Pennsylvania’s University Center for Excellence
in Developmental Disabilities
Education, Research and Service
Institute on Disabilities, Temple
University
BEHAVIORS IN TRANSITION:
Real Life Consequences
2009 Pennsylvania Community on Transition Conference
State College, PA
July 22, 2009
Presenter
Beverly L. Frantz, EdD
Institute on Disabilities, Temple University
Pandora’s Emotional Box
Shock/Surprise
Denial
Can I/We
How Do I/We
Too Much
Anger
Discomfort
Challenge
Fear/Fright
Institute on Disabilities, Temple University
Sex and Sexuality:
What’s the Difference?
“Sex
is something you do,
sexuality is something you are.”
Anna Freud
Institute on Disabilities, Temple University
Sexuality
• Is a continuous experience
• Is an integrated experience
• Is shaped by family, culture,
religion, education, personal
experience, the media
Institute on Disabilities, Temple University
Maslow’s
HIERARCHY of NEEDS
Self-actualization
Esteem
Social/Love/Belonging
Safety
Survival
Institute on Disabilities, Temple University
Sex on TV
Talk about sex or sexual behavior can occur 8 to 10
times per HOUR of prime-time TV. (Kaiser Family Foundation,1996)
Since the 1997-1998 TV season the amount of
sexual content has nearly doubled, but little has
changed in responsible content. (Kaiser Family Foundation, 1996)
Movies and situation comedies contain the most
sexual content of all programming on TV. (Kunkel et al.,2005)
Institute on Disabilities, Temple University
Sex on TV
The most frequently occurring messages depict
sexual relations as a competition in which men
comment on women’s physical appearance and
masculinity is equated with being sexual. (Strasburger, 2006)
What is shown on American TV is largely unrealistic,
suggestive sexual innuendo or unhealthy sexual
behavior. (Ward, 1995)
Institute on Disabilities, Temple
University
Touch: Our First Language
Before we can see an image,
smell an odor, taste a flavor, or
hear a sound, we experience
others and ourselves through
touch – it’s our only reciprocal
sense
(Hunter & Struve, 1998).
Institute on Disabilities, Temple University
Touch, Ethnicity, Culture
• The meaning of touch can only be
understood in its cultural context
(Halbrook & Duplechin, 1994).
• People from different cultures were
observed in casual conversation and
the number of times they touched in one
hour were counted (Jourard, 1996 )
• Puerto Rico – 180 times
• United States – 2 times
Paris – 110 times
London – 0 times
Institute on Disabilities, Temple University
Institute on Disabilities, Temple University
Types of Touch
Ritualistic/socially accepted - gestures for
greeting/departing
Consolation - response to grief, sadness
Reassuring - geared to encourage & reassure
Playful – wrestling with a child, playing sports
Institute on Disabilities, Temple University
Institute on Disabilities, Temple University
When is it a Hug or a Hold?
How do you tell the difference?
•
Personal experience
•
Professional experience
Are the consequences the same?
Is a “label” created?
Institute on Disabilities, Temple University
Time, February 23, 2009
Institute on Disabilities, Temple University
The Full Frontal
Total body contact, heartTo-heart embrace and firm
Squeeze. For parents, children
And good friends
Time, February 23, 2009
The Ass-Out Hug
Nothing touches below the
Shoulders. Reserved for the
Office, bad dates and references
To Vince Vaugn
Time, February 23, 2009
The Hip-Hop Hug
A.k.a. the man hug and the
Hetero hug. Shake with right
Hand and hug with left, two
Slaps on back
Time, February 23, 2009
From Calvin Klein to Paris Hilton and MySpace: Adolescents, Sex and the Media
Jane D. Brown , PhD and Victor C. Strasburger, MD
American Academy of Pediatrics
2007
Identifying and Including
Sexuality Issues in:
• Functional Behavior Assessments – FBA
• Individual Educational Plans – IEP
• Coordinating FBAs and IEPs
Institute on Disabilities, Temple University
Touch/Sexual Health and IEPs?
• Lack of age appropriate sexual health
information
• Lack of appropriate sexuality language
• Accepted in-school behaviors versus
generally accepted societal behaviors
Institute on Disabilities, Temple University
IEP Sexuality Goals and Supports
When a goal is written in the students’
IEP… it assumes the team is
responsible for the student to achieve
that goal. When it comes to sexuality
goals, all team members might not be
on the same page.
Institute on Disabilities, Temple University
Adolescent Confusion:
Private or Pubic?
Institute on Disabilities, Temple University
Key Issues
– Inappropriate touching
– Masturbation/self-pleasuring
– Disrobing
– Inappropriate sexual language
Institute on Disabilities, Temple University
Institute on Disabilities, Temple
University
Vocabulary
• We change our vocabulary (especially
sexual) depending upon who we are talking
to.
• Parents/guardians often give names to their
child’s genitals.
• Can be confusing because of the many
different names/meaning given to one word.
Institute on Disabilities, Temple University
General Awareness
1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys will be
sexually assaulted by the age of 18.
Finkelhor, David, Hotaling, G., Lewis, I., Smith, C. “Sexual Abuse in a National Survey of Adult Men and Women
Prevalence, Characteristic, and Risk Factors,” Child Abuse and Neglect, Vol. 14, pp 19-26, 1990.
Institute on Disabilities, Temple University
Incidence and Prevalence
• People with Developmental Disabilities
are 4 to 10 times more likely to be victims
of crime than other people.
•
Sobsey, Wells, Lucardie, & Mansell, 1995
• 50% of patients who are long-term
residents of hospitals and specialized
rehabilitation centers are there due to
crime-related injuries.
Office of Victim Crime Bulletin, 1998.
Institute on Disabilities, Temple University
Incidence and Prevalence
• 67% of perpetrators who abused individuals
with severe cognitive disabilities accessed
them through their work in disability
services.
Journal of Sexuality and Disability, 1991
• Women with disabilities reported
experiencing their abuse for longer
periods of time – 3.9 vs. 2.5 years
respectively.
Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Special Issue, 1997
Institute on Disabilities, Temple University
Research Tells Us
• Offenders are often care providers
• No data collection program
• Very few treatment/healing support
services
Institute on Disabilities, Temple University
Research tells us
Only 3% of sexual abuse cases
involving people with developmental
disabilities are reported to the police
compared to
23% of cases involving people without
disabilities
(Valenti-Hein & Swartz, 1995 ).
Institute on Disabilities, Temple University
Increased Vulnerability
Believability of victim
Less education about appropriate and
inappropriate sexuality
Social isolation, increased risk of
manipulation
Values and attitudes towards each person’s
individual capacity for self-protection
Institute on Disabilities, Temple University
In Summary…
The Connection Is Between:
• Sexual Health
– Boundaries, Rights, Responsibilities
• Vocabulary, Sexual Verbal Expression
– Understanding social contracts
• Criminal Justice System
– Equal Justice for
• Victims, witnesses, defendants
Institute on Disabilities, Temple University
Take the first step…you don't
have to see the whole staircase,
just take the first step.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
VISION
A society where all people are valued and
respected, and where all people have the
knowledge, opportunity and power to
improve their lives and the lives of others.
MISSION
The Institute on Disabilities leads by example,
creating connections and promoting networks
within and among communities so that people
with disabilities are recognized as integral to
the fabric of community life.
Contact Information
Beverly L. Frantz
Criminal Justice Coordinator
Institute on Disabilities, Temple University
USB, Suite 610
1601 N. Board Street
Philadelphia, PA 19122
Direct:
215-204-5078
Main/TTY: 215-204-1356
Fax:
215-204-6336
Email:
bfrantz@temple.edu
http://disabilities.temple.edu
Institute on Disabilities, Temple University