Adults can be really funny when it comes to talking about sex. Some parents completely panic and would just rather not talk about it at all. Being a teenager is tricky, but being a teenager with ABI is even harder. You still have all the same questions but can find it hard to get the answers you need off people.

Some people with ABI’s can have problem with sexual inhibition. This means that they may try and act out sexual things or ask very direct questions which can sometime upset people. This can make asking people about sex even harder because they may confuse your question with you being sexually inappropriate.

This section will hopefully answers some of those questions you have. Don’t worry! Everyone has had these questions at some point in their teenage years.

Who you fancy

A big thing for most teenagers is deciding who you fancy- boys or girls? This is very individual to you and is called sexuality:

• You fancy the opposite sex – called being ‘straight’ or heterosexual
• You fancy the same sex – called being ‘gay or lesbian’ known as being homosexual
• You are attracted to both sexes – called being ‘bisexual’.

Your ABI won’t make you gay or lesbian though and it won’t turn you straight either.  Your sexuality will be the same regardless of your accident or illness.

Your sexuality is just away of expressing who you find attractive. There can be lots of things we find attractive about people and we all have our own preferences of what we look for when we find someone attractive.

Everyone will have their own ideas on what is right or wrong, including who you should sleep with, when you should sleep with them and if you should be sleeping with them at all. You can end up feeling very confused about it all.  If you'd like to get more information about being gay or lesbian, click on Nurse Anna below.