Social model of rehabilitation and issues of sexuality in down syndrome

Significant efforts in the last decade of the 20th century, directed at the return to community life, certainly earmarked the rehabilitation field of individuals with disabilities. It is possible to recognize a turning point today in abandoning traditional models in favour of a social rehabilitation model, or the inclusion into society of persons that have until recently been excluded from everyday life. Changes in the lives of persons with mental retardation (the emphasis being on persons with Down syndrome) also presume the responsibility and readiness of the wider community to change their existing attitudes and seek new solutions. Amongst many other problems, the topic of sexuality often remains neglected or elaborated within existing stereotypes of acceptable socio-sexual behaviour. Considering that sexuality itself represents a significant link in the process of self-realization on an individual and social level, in this article we try to discuss how the inclusion of individuals with mental retardation in everyday life affects the possibilities of their sexuality.