Experiences of staff in dealing with client sexuality in services for teenagers and adults with intellectual disability

Previous studies have focused on staff attitudes to sexuality rather than t heir experience of dealing with sexual incidents. A self-completion questio nnaire was devised in which seven scenarios were proposed relating to clien t sexuality (e.g. public masturbation and accusation of sexual abuse). Staf f noted whether or nor they had encountered this type of incident, and if s o, how confident they felt (or would feel) in dealing with it, and whether or not they would enlist the help of colleagues. Questionnaires were sent t o all statutory, voluntary and private service providers (including schools ) within one community health and social services trust area in Northern Ir eland, and 150 staff responded. Around two-thirds of staff reported having dealt with at least one of the seven incidents listed. Staff with previous experience of the incident listed, felt that they could deal with it more c onfidently in future, as did staff working in residential services rather t han day services. The latter group of staff were more likely to enlist the help of colleagues than were residential staff. Nearly 50% of staff identif ied more training and clear policy guidelines as the two means of increasin g their confidence in dealing with issues of client sexuality. These result s highlight the need for staff training that spans agencies and results in common approaches to client sexuality. Suggestions for further research are noted.