NHS Lanarkshire Sexual Health

Disability

People with a disability experience the same sexual needs, feelings and desires as any other healthy individual. Disability does not prevent sexual maturity, or remove sexual feelings, desires or curiosity.

This section deals with both physical and learning disabilities.

Visual Impairment

Blindness or visual impairments do not have a direct effect on sexual development, or an individual's wish to pursue their sexual experiences. What may be necessary is additional support to access relevant and appropriate information, education and services.
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Hearing Impairment

It is important to remember that the world around us is set up for hearing people. It is easy to take for granted all the unconscious information that is received and processed through hearing.
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Learning About Sex

The development of sexuality and emergence of our sexual selves is something that happens to everybody. Some people wrongly regard disabled people as not developing sexually in the same way as non-disabled people.
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Learning Disability

In many areas of life, learning-disabled people are provided with much more independence and recognition than in the past. But society is not very aware that learning-disabled people have rights when it comes to pursuing sexual relationships.
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Physical Disability

Body image has a strong impact on individual's and society’s perceptions of sexual relationships. Talking about Sex/sexuality and people with a physical disability is often seen as inappropriate.
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Disability Rights

Disabled people have the same right (as non-disabled people) to be treated as equal individuals in all areas of life. This includes the acceptance of their sexuality, their right to acknowledge and develop their sexual being; and acceptance as a sexual being in the wider community of disabled and non-disabled people.

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Sexual Health & Wellbeing

Disability Articles