This week we have a special guest, Dr. Alan Santinele Martino. Alan is an instructor in community rehabilitation and disability studies at the University of Calgary. He researched the romantic and sexual lives of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Ontario for his PhD at McMaster University. We have Dr. Martino on this episode to discuss his research and the experiences of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in intimate relationships. Dr. Martino highlights stories from people with disabilities who have advocated for themselves or others and shares why this work is so important to him. He also shares what the barriers are to his research and sex education for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Dr. Martino’s website: https://alanmartino.com/

Dr. Martino’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/AlanSMartino?s=20&t=DiV4e_kzatEjIgxrD2UqSw

Dr. Martino's Recent Publications:

Santinele Martino, A. (2022). Ethically important moments: Researching the intimate lives of adults labeled/with intellectual disabilities. Qualitative Research.

Santinele Martino, A. & Kinitz, D. J. (2022). “It’s Just More Complicated”: The Experiences of Adults with Intellectual Disabilities When Navigating Digital Sexual Fields. Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace. https://cyberpsychology.eu/article/view/15180/16710

Brennand, E. & Santinele Martino, A. (2022). Disability is Associated with Sexually Transmitted Infection: Female Sex, Severity and Disability Domain are Important Risk Factors. Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality. https://doi.org/10.3138/cjhs.2021-0053