Sexuality is a meaningful and essential occupation that contributes to identity, participation, and overall well-being. Despite its inclusion within Activities of Daily Living in the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework (OTPF-4), sexuality remains under-addressed in both practice and education—particularly for neurodivergent adolescents. Traditional sexual health education programs are often designed for neurotypical learners and fail to account for differences in sensory processing, communication, cognition, and social understanding. As a result, neurodivergent youth are at increased risk for misinformation, unsafe experiences, and reduced participation in healthy relationships.
This session will explore the role of occupational therapy practitioners in addressing gaps in sexual health education through an occupation-based, client-centered lens. Attendees will examine current evidence highlighting barriers to accessible sexual education and identify practical, evidence-informed strategies to support participation in sexuality-related occupations. Emphasis will be placed on adapting educational approaches using visual supports, concrete language, repetition, and real-life application strategies such as role-play and social stories.
Drawing from current literature and a mixed-methods capstone study, this presentation will introduce a prototype occupational therapy–centered framework for sexual health education tailored to neurodivergent adolescents. The framework integrates key models including the Model of Human Occupation (MOHO) and the Ex-PLISSIT model to support therapeutic communication, individualized intervention, and skill generalization across environments.
Participants will leave with increased confidence in addressing sexuality within scope of practice, strategies for interdisciplinary collaboration, and tools to promote autonomy, safety, and meaningful participation for neurodivergent youth.
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