Note: This document description was co-created with AI and reviewed by the Elevatus team for accuracy.
This helpful one-page guide walks people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) through the important steps of moving from friendship to a romantic relationship or sweetheart.
The resource is clearly organized into three practical steps:
Step 1: Feeling Interested – Questions to consider about who can be a potential partner (same gender, someone already in a relationship, paid support person, age appropriateness, etc.).
Step 2: Getting to Know Someone – Healthy ways to show interest, including flirting, talking on the phone, group activities, and asking someone on a date.
Step 3: Become a Couple – Important topics to talk about once in a relationship, such as exclusivity, sexual boundaries, and how to spend time together and apart.
Ideal for: Self-advocates, parents, educators, and support professionals helping individuals build healthy romantic relationships.
Katherine McLaughlin, M.Ed., AASECT Certified Sexuality Educator, is the Founder, CEO, and Lead Trainer for Elevatus Training. She has been a sexuality educator and trainer for over 30 years. As a national expert on sexuality and intellectual and developmental disabilities, she trains professionals and parents, as well as people with I/DD, to become sexual self-advocates and peer sexuality educators.
