My daughter has always wanted to feel loved and has made that clear—she wants a boyfriend. She's always asking for and giving kisses and hugs, sometimes more than people who don't know her are comfortable with, and they misread what she's after. Should I hold her back? How?
I don't think this is really about sexual impulses. I think she needs "a special friend"—someone who takes an interest in her in a particular way.
I want to help my son, but I'm torn: Is it right to make him aware of his limits and what he cannot do—have children, raise them, take on responsibilities he simply isn't able to manage?
I'm afraid to let my daughter walk alone. I'm afraid of elevators. I've always feared someone might take advantage of her, of her innocence and the way she's friendly with everyone.
What about masturbation—should we ignore it, pretend it isn't happening, or help him understand it's something to do privately, in a closed room?
For a long time now, I've been teaching her to go short distances on her own. I feel the risk, I fear it, but I keep that fear to myself. It matters that she learns, bit by bit, how to avoid dangerous situations.
My daughter, on her own, has convinced herself that marriage is a bad thing. She talks about divorces, abandoned children, and then says: "Better not to get married!" What is she really saying with that?
When I point out to my daughter that she's put on weight, she says she's pregnant! Television, which she doesn't watch much anyway, doesn't help her understand reality. It's hard to talk with her about these things.
Does masturbation satisfy their sexual needs?
How do we channel their sexual desires? Toward what?
Do family hugs and affection meet their needs, or do they create bigger ones?
What do you think about sterilization?
I think our daughter, when she's at home, struggles with the relationships she wants or imagines having with boys. Sometimes she says she's about to get married, and when we ask for details, she says: "It's a surprise!" The future husband is usually a TV star. Disabled boys from her program don't seem to interest her at all. The other day she complained that a boy from the center was "too clingy," and she didn't like that one bit!