Given that many deaf students because of language delays may be emotionally and socially immature while physically mature, sex education tailored for their communication needs becomes critically important in order to prevent future problems. Fortunately, some materials are available for parents and teachers to use, plus some research articles have been written.

Videos

The Described and Captioned Media Program has many captioned video materials available on sexuality and related topics. A search of the subject, "sex education" turned up the following titles as an example:

Abstinence: Deciding to Wait- CFE 2648

Abstinence...It's the Right Choice - CFE 3204

Baby Blues - CFE 3005

Birth Control: Myths and Methods - CFE 2653

Birth Control: Your Responsibility, Your Choice - CFE 2154

Can a Guy Say No - CFE 2260

Changes - CFE 2598

Books

We could not find any books devoted solely to sex education for deaf students. However, the following books of signs used in sex communication are available:

Signs of Sexual Behavior

Signs for Sexuality - Available through some deaf/hoh product vendors and Planned Parenthood of Western Washington, the publisher.

Research and Publications

Some articles and materials have been published on the topic of sexuality and deaf students, or about sex education for disabled in general. A sampling:

Deafness and human sexuality: A developmental review. An article was in the American Annals of the Deaf, 126, 432-439. (This was also found in the bibliography accompanying an article on sex, roles and responsiblities in Perspectives in Education and Deafness, March-April 1998).

Sexuality Education for Children and Youth with Disabilities - This publication from the National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities has a bibliography section on hearing impairment that listed three publications from the eighties, all from Gallaudet University.

The Special Education Services Agency (Sesa.org) in Alaska covered sex education in its Spring 2002 newsletter.

More Materials

These additional materials on deafness and sexuality are available: