60% of people with brain injury report difficulties with sexual health. 75% demonstrate hyposexual difficulties, while 25% demonstrate hypersexual behaviors. Since there is often no guidance on how to navigate these symptoms or address the sexual goals of patients, staff can often be at a loss for what to do.  The most important thing when considering assessment and intervention is that it has to match the Rancho Los Amigos Level of the patient.   If a patient is not responsive to stimulus and nonverbal, they can’t consent to sexual activity and furthermore ..read more

 It is estimated that 6.3 million people are being commercially sexually exploited globally at any given time based on the most recent 2021 report by the International Labour Organization and the Walk Free Foundation. Over 25% of these people are under the age of 18 and nearly 80% are women or girls. The number of people overall in forced labor (either sex or labor exploitation) increased over 10% between 2016 and 2021. In the United States, 16,721 victims of human trafficking were identified by calls made to the National Human Trafficking Hotline in their most recent 2021 report. As with ..read more

Never underestimate the power of an incredible and responsive AOTA President and a cold email! I emailed Alyson after AOTA's Post Dobbs Report came out with recommendations for how to execute the recommendations in the report.  Alyson was immediately responsive and enthusiastic about learning more.  When she came to visit, she spent the day curiously learning about all things sex & intimacy OT with a highlight being the sex toys and The Institute's Educational Illustrations Library Project. As sex and intimacy Champions, we know we’re often deprioritized ..read more

Photo credited to Disabled and Here. Kathryn collaborated with Dr. Jess Gagui again for this week's blog as a follow up to their last blog focused on the historical context of hypersexualization and fetishization of BIPOC women and femmes.  Be sure to give that a read if you haven't already.  This week focuses on intervention strategies you can use when working with folks who voice experiences of hypersexualization, fetishization, asexualization, and body criticism for not fitting the standard of beauty: white, thin, able bodied.  While last week's blog centered BIPOC women ..read more

Bottom line up front: While this report is sobering and presents many gaps, we'd like to highlight this Community of Sex & Intimacy OT Champions who are actively addressing sexual health with their clients.  You are trailblazers and change makers and your clients are lucky to be working with you.   Click here to read the report.    Read on to learn more…   After the June 2022 Supreme Court decision “Dobb’s v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization” Alyson Stover, AOTA President, and Micheal Urban, the RA Speaker, requested a Post-Dobbs Ta ..read more

Photo credited to Disabled and Here. Bottom Line Upfront: Halloween season is upon us.  We’re doing a deep dive into exactly why people should not dress up as a “sexy version” of another culture’s attire, for example a sexy Native American or a Geisha. If you need a nudge on this or are curious to learn more...read on!   The history of how society has molded perceptions of women is a multifaceted narrative that has endured for centuries, influenced by cultural, regional, and media representations. Women have often found themselves defined by preconceived notions imposed upon the ..read more

Jess was such an exciting Teach Me Sex guest and we want to send a huge thank you to them for sharing about themselves so we can continue learn more about the various ways people have sex and express themselves sexually!  We're better OT/OTAs for this insight and education.  Watch the video to learn about sex, relationships, unlearning harmful beliefs, and why some people don't connect with the term sexy".  We offer strategies throughout the interview you can use with your OT clients and yourself!     Want more time with Jess? I get it, they rock! Jess is a collec ..read more

TL;DR: check out these very short videos on 6 different ways to don an adaptive bra  You: “I’m here for the story, Kathryn” Me: K, cool, buckle up - this is a fun one!  We’ve all been there.  We’re in the shower with our client.  It’s their first shower since their stroke causing hemiparesis of their left arm.  They’re working hard in rehab to restore motor control, but for now it’s dead weight.  You can tell they're upset, thinking, and about to say something.  And before they list the full account of what they can’t do with their arm they say, “look at me ..read more

The 3rd part of our Pelvic Floor Series is highlighting affirmative clinician strategies for working with transgender and gender non conforming (TGNC) folks.  This newsletter doesn’t get into the potential pelvic floor goals or sexual goals of TGNC clients, but is a good prerequisite for any OT/OTA clinician - not just pelvic health OTs.      TGNC individuals may utilize gender-affirming practices such as tucking, binding, packing and can experience gender euphoria when they do so.  Gender euphoria is the experience of feeling joy related to your gender, gend ..read more

Generally, pelvic floor muscles (like any other muscle group in the body) can have hypotonic or hypertonic tendencies. Our nervous system plays a major role in managing muscle tone. If a client is living in a constant state of anxiety and stress or they find sex stressful, it’s likely their pelvic floor muscles will have a difficult time coordinating with the system.  Regulating the pelvic floor will be especially difficult during sex.     Here are 3 suggestions to activate the parasympathetic nervous system and give the pelvic floor the needed messaging to relax: Diaphragm ..read more