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Puberty

is the name for changes in the body of girls and boys as they grow up.

Let's talk about Who I am and My body and How I feel about myself.


Who I am- First of all you are you!

You are a unique and wonderful person. 

The life you live helps build the person you are.

Who I am - My Circle of Others

We all have circles of people in our lives. They play a role in who we are.

 

circle of friends

3 women with sitting next to one another

Social Skills

There are skills or rules for how to talk and act with people.

  • There are trusted family and friends.
  • There are new friends or contacts who you don't know very well.
  • There are strangers who you do not know at all.

Video

Here is a fun activity!

Understanding relationships, behaviors, and consent - Planet Puberty: 14 minutes

This video is about People in your Life. You can do this activity with the video.

Click the blue button and print out the worksheet to think about your life.

People in My Life Worksheet

Here are more tools to learn how to act with the people in your life:


easy read icon

Relationships from Adult Down Syndrome Center

Easy Read Click here to go to another website.
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Circle of Friends: Raising Children Australia

Worksheet Click here to go to another website.
Youth who have intellectual and developmental disabilities need and want information about puberty, reproductive health, and romantic relationships; and they need and want to know that the people they love and trust the most - their parents and caregivers - support them in this learning.

My Family

Family plays a role in who you are. They may be the people you grew up with. Family can help you learn about growing up, puberty and sex. They may do that in different ways.

Remind your family that you are growing up and you have questions.

  • Share this audio clip "Parent- Child Communication" with parents and trusted caregivers:
Promising Youth Programs Audio Clip

You want to be ready to act like an adult as you grow up.

Here is a list of questions to ask and plan with your family.

 

cartoon image of an African American teen taking a bubble bath

Who I am - My body

Most people start to see changes in their body around age 8 to 10 or older.

  • Changing bodies can stink. Learn to keep your changing body clean.
  • Changing bodies need you to learn to keep parts of you private. Learn the growing up rules for privacy.
  • What changes should you expect? Learn more about your body from people you trust.

You may want to use videos and workbooks to learn more. Here are three of our favorites.

https://amaze.org/

https://vkc.vumc.org/healthybodies/

https://cdss.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/CDSS-Mind-and-Body-English.pdf

There are lots more resources on the Sexual Health intro page. 

Sexual Health Intro Page

three women baristas with down syndrome smiling brightly towards the camera

How I feel about myself

Value who you are. List the things you are good at doing.

  • Don't put yourself down. Remind yourself that you are awesome!
  • Learn to love who you are.
    • Here is a worksheet to help you practice.
The Best Things About Me worksheet

Tap to flip the cards.

Most people are born with male or female sex. rarely people are born with both male and female parts. This is called intersex.

The male body and the female body work in different ways.

Talk to people you trust and doctor about how your body works.

your gender is how you feel inside, like a man or a woman. This is gender identity. Gender expression is how you show your gender through your look, behavior and clothes

If you feel the same as your sex at birth, this is called cisgender.

Some people feel their own gender is different than their sex at birth. This is called transgender.

Some people feel gender queer or gender non-binary. That means not either man or woman.

a cartoon image of a group of bright young people of different nations and sexual orientation, joyful, they hug and kiss.

Who I am attracted to

Sexual orientation means who you feel attracted to or who makes you feel romantic.

 

As you grow up, you will think about and figure out how you feel. It can take time to figure out.

You may be interested in dating men or women or both or neither.

  • If you like neither men or women, you may call yourself asexual.
  • If you have a female body and like men, you may call yourself straight or heterosexual.
  • If you have a male body and like women, you may call yourself straight or heterosexual.
  • If you have a female body and like women, you may call yourself lesbian or homosexual.
  • If you have a male body and like men, you may call yourself gay or homosexual.

 

There are more people who feel straight or heterosexual. But it is not wrong to feel lesbian or gay. 

Another way to say not straight is queer or LGTBQIA+

  • Queer or LGBTQIA+ means you are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, or asexual, plus other identities.
  • Some people with IDD don't always feel respected. Some LGBTQIA+ folks also feel that they aren't always respected by others. 
  • LGBTQIA+ folks may want to find support in the queer community.

Here are some resources to learn more about gender and identity in persons with IDD:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ymLgLfLQbw&t=7s

https://www.mencap.org.uk/easyread/being-lgbtqia

https://cid.org.au/our-stories/out-proud-and-included/