Monica Dubois
Monica is a 37-year-old woman who has intellectual disabilities. She lives in a rural area in Alberta on a school property with her husband, who has disabilities, and their 18-year-old son and 15-year-old daughter, who both also have learning disabilities. Religion has played an important role in her life since she was young, and she attends Baptist church. She attended school in regular classrooms until grade 10, and had some accommodations in terms of pace. She took sex education classes and found them quite useful. Monica’s parents were very open to talking about sex in order to keep her informed about birth control and pregnancy, and they were also quite supportive of her having children. She met her husband on a blind date when she was 17 years old; he was her first boyfriend, and first sexual partner. In the past, Child and Family Services apprehended their children for six months, mainly because of their living conditions. Monica and her husband completed parenting tests and attended family workshops in order to demonstrate that they are capable of taking care of the children. Throughout this process they learned about parenting skills, available services, and supports. They regained custody of their children after six months by demonstrating the parenting and household management skills they learned, with the support of Monica’s family. Since this experience, Monica, her husband, and their children have been living a stable life.