Case Report: Resolution of Severe Sexual Aggression in a Developmentally Disabled Adolescent During Leuprolide Acetate Use

Excerpt

Aggressive sexual behavior carries particular challenges for developmentally disabled individuals (Dewinter et al. 2013; Realmuto and Ruble 1999; Lindsay 2002; Patel et al. 2010; Ruble and Dalrymple 1993). In the setting of developmental disability, some sexual behavior can be socially problematic, but not clearly intrusive or aggressive. For example, taking off one’s own clothes or touching private parts in public can occur during the course of development in a young, neurotypical child, and may appear later or for longer in an individual with intellectual disability. Combined with impulsivity and communication difficulties, it can be difficult to delineate sexual aggression from impulsive aggression, hypersexuality, or other problematic sexual behaviors, making sexual aggression difficult to define in this population. (Dewinter et al. 2013; Realmuto and Ruble 1999). …