Social Boundaries in Young Adult Females with Down Syndrome as a Foundation for Sexuality Education

Abstract

There is a tremendous unmet need for health care provider guidance on managing the sexual health of young adults with intellectual disabilities. The first step in addressing sexuality in this population is establishing comprehension of social boundaries. This pilot study tested the usefulness of the Circles^® app in teaching appropriate social boundaries to six young adult females with Down syndrome as a basis for further education on healthy sexuality in the clinic setting. Following implementation of the Circles^® app, participant comprehension of appropriate social boundaries improved from baseline, supporting the need for further research on the Circles^® app in this population.

Keywords:

• Intellectual and developmental disabilities
• Down syndrome
• adolescent sexuality
• social boundaries
• sex education
• Circles app

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to Dr. James Stanfield, Founder of the James Stanfield Company and developer of the Circles Social Skills Utility™; Dr. Brian Skotko, Board-certified medical-geneticist and Co-Director of the Down Syndrome Program at Massachusetts General Hospital; Dr. Lotta Löfgren-Mårtenson, Associate Professor in sexology at the Faculty of Health and Society and the Center for Professional Studies at Malmö University in Sweden; and Dr. Dilana Schaafsma, Associate Lector at Fontys Hogeschool Pedagogiek, for providing expert consultation during the development of this pilot study. An additional thanks to Dr. James Stanfield for providing complementary downloads of the Circles^® app for study participants.

Disclosure statement

Dr. Faught, Dr. Moore and Dr. Hande report no relevant disclosures. Leslie Walker-Hirsch is the co-creator of the Circles^® curriculum series.

Notes

1 Acknowledgement of expert consultation does not suggest endorsement of this pilot study, manuscript or Circles Social Skills Utility^TM.