Socialization To Enrich Participation & Support Sexuality (STEPS2) project is testing the efficacy of socialization and sex education classes designed specifically for young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (ID/D), including Autism, within a randomized control trial funded by the National Institute of Health. STEPS2 participants are randomly assigned to either receive small group Steps To Your Health (STYH) classes which teach about exercise and nutrition or one-to-one Socialization To Enhance Participation and Support Sexuality (STEPS2) classes which teach about decision-making, sexual health and healthy relationships. All classes take place remotely once per week for 6 weeks and effectiveness is evaluated by an interview before the classes, once the classes end, and then again 6 and 12 months after completing the classes.
The STEPS2 team, led by Co-Principal Investigators Suzanne McDermott and Heidi Jones, has enrolled over 600 young adults with ID/D aged 16-27 throughout NYS by collaborating with many community based organizations and with accessibility services offices at several CUNY Campuses. The STEPS2 project accommodates a wide range of support needs, including those with college degrees, those needing accommodations such as ASL interpretation or communication devices, and those with high support needs by involving helper participation.
“Imposter” participants—people who misrepresent themselves to gain study incentives— is a growing threat to validity in health disability research. During recruitment for the STEPS2 study, the team identified predictable patterns of imposter behavior, such as inconsistent disability narratives and responses that closely echoed recruitment materials. In a letter to the editor in the Disability and Health Journal, STEPS2 Lead Health Educator Jordan Fogle and colleagues provided practical tips for screening out imposters in disability and health research while not introducing cumbersome inaccessible steps to true potential participants.
Many organizations, parents, helpers, and individuals have stressed the need for better socialization and sex education for individuals with ID/D. While STEPS2 is still in the data collection phase, participants and helpers have provided primarily positive qualitative feedback. In a commentary in the American Journal of Sexuality Education, STEPS2 Health Educator Ariel Davis and colleagues call for trauma‑informed, consent‑centered sexuality education for individuals with I/DD. Drawing on lessons from the STEPS2 study, Davis outlines core trauma‑informed principles—safety, trust, collaboration, empowerment, and cultural responsiveness—and argues that how sex education is delivered is just as important as what is taught. Ariel Davis also presented about the need for trauma informed sexual health education practices at the Families Together in NYS Annual Conference this May.
