In this video, you will meet Mark, who has described himself as a “person with a disability, not a disabled person.” You will note that the language in your text discusses these issues in the same context. People with disabilities are indeed people first, and they are still sexual individuals. Mark describes how he had to become entirely reacquainted with his body and its sexual functioning following the injury to his spinal cord. He received the injury when he was 19 as the result of a diving accident that injured his spinal cord in his neck. This resulted in his being quadriplegic, with impairments of all four limbs.

Despite his injuries, maintaining sexual functioning and relationships have been important to Mark. He describes his abilities to feel touch and to achieve erection. While he does not ejaculate (although some men with spinal cord injuries do), he describes experiencing the psychological aspects of orgasm. Mark is obviously a man who is comfortable with himself and his sexuality.

Please watch the following video clip and answer the corresponding follow-up questions.

Mark Discusses Sex After Spinal Cord Injury

1			Based on what your text tells you about spinal cord injuries and sexuality, what does Mark mean when he says that each person’s case is individualized, and that the location of the injury has a great deal to do with the kind of sexual functioning left intact?
2			How does Mark personify the statement, “Everyone has the right to be a sexual human being”?
3			Your text discusses the concept of “facilitated sex.” How might it apply to individuals with spinal cord injury? How do you personally react to the concept?