Author Ralph Savarese, writing in the Des Moines Register, responds to a question posed by his 16-year-old son with autism. “Will I ever get to have sex?” the young man asked via his talking computer. An excerpt:

On the whole, we’ve come a long way from the incarceration, sterilization, and eugenics of the 20th century, but not far enough. The dream of full participation in life’s richness for those with cognitive differences remains just that: a dream. Who of us doesn’t want a job, a home and friends? Who of us doesn’t want a share of that sublime and affirming activity we call sex (or what my son at age 12 memorably termed “great feelings”)?

We need to stop behaving like hysterical Puritans and provide people with disabilities with rigorous sex education. Not only that but opportunities, even trained sexual facilitators, if need be. Kids with disabilities grow up. Let them look forward to what the rest of us look forward to. We can do this responsibly, ethically.

Savarese is the author, with his son, of “Reasonable People: A Memoir of Autism and Adoption.”

This entry was posted on Friday, April 17th, 2009 at 6:57 am and is filed under autism, intellectual/developmental disabilities, NOT2BEMISSED, personal stories, sexuality. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.