Long shot BUT...

baby and crumble

Does anyone know of any groups in Dublin (preferably) who support LGBT people with intellectual disabilities? I did a presentation at a conference a few months ago on heterosexism and working with people with disabilities and I'm getting a few emails from people who work in the area, and I have nowhere to point them to. It's weird because I have personal knowledge of the LGBT support community and professional knowledge of disability, but it's like there's a gap right there in the middle. :mad:

I don't know if anyone on here who's involved more with groups like BelongTo or anything could point me in a direction?

Like I said, it's a big long shot but I just thought I'd ask in case.

Cheers all!

Annasopra

zoegh wrote: »

Does anyone know of any groups in Dublin (preferably) who support LGBT people with intellectual disabilities? I did a presentation at a conference a few months ago on heterosexism and working with people with disabilities and I'm getting a few emails from people who work in the area, and I have nowhere to point them to. It's weird because I have personal knowledge of the LGBT support community and professional knowledge of disability, but it's like there's a gap right there in the middle. :mad:

I don't know if anyone on here who's involved more with groups like BelongTo or anything could point me in a direction?

Like I said, it's a big long shot but I just thought I'd ask in case.

Cheers all!

Not that I'm aware of - I know of some people who may be able to help though and Ill send you a pm

Oh and presumably you've seen this NDA report

http://www.nda.ie/Website/NDA/CntMgmtNew.nsf/0/6794373CD472D23D80257066004C9D32/$File/NDADisabilityandSexualOrientation.pdf

baby and crumble

Cheers for that Johnny. Yup, read that many moons ago. Unfortunately most of the discussion around sexuality and disability takes place around physical disability, and that's where I start to run into problems. Since two straight people with ID having sex is technically illegal (unless they're married, but it's difficult to prove that have the capacity to consent to being married SO... :mad::mad::mad:), it's a major major taboo to start talking about them being gay! (I ruffled some feathers with my presentation, i can tell you that!!!)

Any and all help welcome though. part of me wants to set up my own group for this group, but then I have to keep telling myself I have a PhD to hand in in 6 months! :rolleyes:

liah

zoegh wrote: »

Any and all help welcome though. part of me wants to set up my own group for this group, but then I have to keep telling myself I have a PhD to hand in in 6 months! :rolleyes:

So do it in six months when you're finished! Seriously, if there's nothing else available and you have experience in both fields, then you should definitely consider it. Tell the people who've contacted you to get back to you when you have the time to get things moving. I'm sure you can find people who will support you.

Annasopra

Aye - its a major problem alright. Ive come across it a little bit myself cause I volunteer with some intellectually disabled people - of course there are issues as well to do with the law on mental capacity still dating back to 1871 but social taboos as well

Annasopra

liah wrote: »

So do it in six months when you're finished! Seriously, if there's nothing else available and you have experience in both fields, then you should definitely consider it. Tell the people who've contacted you to get back to you when you have the time to get things moving. I'm sure you can find people who will support you.

If you are considering doing something at some stage I might be interested in helping out

SugarHigh

Just curious, what kind of issues pop up that are linked to both being gay and having an ID?

Why can't the straight groups accommodate them? would that not be easier than setting up a new group?

Chuchoter

I guess if you're doubly marginalized new issues pop up, I mean just because you have an intellectual disability doesn't mean you don't like anybody.

Annasopra

SugarHigh wrote: »

Just curious, what kind of issues pop up that are linked to both being gay and having an ID?

Why can't the straight groups accommodate them? would that not be easier than setting up a new group?

isolation, key workers refusing to bring them lgbt venues; lots of stuff - Maybe read the report I linked to. Also if they want to possibly discuss things around sexuality surely its better coming from people who understand it?

diddlybit

A little off-topic, but your research sounds really interesting Zoegh. Would love to read it sometime. I think the idea of a group is great, especially if you already have someone on board that experience in the field, especially since often these individuals are often overlooked in society and culture as a whole. Johnnymcg will take on half the stress load

In reagrds to the pain of a PHD, I feel it. So much so I have to go to the pub.

baby and crumble

In response to all: it's definitely something to consider. My PhD isn't actually in sexuality and ID, I'm technically an oral historian in ID (oooOOOoh: on a side note, here's my project site, which I built. Yay pimpage! Life Stories site) but it's something I have an interest in. My Masters thesis was on social workers acceptance of working with minority sexualities, so for the conference I kinda melded my passion for working in the field of disabilities and my MSW thesis. What I loved was seeing peoples faces when I suggested asking people with a disability if they have either a boyfriend or a girlfriend, instead of just one. it was like t hey never even thought of it. (Which I guess most of them hadn't...)

Sugar High wrote:

Just curious, what kind of issues pop up that are linked to both being gay and having an ID?

Why can't the straight groups accommodate them? would that not be easier than setting up a new group?

Well, like I said in my opening post, it's illegal for people with disabilities to have sex, to put it bluntly. The only way it's legal is if you're married, which we all know can't happen if you're gay. So those people who are supporting people with ID to live their lives are put in a position of either breaking the law, in a way, by supporting them to have a sex life (and that goes for any non married couple with ID) or not acknowledging their needs, neither of which is ideal, really.

There are other factors too, like parents who are highly protective of their children- even when those children are grown adults. People with ID are seen as eternal children, innocent, and all that that any kind of encouragement for acknowledging sexuality, for many parents (who have a HUGE say in their childrens loves) is just not going to happen. Add to that their children (most of whom are referred to as having a 'mental age' of a child) might be gay...

People with ID might also not understand what they are feeling- they need help to understand what love is, what romance is, what sex is. Most people with ID get this information from soaps, etc, sometimes not the most accurate place for info!

And often people without disabilities don't feel comfortable around them. Maybe their speech is impaired, maybe they need help with understanding money etc. Not everyone is comfortable socialising with people with ID.

And just like people without ID, the people who are gay want to meet other gay people, they need information about being gay and what it means explained to them in a way they understand. That could be tough for a straight person to manage, just like it would be a challenge for a person without a disability to really know how someone will interpret it.

For anyone who has a few minutes, there's a great video by a group in the UK which shows the challenges facing a person with an intellectual disability who is gay. Check it out if you're interested. http://vimeo.com/10351006?ab

I'm sorry, when I get going on this topic I tend to rabbit on.

Aishae

wow - interesting stuff. i never knew it was illegal for people with ID to have sex - jaysus....
i worked with people with mental illness before ( and thus, ID too) it was nothing major - taught a few computer classes then i did this small job seeking board for them - it never crossed my mind that any of them may be gay. but quite a few had boyfriends/girlfriends and even wives and hubbies. and why shouldnt they. definitely an interesting topic

baby and crumble

Well while the line between mental health issues and ID is blurred (it's administered by the same govt office etc.) people with mental health issues don't necessarily have an ID, and vice-versa. It boils down to a cognitive impairment, for want of a better word, being the deciding factor. Your IQ level is what determines whether you can have sex, which to me seems horrendously arbitrary. I mean, I know so many people who have been diagnosed with an ID, who have an IQ in the 40's or 50's who would have a better understanding of how to be a good partner than someone with an IQ of 140 ffs!!!

Aishae

i agree with you there! i know some very smart people - according to IQ - who are definitely not so smart with this stuff.
i know not everyone with a mental illness has ID - take an example: enduring depression is considered a mental illness - most mental illnesses are quite different but theyre lumped together, i noticed that was a bit of a problem.

wonderfulname

That's a very worthwhile project you're doing and a touching read, reminded me of listening to some of the Irish life and lore CDs... yeah, interesting.

Sir Ophiuchus

Johnnymcg wrote: »

If you are considering doing something at some stage I might be interested in helping out

Likewise.

baby and crumble

Wow, thanks guys, it's really cool to see people interested in this! Makes me happy. :):)