Charged with the responsibility of preparing children for the eventuality of adulthood, parents and educators face many challenges. Providing comprehensive sexuality education to children, teens, and young adults with special needs is a particularly important but often formidable task.

Our White Paper can help you: Learn how youngsters with special needs are disadvantaged by a lack of appropriate sex education   Understand barriers to healthy sexuality Incorporate developmental considerations in your own teaching Convince administrators to invest in materials and/or training!

When MarshMedia undertook the development of puberty education materials for students with special needs, the company already had a long and successful history publishing health and human growth materials for mainstream students. Our moderate editorial position, reliance on recognized expert sources, and judicious feedback from our patrons in the field (primarily school nurses and health administrators), provided a solid platform for this new publishing endeavor.

Our research revealed a number of new considerations for differentiating special education resource materials. When considering our target audience, we chose to focus on students with mild to moderate disabilities. We designed a framework of ordered, factual information using uncomplicated language and illustration models to help parents and educators initiate instruction and discussion, and maintain a positive attitude. We also learned that our materials are very well suited to children who are early developers.

The MarshMedia White Paper is a natural outgrowth of our experience. It sets out key principles in support of human sexuality education for students with special needs. The theoretical framework is intended to advocate for healthy sexuality for youngsters with special needs. By examining particular issues in the area of disseminating sex education, we seek to supply parents and educators and other advocates in the field with guidance and support.