[nabs-l] condoms and Sexual Health

Sun Sep 9 21:31:42 UTC 2012

Arielle,
I think touch screen for self checkin are more common; it’s a trend so 
people don't have to wait in line and I suppose its faster for many people.
Fortunately, at my doctor's office, they do have both a self check in and a 
traditional receptionist to check in with.
Even though I'm with someone, I opt for the receptionist way as I feel more 
comfortable handing my money for a co-pay to them and want to talk to a live 
person.
But at some clinics around here called Minute clinics at the pharmacy, they 
have only self checkin kiosks and its here where you would need some sighted 
help.
Then even when you see a person for check in, you usually have forms. I 
suppose I could ask an office staff person to help me, but it seems more 
comfortable and confidential to have someone I'm with assist me. I think as 
kiosks come more common, NFB should advocate for their accessibility.

Ashley

-----Original Message----- 
From: Arielle Silverman
Sent: Sunday, September 09, 2012 4:49 PM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] condoms and Sexual Health

Hello,
It is very sad that some medical professionals still don't understand
the capacities of blind people. I have been fortunate not to have had
doctors who thought I couldn't be sexually active. But I'd be curious
to know if others have had experiences with medical providers where
they felt discriminated against or where important information was
withheld. If you have experienced something like this, how have you
handled it and did you feel you had any recourse to complain?
I also wonder how common those self-checkin kiosks are in medical
offices. They have them at my campus health center and I always just
have the receptionist check me in.  They don't need my birthdate or
SSN to check me in but I have had to fill out forms with staff at the
health center that contained personal information. I have discussed
this with the disability  office at my university and they are working
on making the forms available online so students can fill them out at
home before coming in, but I'm sure many private medical practices
don't have accessible forms yet.
Arielle

On 9/8/12, wmodnl wmodnl <wmodnl at hotmail.com> wrote:
> Good evening,
> You bring up some great points on a issue that many blind people face.
> First, the issue of trust and discussing "nature."  Unfortunately doctors
> (although they have the medical advice) are ill-intentioned when it comes 
> to
> blindness and sexual questions.    Many of the privacy laws, including 
> Hippa
> were not around when I was a teen.  My Parrents often found out what I 
> asked
> or were told to explain to me what I had asked.  Furthermore, as an adult, 
> I
> notice that a general assumption that sexual activity is non-existent 
> since
> they will often say:
> "you are not allowed to be sexually active? right?"  The low expectation 
> of
> us once again has taken hold.  Once they are awed at us for what we may 
> tell
> them, it is downplayed as "childs play."  So, I do not think health care
> practitioners are the people to turn to.  I here stories about this issue
> constantly. I am glad that it is surfacing to make people aware.
> Havve a good evening
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
> On Sep 8, 2012, at 1:09 PM, "Arielle Silverman" <arielle71 at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Hi all,
>> I know the recent discussions about sex and dating are kind of in a
>> gray area as to whether or not they're on-topic for this list, since
>> most of the issues Koby brought up are not really unique to blindness.
>> So if the moderators or Dave feel this is getting too far afield, I
>> will happily respect your judgment. However, I also think that
>> Brandon's question about where to get condoms is a legitimate one and
>> that there might be other blind people out here, including teenagers,
>> who have similar concerns about how to get condoms, birth control or
>> sexual health information without a lot of awkwardness or
>> embarrassment. It can be particularly difficult if you have to depend
>> on someone else (especially parents) for transportation which can make
>> going to a clinic or drugstore difficult.
>> There are a few places to buy condoms online, including
>> www.condomania.com
>> www.undercovercondoms.com
>> and
>> www.condomdepot.com
>> Believe it or not, they also have some condom choices at
>> www.amazon.com
>> If you go to your health center on campus for any reason, it shouldn't
>> be a problem  to ask a doctor or nurse there about condoms.
>> I cannot answer the questions about when to begin having sex with a
>> partner because that is a highly individual decision. However, I feel
>> it important that anyone who is considering having sex for the first
>> time ensure you understand what all of your options are for preventing
>> pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, the advantages and
>> disadvantages of each option, and the proper way to use condoms  and
>> birth control. There are  a couple different websites with this kind
>> of information:
>> www.plannedparenthood.org
>> (includes live chat with a sexual health educator) or
>> www.scarleteen.com
>> This issue is particularly close to my heart at the moment because my
>> boyfriend's sister just had an unintended pregnancy at a very
>> inopportune time (while still in college, with a guy she had only
>> known for a few months) and was apparently taking birth control pills,
>> but had not been taking them consistently. While I don't believe that
>> sex  should be feared, it is something that takes some responsibility,
>> planning and foresight to ensure it is enjoyable while minimizing the
>> risks. Also, while I won't go into details here, there are other ways
>> to be physically intimate with someone that are less risky, which
>> these online forums will talk about.
>> I also want to bring up  an issue that is somewhat relevant to sexual
>> health, which I experienced and I think that some of you might also be
>> struggling with. This is the issue of having your parents drive you to
>> doctors' appointments and then having them want to sit in or even
>> participate in your appointments. Since I attended college in my home
>> city, my mother always wanted to drive me to my doctors' appointments
>> and would then want to come in and chat with the doctor while he/she
>> was examining me. This was partly because my parents and I saw many of
>> the same doctors and she often thought it was a good opportunity to
>> ask the doctor a quick question about her own health while she was
>> there, or because she was curious to see what the doctor recommended
>> to me about a particular issue. I eventually realized that while it
>> wasn't ill-intentioned, it was a violation of my privacy as an adult
>> patient and I asked her to wait in the waiting room while I was seeing
>> the doctor. I didn't actually take this stand until I was 21 and in
>> hindsight I wish I had done  it much earlier. By the time you are 18,
>> unless you have a serious cognitive disability, you have a right to
>> privacy of your medical information and it is important to establish a
>> good doctor-patient relationship without a third person interfering.
>> This is especially true when it comes to sexual health and by the time
>> you are 18 or even 16, you will want to start discussing your sexual
>> activities or questions with your doctors without your parents being
>> around. You might also want to consider getting a driver or even
>> taking the bus to medical appointments to avoid this problem.
>> On a related note, by the time you are in high school, you should know
>> the names of all medications you take on  a regular basis and any
>> chronic medical conditions you may have. If you ever have to go to the
>> emergency room, this kind  of information may be requested of you.
>> Best,
>> Arielle
>>
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