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Sex Education

Mhairi

Hi

My son is 9 and has HFA.  He has come across a range of swears and sexual language and as a result is now asking what is sex, and what does xyz mean.  I am not sure where to start with this as I think he may initially be overwhelmed then very curious.  Curiosity I have no issue with however I want to avoid messing this up.

I would be grateful to hear from anyone who has experience of how they approached this delicate area.  Is there a book, dvd that helps?  From what I have heard the school education on this will not be adequate or explicit enough in explaining the emotions, values, safety and privacy aspects for my son.

Thanks

 

  • My son is 11 and we talk quite openly to him and his younger brother, and are quite relaxed about it, we have explained the same why to our eldest the same way we would our nearly ten year old, and found explaining as though he were his brothers age helps, not too explicit and the bodily functions, we haven't gone into the emotion side of it yet as he just won't get it. We also bought a colourful and bright sex education book with lots of diagrams and pictures that seemed to help. Not sure if that is any use to you, but hope it helps Kimx

  • Another dimension to this is what is going on in school.

    His peers will be using such terms already at 9 but they will have also learned the taboos about such words and will use them as dares, bravado, or out of curiosity.

    Someone on the spectrum may pick up on the words, but not the other information, it may even seem cool, since this will be at a time when he might feel more accepted by his peers (man's talk).

    However there is also a danger his classmates have noticed that he is prepared to use such words without their constraints so may be encouraging him.

  • i am currently in frequent visits to my sons junior school as he is just about to start his Sex education. I have explained to the school that with Aspergers he wont understand the feelings and emotions side, and that it will need to be taught differently. They are consistent that he will be taught the same as everyone else, in with everyone else, and that there will just be someone next to him if he needs help. My son does not recognise if he needs help. Looking online i have found many sources, even from the educational psychology dept that it needs to be taught more explicitly, but the school arent listening. i dont want him to be excluded because of his differences, as he needs to learn about it, just in a different way. any help would be grateful

  • Hi Mhairi

    Here's some info on the website about sex education:

    http://www.autism.org.uk/living-with-autism/communicating-and-interacting/sex-education-and-children-and-young-people-with-an-asd.aspx

    Lots of interesting stuff there - I hope you'll find something helpful in it. There's also a list of books at the end.

    Would be interesting to know what other users have found helpful too.

    Good luck Smile

    Sandra - mod