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Is there a reason behind their behavior?
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Such individuals do not demonstrate such behavior from having an unusually strong sexual drive as some mistakenly believe. Society has traditionally held common misconceptions about "oversexed" attitudes of people with these types of disabilities.
Such behavior often stems from not having enough opportunities for appropriate sexual expression, ignorance of what is considered appropriate, inadequate social education and poorly developed or absent self-control. Other factors include:
- Lack of information about or opportunities for sexual expression and intimacy
- Lack of social skills and training on appropriate/safe sexual behavior and building relationships resulting in a significant lack of sexual knowledge
- A history of sexual or physical abuse (research shows a higher rate of sexual victimization among people with developmental disabilities compared to those without disabilities)
- Exposure to violence and/or pornography
- Socioeconomic factors
- Pervasive use of restriction in daily life
- Limited or no available sexual partners
- Difficulty projecting consequences of behavior
- Difficulty recognizing and expressing emotions
- Significant others deny the behavior is happening (Nezu et al., 1998).
Often those with disabilities who are charged with sexual offenses engage in acceptable sexual behaviors, but with someone who is not an appropriate age. Such behavior, which is sometimes called "age discordance sex play," can be altered through social skills training and sex therapy.
Such therapy should be provided by a qualified sex therapist who has experience working with individuals with cognitive, intellectual or developmental disabilities.
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