Sexual And Reproductive Health Of Adolescents With Disabilities

This book investigates various experiences of teaching sexual and reproductive health to adolescents with disabilities. Following the adoption of the UNCRPD, adolescents with disabilities still commonly suffer from widespread violation of their rights particularly concerning sexual and reproductive health – often being viewed as either asexual or hypersexual. Contemporary societies do not readily encourage the participation of these young people in conversations or decision making processes concerning their own sexual and reproductive health. This book delves into such complex issues, critically examining how global communities attempt to teach sexual and reproductive issues to adolescents with disabilities in the modern era.

This book investigates various experiences of teaching sexual and reproductive health to adolescents with disabilities. Following the adoption of the UNCRPD, adolescents with disabilities still commonly suffer from widespread violation of their rights particularly concerning sexual and reproductive health - often being viewed as either asexual or hypersexual. Contemporary societies do not readily encourage the participation of these young people in conversations or decision making processes concerning their own sexual and reproductive health. This book delves into such complex issues, critically examining how global communities attempt to teach sexual and reproductive issues to adolescents with disabilities in the modern era. Tafadzwa Rugoho (PhD) is a lecturer at Great Zimbabwe University in the Department of Development Studies, and has authored more than twenty book chapters and several journal papers on disability issues. He is also a guest Lecturer at the University of Pretoria where he teaches Sexuality and Social Media. France Maphosa (PhD) is a Professor of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Botswana. He has been awarded several research grants including the ORREA Senior Scholars Research Grant, CODESRIA Advanced Research Fellowship Grant and the CODESRIA National Working Group Research Grant.

The sexual lives of people with disabilities are rarely discussed. It is as if, because someone has a biological or psychological impairment, they do not exist as a sexual being. As such, many people with disabilities feel marginalised and powerless not only in their day-to-day lives, but also in their ability to form sexual relationships. A range of health issues are raised as a result. Illustrated by research drawn from a range of international contexts, Disability and Sexual Health: A Critical Exploration of Key Issues is the first to examine this important but seldom acknowledged issue. Beginning with an understanding of how both disability and sexuality are socially defined phenomena, the book discusses the implications for the sexual health of people with disabilities, from sexual health education and access to information to STDs and possible sexual exploitation. The book concludes with a chapter recommending inclusive practice in line with the aims of the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities. Disability and Sexual Health will be important reading for researchers and students in health psychology, critical psychology and the psychology of sexuality, gender, disability and nursing. It will also be of interest to professionals working with people with disabilities in health care and social work.

This groundbreaking text explores sexuality and fertility issues for young people living with ill health or disability. This subject is often considered taboo, although for some of those coping with sexual or fertility impairment, it can be as difficult as coping with the disability or health condition itself. Bringing together personal, professional and academic perspectives from a variety of disciplines and located within a life-course development framework, this book takes a holistic view of young people moving towards adulthood and examines the impact of illness or disability on their sexual and fertile identities. The broad range of chapters includes the experiences of minority ethnic groups, managing relationships, fertility preservation and treatment, and the transition to parenthood. Professionals working with adolescents and young adults will find this book a rich source of insights, information and guidance.

This open access edited volume explores physical disability and sexuality in South Africa, drawing on past studies, new research conducted by the editors, and first-person narratives from people with physical disabilities in the country. Sexuality has long been a site of oppression and discrimination for people with disabilities based on myths and misconceptions, and this book explores how these play out for people with physical disabilities in the South African setting. One myth with which the book is centrally concerned, is that people with disabilities are unable to have sex, or are seen as lacking sexuality by society at large. Societal understandings of masculinity, femininity, bodies and attractiveness, often lead people with physical disabilities to be seen as being undesirable romantic or sexual partners. The contributions in this volume explore how these prevailing social conditions impact on the access to sexual and reproductive healthcare, involvement in romantic relationships, childbearing, and sexual citizenship as a whole, of people with physical disabilities in the Western Cape of the country. The authors' research, and first person contributions by people with physical disabilities themselves, suggest that education and public health policy must change, if the sexual and reproductive health rights and full inclusion of people with disabilities are to be achieved.

Epilepsy requires careful management and monitoring through a woman’s life Epilepsy is a complex disease. The hormonal changes women experience, both day-to-day menstrual fluctuations and the longer waxes and wanings of a reproductive lifetime, make the management of epilepsy even more complicated. At some point, the well-being of a second person, a fetus, might also have to be taken into account. Epilepsy in Women provides a detailed guide to this challenge. The wide-ranging approach encompasses all aspects of a woman’s life including: Social and psychological impacts The impact in reproductive life Contraception Pregnancy Fetal health and long term developmental outcomes Lactation Menopause Each practical chapter begins and ends with a case study that demonstrates the more general challenge. The authors develop themes to provide clinical guidance based on evidence and experience. Written and edited by an international cast of experts, Epilepsy in Women provides crucial tips and recommendations for neurologists and gynecologists who need to be aware of the subtle effects of epilepsy on woman’s life.

Over the last thirty years, the field of disability studies has emerged from the political activism of disabled people. In this challenging review of the field, leading disability academic and activist Tom Shakespeare argues that the social model theory has reached a dead end. Drawing on a critical realist perspective, Shakespeare promotes a pluralist, engaged and nuanced approach to disability. Key topics discussed include: dichotomies - the dangerous polarizations of medical model versus social model, impairment versus disability and disabled people versus non-disabled people identity - the drawbacks of the disability movement's emphasis on identity politics bioethics in disability - choices at the beginning and end of life and in the field of genetic and stem cell therapies care and social relationships - questions of intimacy and friendship. This stimulating and accessible book challenges orthodoxies in British disability studies, promoting a new conceptualization of disability and fresh research agenda. It is an invaluable resource for researchers and students in disability studies and sociology, as well as professionals, policy makers and activists.