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Evaluation of Comprehensive Sexuality Education and Support Workshops for Parents and Carers of Children and Young People with Intellectual Disability and/or Autism Spectrum Disorders

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Abstract

Parents and carers often have limited knowledge and confidence in providing comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) and support to children and young people with intellectual disability (ID) and/or autism spectrum disorder (ASD). To address this need, six workshops were delivered and evaluated in New South Wales (NSW), Australia in 2018.

Pre/post-workshop surveys were completed (n = 145) along with three-month follow-up surveys and interviews (n = 34) to evaluate the perceived effectiveness of the workshops in improving parents’ and carers’ knowledge and confidence in providing CSE and support to their child or young person. The evaluation also sought to understand additional barriers for parents and carers in providing CSE and support to people with ID and/or ASD.

Significant improvements in self-reported knowledge and confidence were identified following the completion of the workshop, which were retained at the three-month follow-up. Barriers to the provision of CSE and support included feelings of isolation and stigma, a preference for reactive approaches to CSE, and a lack of accessible information and resources.

Findings suggest that while the provision of workshops to parents and carers can increase their knowledge and confidence in providing CSE and support, significant barriers persist.

This evaluation provides insight into how the parent and carer approach to CSE and support for children and young people with ID and/or ASD can be improved.

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Data Availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data is not publicly available due to their containing information that could compromise the privacy of research participants.

Code Availability

Not applicable.

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Funding

This research was funded by nib foundation and Family Planning NSW. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the funder. There are no restrictions from the funding body on free access or publication of the research data.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Family Planning NSW, Sydney, Australia

    Erin Donnelly, Ee-Lin Chang, Yan Cheng & Jessica Botfield

  2. Cancer Institute NSW, Screening and Prevention Division, Sydney, Australia

    Yan Cheng

  3. Department of General Practice, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia

    Jessica Botfield

Authors
  1. Erin Donnelly
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  2. Ee-Lin Chang
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  3. Yan Cheng
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  4. Jessica Botfield
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All authors have contributed to, seen, and approved of the manuscript and agree to the order of authors as listed on the title page.

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Correspondence to Erin Donnelly.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Donnelly, E., Chang, EL., Cheng, Y. et al. Evaluation of Comprehensive Sexuality Education and Support Workshops for Parents and Carers of Children and Young People with Intellectual Disability and/or Autism Spectrum Disorders. Sex Disabil 41, 235–253 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11195-023-09786-y

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