly Developmentally Delayed. Monmouth, OR: DB-LINK.
http://www.dblink.org/pdf/sex-ed.pdf
