Pornography can be a very uncomfortable topic for adults to talk about with young people who have FASD or another neurodisability – and for the young people themselves! It is often completely avoided, or else discussed in a way that may be unintentionally shaming.

However, sexuality is a natural biological function for human beings – regardless of ability or disability, most people experience sexual desires and feelings, and it's healthy for tāngata whaiora / people with disabilities to be aware of this. Porn can in fact be a helpful tool for a person who may not have other avenues for sexual experience – as long as it is ethical, shows consent and doesn’t get in the way of other life functions or activities.

The simple fact is that young people will always have unsupervised access to screens – if not theirs, then someone else's. This means they can and will almost certainly access porn at some point and when viewed through a lens of neurodisability, it can be confusing and possibly dangerous if they are unprepared and think certain kinds of porn is ok or normal.

This is why it's essential to 'have the talk' and open conversations around it.

Here are a couple of resources about discussing pornography with your young person: 

• The Mad Hatter Wellness website is specifically geared to talking about sexuality for those with intellectual disability – it has many helpful resources and blogs. Here's one specifically about discussing porn with your young person.

• The Light Project website (NZ) – this site discusses porn for young people from all angles, although it's not specifically geared to neurodisability.