Having a disability doesn’t mean not having sexuality, but you’d never know that from the messaging out there. Here’s sex, relationships and bodies information for people with a range of disabilities, from neurodiversity to chronic illness to mobility or cognitive disability. Nothing about us without us: our disability information is almost always written by people with disabilities themselves.
Disability
![ASL sign for 'Disability'](/sites/default/files/styles/category_image/public/2024-01/Disability-Category.png.webp?itok=K3TCHLKS)
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I’m 23, and grew up in a relatively conservative environment. I’m Black and adopted, live in a rural community, had catholic school education for 14 years, and am chronically ill with Crohn’s Disease...
I really want to have sex, but I don't know how, and I'm queer, chronically ill and isolated.
- Kelli Dunham RN BSN
- Kelli Dunham RN BSN
Thanks for your question and for sharing so much with us. You ended your question with "What am I doing wrong?" I wanted to start by inviting you to consider all the many, many things you are doing to make your life better: being open with the people in your life about your identity, going to...
- Melissa Meszaros
The author of the new book Heavy Metal Headbang shares some of how dating went for her while recovering from a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and has a little advice for those with TBI who are dating, and those dating anyone with a TBI.
- Haley Moss
Disability may feel scary if you’re new to it - there is a lot of language involved to learn, maybe more medical information than you feel capable of handling, or you might have a fear about possibly being cast in a caregiver role more so than a partner. All of these fears can be dispelled or addressed through ongoing, healthy communication. In my experience, disclosure is an ongoing conversation and there is no single “correct” way to do it, but there are ways that our partners can be stronger allies.
- Caitlyn Tivy PT, DPT, OCS
This installment of Pelvis Problems from Caitlyn Tivy, the pelvic health PT, talks about interstitial cystitis (IC) and chronic prostatitis (CP), disorders that can cause pain with peeing, along with a number of other symptoms, what causes them, how they can be diagnosed and how they can be treated so you can pee without pain again.
- Lisa Laman
Suddenly, a person you’ve been regularly communicating with is M.I.A. Without warning, a fixture of recent life can become a memory. Somebody you’d bonded with has abruptly stopped contacting you. The text messages have ceased, all traces of their presence in your life have been yanked away by them, and without warning or explanation. But just because the experience is stressful doesn’t mean it’s impossible to endure. There are ways for autistic people to come out the other side of getting ghosted.
- Lisa Laman
Being autistic, some things just haven’t come as naturally for me as they seem to for other people. Unfortunately, these have included hallmarks of American life often used to symbolize being “an adult” like driving on my own or getting my first paid job. But human beings are not on a strict timetable to do all the same things at the same time. This is just as true of dating like anything else. Just because you (or I) haven’t been actively dating when a lot of other people in your life have doesn’t make you (or me) a failure. You’re just on your own timetable. So am I.
- Caitlyn Tivy PT, DPT, OCS
If you're here because you or your partner(s) have experienced pain with anal sex, you’re in the right place, regardless of whether the pain has happened multiple times or just once. I’m here to shine some light on anodyspareunia, a fancy name for anal sex being painful.
- Lisa Laman
Two smart, insightful and autistic people who like talking about relationships walk into an interview. What comes out is this fantastically rich conversation between Scarleteen columnist Lisa Laman and Love and Asperger's author and therapist Kate McNulty.
- Lisa Laman
I didn't see other autistic people in social scenarios I couldn't manage, so I couldn't imagine myself managing them. Attending my college’s autism group provided me an environment I never knew I needed. Being surrounded by other autistic people, I had found a rare secure place to socialize, one that let me start to discover other places I could be social in, too.
- Tasha Fierce
We've got a million reasons to be in the streets. But not everyone is okay with — or even able to engage in — active protest right now. But because of COVID-19, many people, especially sick and disabled folks, may be hesitant to bring their bodies together as a show of force. Here's how to make in-person protest safer and how to pitch in from your living room or bed instead.