INTRODUCTION
I will start by introducing myself: My name is Sytske Brandenburg. I work within an institute and school for children with visual impairment. Within this institution, I work as an educational psychologist with the adolescents.
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Within our institution the extra interest in the subject of sexual education comes up regularly.
On one hand, we have to make sure from time to time that the responsibilities between parents and care staff is defined properly: we have to prevent the situation in which parents are assuming that the institution takes care of sexual education, while we are assuming that this is the responsibility of the parents.
On the other hand the extra attention is connected with the fact that pupils are more open nowadays about, for instance, incest experiences, so that, within our institution, we have to discuss how to deal with this phenomenon and how to recognise its signs.
2. AIM
With the sexual education of children and young people with a visual impairment we do not want to achieve anything differently than with the education of sighted children. The road towards this aim is sometimes different, because of the impairments.
First of all, I would like you to join me in looking at the aim we set ourselves in principle for every child .
What do we want to achieve with our sexual education? What aims do we aim also for our own children ?
a. Firstly, we want to achieve that, now and in the future, children will enjoy sexuality.
b. Secondly, an aim with sexual education is also teaching sexual standards and values.
For example: They should know about which sexual behaviour of adults is outside the standards and values, such as voyeurism, 'child molesters', unwanted liberties at home, at school and during their spare time or at school, and they have to know how to react.
c. Thirdly, we want to achieve that children and adolescents have sufficient technical knowledge concerning sexuality.
I hope you agree with me on these three aims: enjoying sex, standards & values and knowledge.
When we know what we want to achieve, the next step is: what do children need at what time, in order to achieve this aim. And who is responsible! We need knowledge about the sexual development of children and about the available educational means. If a child has limitations, it is good to know whether these limitations influence the sexual development and education.
And the parents are responsible for sex education: I am responsible for the sex education of my own children and nobody else: what the school contributes is OK, but it remains the responsibility of the parents.
3. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK OF SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT
Sexual development can be described from various theoretical perspectives. We will briefly mention three models:
- the biological model,
- Freud's theory and
- the theory in which sexual development is regarded as a social learning process.
* The biological model emphasises physiological development, cerebral activity and hormonal influences.
* Freud's theory, which distinguishes 5 stages in childhood (oral, anal, phallic, latency and genital), assumes that during the latency stage sexual behaviour disappears from children's interest.
* The third theory, describing sexual development as a social learning process, provides the largest number of leads for sexual education.
Sexual development is then regarded as a learning process during which the child builds up a particular script or scenario, which will be adjusted in the course of a person's development, by new experiences and new cognitive and emotional developments.
So the way we behave in this aspect to the child, will form a part of the scenario of the child's sexuality and in this way it will be important for how the child deals with sexuality.
Now I want to concentrate on describing how the sexual development of sighted and visually impaired children takes place.
4. SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT OF SIGHTED AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS AND CONSEQUENCES FOR EDUCATION
You all know that in the development in question we can distinguish the following periods:
A. Infancy, up to 2 years old
B. Toddlers and pre-school years, 3 to 6 years old
C.. School-age years, 7 to 12 years old
D. Adolescence, 13 to 17 years old
E. Early adulthood 18 to 23 years old
I will start with:
A. Infancy, up to 2 years old
The development of a child into a woman or a man starts at conception when the composition of chromosomes determines whether a girl or a boy will be born. The parents go along with this biological fact by giving the baby a 'girl's name' or a 'boy's name'. The child's sexual development has started then. Parents, and important others, confirm a child's sex by naming it, byj saying: "yes, it is a boy", by the type of toys, by the colour of its clothes, the way of reacting, etc. The baby is not yet aware of being either a girl or a boy.
A baby experiences lust: it explores its own body and accidental behaviour causes pleasurable sensations. Visual perceptions do not influence a baby's experience of lust. Visual limitations do influence the early-parental interaction and the formation of a sense of self. This sense of self is a necessity to the formation of self-awareness. And this subsequently is important for the sexual development of a toddler.
As you know, children with a visual impairment develop this sense of self later than sighted children, and this development therefore requires extra parental support.
Now we go to the
B. Toddlers and pre-school years, 3 to 6 years old
First, A toddler becomes aware of himself, begins to experience himself as 'I' and knows to what sex he belongs. Sexual interest originates from sexual curiosity about his own body, but in particular about other people's bodies.
A young child compares itself with others and notices that not everybody looks the same: some people are tall, others are small, some people have a beard and others have long hair; what also attracts their attention, when they see other people's naked bodies, is the fact that not all children and adults look the same. They begin to name what they see, they ask how this or that is called, they ask: " why you do not have a willie, why do you have breasts and why does daddy not?"; they compare with themselves and discover similarities and differences.
Usually, these questions come up as one goes along; the child's attention is soon attracted by something else and it does not need detailed explanation. All these small conversations in and around the bath room, swimming pool and bedroom within a familiar environment give a child the feeling that it is about very normal matters about which you can ask whatever you like, just as about the cat that died and the toy car that is broken.
Asking spontaneously about what they see will not occur in the case of blind and severely visually impaired children.
They have to rely on other senses and in this situation, the sense of touch provides most of the information.
At this age only is it socially acceptable that children are using their hands to feel other children and adults, also at more intimate places. Bathing and showering together, not deliberately covering nakedness, helping to bathe a baby and being allowed to feel it, feeling the breast of a breast-feeding mother, are moments in which blind children can make comparisons naturally by touch and ask questions. It is important that the answers fit in with what the child is equal to. The answers should not become theoretical lessons: short and clear answers will do for visually impaired children as well. If they sense that the opportunity for asking questions is there, they will ask again some other time.
A second characteristic in this period is that the child's behaviour is exploratory and is not much restrained by feelings of shame and guilt.
They are touching erogenous zones, are asking questions, are looking free and easy at naked people, are making remarks which are purely informative from the point of view of the child.
We as caregivers are mostly always confronted with our own boundaries when children touch our erogenous zones.
When touch is, in case of blind and seriously visually impaired children, the only way for the child in getting the anatomical information, caregivers are still more confronted by their own boundaries. They feel the responsibility to provide the information by touch, but touching may evoke feelings of insecurity:
What will happen when the child talks about it to other people?
Does the child learn now that it can touch everybody’s penis or breast ?
Being touched by the child may also evoke feelings of an erotic nature.
You all know that erotic feelings of the adult make the interaction between child and adult more complicated.
The adult is not just the caregiver in such a situation, but a sexual participant.
The only way, I think, you can deal with this, is to communicate about your feelings with your partner and in a residential school setting, with somebody you trust.
When you get clear for yourself, where your limit is, in being touched by the other, you will be able to respond appropriately to the child and the situation will sort itself out.
As third point I will mention the importance of play.
During play, sex roles become clearly recognisable. It is the period of sex-tinted games: playing doctors and nurses, playing house. Children become fascinated by nudity. Through play, they discover much about themselves and other people, they discover feelings of lust in themselves by touching, by themselves or by others.
Dolls with a willy and with a vulva provide visually impaired children the opportunity to ask questions that belong to their age and to explore by touch in peace and quiet without the direct presence of adults.
Sighted children are learning role behaviour by imitation. They see how father makes the meal or washes the dishes, they see how mother uses her make-up. Blind and severely partially sighted children hardly ever come to fantasy play spontaneously. First they should act out together with adults what sighted children are imitating, and the toys should be handed to them. Supervision of play is very important in this period in order to give the visually impaired children the opportunity to experiment with the role of man and woman and to discover their own and someone else's body through play.
And now:
C. School-age years: 7 to 12 years
I already mentioned that Freud assumed that during this period sexual behaviour disappears from children's interest, which is refuted by recent research, however.
First I want to mention that in this period, children are curious about facts about sex.They are interested in the technical story about sperm-cells and egg-cells, but that does not have much to do with their own sexuality.
In this period, children ask less and talk less about sex. But that does not mean that they are less interested in sex.
In the case of blind and severely visually impaired children, the feeling of shame and knowing the general norms may start somewhat later and adults could find themselves in awkward situations because of these children.
For example: Our new deputy director of the school was introduced in a class with 7-8 years old visually impaired children. One of the blind girls asked him with a loud voice whether he has a willy. He was really embarrassed.
For the child's self-image it is important to react properly in this case: on the one hand one should be clear about what is not proper anymore at this age in order to protect them against rejection (teaching the values & standards), on the other hand one should take a somewhat slower development of the visually handicapped child into account and give the child the chance to complete its development properly.
Every time it is important to realise in what direction you will adjust the internal scenario of the child about sex!!!
At the end of the school-age years all children but specially the visually handicapped children should know the most important facts about sex. This includes the differences between men and women, how children are 'made', how children are born, which contraceptives are available etc.
The children with a visual impairment should feel what the contraceptives look like, they should feel what a condom, a sanitary towel looks like. This is important for both girls and boys.
They should know what is 'going on' with the other sex: boys should be informed about menstruation, girls about erection and ejaculation.
To be well-informed is immensely important for visually impaired children, because they never know exactly what they have missed. It is important to prevent insecurity when their 'more mature' peers are telling jokes and are eager to take advantage of the greenness of the 'younger' and more naive children.
Sighted children pick up a lot of information casually through television and commercials, by just looking around. They are looking at pictures in books. Information books are often richly illustrated. They can look at one thing and another at their leisure.
This information should be offered differently to partially sighted and blind children. When reading to the children, caregivers could pick between a book containing sexual information or a book, which invites discussion about this subject. Children can also listen to books on tapes about sexuality.
In this case too it is important that the caregivers take up what the child wants to know: it should not become a lesson.
The caregiver should pay attention to matters which are day-to-day occurrences for sighted children: for instance, how people in love cuddle, hug and kiss?
In the Netherlands, we have a soap which is broadcast daily, containing many leads for explaining one thing and another in the field of sex information and relationships. This applies to sighted children, but for visually impaired children in particular and their educators it is a unique opportunity to talk about sex in a natural situation.
Sighted boys and girls know the anatomical differences between the two sexes by looking at naked people and by watching television and reading books. They don't need to touch anymore.
Because of some delay in development and because lack of visual information blind children still need touch as a source of information. The information by touch must be given before the child becomes emotionally and maybe erotically involved in the exploration. There is not the same solution for all children: talk about it how to deal with it individually for each child with the parents. Look for alternatives when parents find it difficult if their child touches the parents erogenous zones. Create an open sphere in which every body, parents and caregivers in the residential school, can talk about the difficulties and possibilities.
In our residential unit, parents come twice a year to make and evaluate the individual education plan with the care staff. Sexual development is one of the topics that will be discussed. So twice a year parents and care staff can attune to each other on this subject.
Besides curiosity about sex, in this period there is a strong need for identification with their own sex. Sometimes they react against the other sex. They have a clear idea of which behaviour belongs to boys and which behaviour to girls.
This applies to visually impaired children as well. A point of special attention in this respect is that some children sometimes need support which enables them to join the games of other children. For example, it is easier to join in a game with sighted girls in the playground when the teacher picks it up and teaches the rules in the gymnastic-lessons. Play and social behaviour offer possibilities of developing a positive sexual identity. This concerns the creation of favourable conditions, rather than specific support of sexual development.
During this period, sexual feelings for each other do not play a role yet, but children can become aware of sexual feelings in themselves as the result of masturbation or 'playing games' with each other.
Now we go to the fourth stage:
D. Adolescence, 13 to 17 years old
For young people with visual impairment , the following is of special importance:
First:
a. Information about sexuality:
* The information, they already have got , takes on another dimension.
On one hand they can follow the mainstream school-program in which the elements of sexual education are included.
When they need more detailed information and exploration, they mostly need more privacy, and specially the blind pupils need more time, to ask the questions they really want to ask.
In a rather small residential area everybody knows everybody very well. For the boys and girls who need protection of their privacy before they really ask the questions, it is better to give the sexual information and put it in relation to others, individually or in a small group of pupils, who are suited to each other. Then, separate groups for boys and girls are necessary. When you work in this way, with small groups, it is more the task of the caregiver who lives with the children than of the teachers.
Secondly is an important element is: the development of identity and social skills.
Visually impaired adolescents with sufficiently developed social skills develop their identity largely within their peer group.
Since many contacts are made and built up by means of eye contact, it requires extra social skills of visually impaired adolescents to gain the same experiences within their peer group: they rely on the help of their friends, for example to find out if a boy , they find attractive, is looking at them. Asking for this type of help, is one of these social skills.
Another thing is that because of their eye disorder, the eyes often look deviant and this can prevent a first contact because this deviation does not fit in with the general image of a good looking girl or boy. The first impression of a visually handicapped person often is a little bit innocent and adolescents have to compensate for this with good social skills to get an equal chance to get to know each other.
Social skills can be learned spontaneously within a peer group. Sometimes, it requires extra support. This is possible by participating on purpose in structured activities in which making contact is inherent in the activity, such as taking dancing classes. The organisation of a birthday disco can also be a possibility to ensure contacts with peers. Or by participating in a social skills training course, together with other visually impaired adolescents.
Another point is that a positive development of identity with boys can be hindered, when they need physical guiding by other boys. Because this can be interpreted as homosexuality.
To be called a homosexual, is very often experienced as threatening and wounding by boys.
The way in which adults can react to this by rejection of homosexuality can also be threatening to boys who are recognising homosexual feelings in themselves.
Now the last period: the
E. Early adulthood, 18 to 23 years old
During this period, people will develop what they have started during previous periods. This period is characterised by starting relationships, the further development of sexual behaviour, the formation of the self-image and identity.
During this period, good information should have been given already, or should be given now, about the possible heredity aspect. It is important that a young adult knows about the risk of having a visually impaired child. It might influence the relationship with somebody of the opposite sex.
There must be room sharing the pain when a young adult establishes that he does not want to give his child the same handicap.
Now I want to finish the first part in which I spoke with you about the sexual development and education of the sighted and the visually impaired in general.
5. SOME SPECIAL GROUPS:
Now I want to finish by pay attention to some special groups:
A. Multi-handicapped children and young people
B. Children and young people with a non-western cultural background
C. Young people with a contact disorder, related to autism
A. CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE WITH LEARNING DIABILITIES AND MULTI-HANDICAPPED CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE
In the case of this group, parents and educators will have to reconsider the aims again: what does our education aim at:
- at the preparation for a sexual relationship, or
- for a way of expressing sexual feelings without a relation with another, for example by masturbation,
- learning the standards and values?
With some of them we have to answer questions like: how do you deal with the desire to have children and how do we react to the pain and disappointment this can bring?
At the institute Ganspoel in Belgium, teaching material has been developed for sexual development, in which care staff and teachers carry out these lessons together. You heard more about this in a lecture during this conference.
The second special group:
B. CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE WITH A NON-WESTERN CULTURAL BACKGROUND
I will not enter into this in detail because the cultural background of the ethnic minority in your country differs from our country.
The main problem within our institute occurs if sex before marriage is not allowed within the culture in question. For this reason, sex education is not necessary and even forbidden. But if we notice that within the residence sexual contacts do occur and if we think that that is quite normal
and good, we are placed in the dilemma of whose responsibility this is and how we will cope with the risk of unwanted pregnancy. We find out with the boy or girl in what way they get their information. They all follow the normal program in our school and get their information in that way for sure. Sometimes it is acceptable for the young people and the parents when a medical doctor will give information about contraceptives.
C. YOUNG PEOPLE WITH ATYPICAL PERVASIVE DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDER: a contact disorder, related to autism
These young people form a growing part of our institute and school population, now that the greater part of the young people attend integrated education. As early as in their elementary school period, this group shows typical behaviour. Characteristic is that on the one hand they behave rather normal, but on the other hand you see that despite of their need of having contact they do it in such a way that it is odd. Some of them are strongly oriented towards a particular activity or particular objects or have just good contacts with adults.
In the individual talks with boys, several were talking to me about curious ways of becoming sexually exited. One of them became sexually excited by handling the hair of other boys. Another one by hearing a vacuum cleaner, while touching with a bare foot a bathing slipper ,belonging to peers or adults.
They were looking for these kinds of contacts with others but this behaviour socially isolates them even more.
Expert supervision which recognises these feelings is very important in this case. But at the same time you must indicate that this is not socially accepted behaviour. Trying to find socially accepted alternatives together with the young person concerned is a long and often difficult process.
6. CONCLUSION
I hope you have understood that we have to provide the children with knowledge, with skills and with an positive attitude to sex.
We as educators, we need to have:
- knowledgeabout sex development, educational means and about standards and values;
- skills to communicate with the children
- an attitudethat gives the children the opportunity to see our real feelings about sexuality and hopefully to see that sex is something to enjoy.
The task to do deal with all these aspects well is as impossible as having a simultaneous orgasm with your partner every time at the same moment.
So, now forget everything I have said, use your common sense and go through some steps:
The following steps could be worthwhile:
A. Set up a workgroup with a parent, a care staff member and a teacher for each stage and go through the next steps:
-. Make clear in concrete aims what you want the child to know about facts, what about sexual behaviour and what about sex in relationship.
-. Look at society and ask yourself:
* what is normally the responsibility of the parents and what happens in mainstream schools.
* where and when do you talk in your private situation about sex with your own children:
* sitting round the table during dinner or after dinner
* during washing the dishes
* when you go out with one of them
* when you say goodnight
* when you are watching a TV-programme or reading a book to the child.
B. Do first the regular things:
-. Establish that in the first place parents are responsible for sex education;
-. Make living situations in the residential area as natural as possible:
* let them live in normal houses, with the same kind of privacy as regards bathroom etc.;
* let them eat together in their own living-group
* let them travel by train and bus etc.
C. Create in the residential area and in the home environment of the parents sufficient possibilities for the visually impaired to get contacts with peers: these are the most important conditions for the sexual development.
D. But maybe most important: create a sphere of openness and respect between the caregivers: the parents, the care staff and the teachers with respect for each others feelings and boundaries.
Maybe this will be the most important message the children will need and will take with them.
Grave,
July 2000
S. Brandenburg
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