Care and support

Personal and sexual relationships for people with learning disabilities

Personal and sexual relationships are as important to people with learning disabilities as they are to anyone else. Although it can cause parents and carers anxiety, all people with learning disabilities have the same freedom of choice as other members of society and Adult Care Services has a responsibility to respect these rights.

We must assume that adults with learning disabilities have the capacity to make decisions about personal and sexual relationships unless deemed otherwise under the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

The county council has developed a policy on sexuality and personal relationships for individuals with learning disabilities, to guide staff on how to help people understand their rights and responsibilities when forming and developing relationships.

The aim of the policy is to enable people with learning disabilities to live more fulfilling lives whilst safeguarding them from harm as far as possible.