A Scoping Review of School-Based Sexuality Education for Children With Disabilities

Abstract

Individuals with disabilities often have limited access to school-based sexuality education (SE). This scoping review identified the characteristics of school-based SE intervention programs implemented for students with disabilities. Six electronic databases were searched for peer-reviewed articles: 30 articles published between 1969 and 2020 met inclusion criteria. Some interventions included children from multiple disability categories ( n = 6) or were unclear about disability diagnoses ( n = 3). Other interventions focused on specific disabilities, including intellectual and developmental disability ( n = 8), learning disability ( n = 4 ), autism ( n = 3), physical disability ( n = 3), emotional disturbance ( n = 2), and hearing impairment ( n = 1). Topics of instruction included comprehensive sexuality education ( n = 8), the human body ( n = 8), safety ( n = 8), hygiene and menstrual care ( n = 6), and social and relationship skills ( n = 5). Few studies addressed students’ intersectional identities.