Skip to main content
IC4 Organization Logo
Puberty banner
man with intellectual disability in an art class, smiling at the camera

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, a unique and wonderful person. 

The life you live helps build the person you are.

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.

 

three women baristas with down syndrome smiling brightly towards the camera

Who I am - My Circle of Others

We all have circles of people who we relate to in our lives.

They play a role in who you are.

There are skills or rules for how to talk and act with people. These are called social skills. There are trusted family and friends.

There are new friends or contacts who you don't know very well. There are strangers who you don't know at all.

Here is some more info about how to act with the people in your life:

form icon

People in my Life - IC4 Worksheet

Download the Worksheet

easy read icon

Relationships from Adult Down Syndrome Center - Easy Read

Download the Easy Read

worksheet icon

Circle of Friends: Raising Children Australia - Worksheet

Download the Worksheet

cartoon image of an African American teen taking a bubble bath

Who I am - My body

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

  • Learn to keep your changing body clean.
  • Learn the growing up rules for privacy.
  • Learn more about your body from people you trust.

You may want to use teaching videos and workbooks. 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

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.

  • You are born with male or female sex.
  • The male body and the female body work in different ways. Talk to people you trust and your 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. This means not either male or female.

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. This can take time.
    • 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.

  • Often there are more people who feel they are straight or heterosexual than feel they are 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/