First Advisor

Bowen, Sandy K.

First Committee Member

Pierce, Corey D.

Second Committee Member

Peterson, Lori Yvonne

Third Committee Member

Moser, Erin Nicole

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Document Type

Dissertation

Date Created

8-2025

Department

College of Education and Behavioral Sciences, Special Education, Special Education Student Work

Abstract

People with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are victims of sexual assault at a rate seven times higher than people without IDD (Shapiro, 2018a). “One of the best ways to stop sexual assault is to give people with intellectual disabilities the ability to identify abuse and to know how to develop the healthy relationships they want” (Shapiro, 2018b, p. 1). Comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) could be a scientifically accurate, evidence-based, age-appropriate, culturally relevant, and inclusive educational experience for youth with IDD (Koch et al., 2024). However, only around 16% of students with IDD were likely to receive sex education in public schools across the United States (Barnard-Brak et al., 2014). This study explored how the experiences and perceptions of parents, school professionals, and school administrators impacted beliefs around providing CSE to school-aged youth with IDD and identified and described parent, school professional, and school administrators’ perceived barriers to CSE for students with IDD. These research questions guided this study:

Q1 How do the experiences and perceptions of intellectual and developmental disability impact California and Colorado parents, school professionals, and school administrators’ beliefs about providing comprehensive sexuality education to school-aged youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities?

Q2 What do California and Colorado parents, school professionals, and school administrators perceive as barriers to students with intellectual and developmental disabilities receiving comprehensive sexuality education?

The researcher designed a phenomenological focus group pilot study to explore barriers to CSE for school-aged youth with IDD. Three focus groups (comprising parents, school professionals, and school administrators) included a total of seven participants. Through the lens of the social relational model of disability (Reindal, 2008), three main themes emerged: rights affirmation, needs for successful inclusion, and positive outcomes of CSE. Participants perceived youth with IDD as equal members of a community with the ability to make valuable and unique contributions. They believed inclusive education could be achieved and described positive outcomes of CSE instruction. Limitations were in the small number of participants and the lack of data from classroom teachers. Future research should explore barriers to CSE access for youth with IDD throughout the United States.

Abstract Format

html

Places

Greeley, Colorado

Extent

158 pages

Local Identifiers

Kalos_unco_0161D_11359. pdf

Rights Statement

Copyright is held by the author.

Digital Origin

Born digital

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