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Disseminating Resources Online for Teaching Sex Education to People with Developmental Disabilities

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Abstract

Sex education is important for individuals with developmental disabilities; however, it is difficult for educators to find resources to support them when teaching sex education. A website, asdsexed.org, was developed to disseminate sex education resources. Using analytic data from the website we explored how dissemination occurs online. We identified (1) how visitors were referred to the website; (2) what search terms were used to look for sex education resources; (3) what content was most frequently viewed; and (4) how visitors engaged with the content. Search engines were the top referrer. Variations on the phrase “body parts” were the most frequently recorded terms. Free lesson plans were the most viewed content. Privacy social stories were the most engaged with content. Online dissemination was a complex undertaking but did allow for potential sex educators to be connected with research-based resources.

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Correspondence to Sarah L. Curtiss.

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Neither author has conflicts of interest to disclose. Additional details regarding the data can be obtained by contacting the corresponding author. The first author was responsible for conceptualizing and conducting the study, analyzing the data and writing the manuscript. The second author assisted with analyzing the data and writing the manuscript. The analytic data used in this study are not considered human subjects data and therefore no IRB approval or consent was sought. A research advisory board of autistic adults consulted on the research.

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Curtiss, S.L., Stoffers, M. Disseminating Resources Online for Teaching Sex Education to People with Developmental Disabilities. Sex Disabil 39, 751–760 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11195-021-09703-1

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