THE SEXUAL NEEDS OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES – INTRODUCTION
Doctors are often diffident when dealing with matters relating to sexuality and disability. The two words do not sit comfortably together. So where does the unease arise? Is it due to some uncertainty in the doctor as to how to cope with what seem to be major problems, and to the difficulty in adapting well tried techniques and skills to meet new and less familiar situations? Perhaps the problems are just too overwhelming. On the other hand, the sense of unease may stem from preconceived ideas held by the doctor which relate to society’s view that ‘disabled people do not do that sort of thing, or if they do they shouldn’t’.
One cannot assume that people with disabilities will have more psychosexual problems than the so called ‘able’ whose disabilities do not show. There may, however, be a sexual difficulty in the capacity to perform due to a physical disability which handicaps the person. The doctor needs to feel comfortable talking about the practical aspects of sexual activity, while at the same time being aware of the interactions in each doctor/patient relationship. In general, there may be a tendency for the doctor to be protective and ‘mothering’ towards the patient, whose greatest need is to be allowed to be his (or her) adult self.
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