Perhaps one of the most controversial posts on the internet lately has been that of a blog by Fayzal Mahamed. In it, he publicly announces his actions in physically masturbating his disabled son and why he feels it is the best thing he can do for his therapy. Mahamed explains in a lengthy blog post why he has chosen to do so and hopes to bring light to the taboo subject of disabilities and sex.
Fayzal Mahamed. Fayzal Mahamed is making headlines with his controversial blog post regarding his severely disabled son. Mahamed has openly stated he has chosen to masturbate his son as a treatment method.
PIMD. Mahamed’d son, Mustafa suffers from PIMD or Profound Intellectual Multiple Disabilities. He has severe disabilities that have left him unable to communicate or voluntarily move any of his muscles. He has an estimated IQ well below 20 and is basically bed-ridden if it weren’t for his father’s care.
Mustafa’s Story. Mustafa, who is now 30 years old, has been living with severe disabilities since birth. He was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at a young age that has been completely debilitating.
Normal Body Functions. Mahamed explains that from around the time Mustafa was 17, he noticed his son would get erections during bath time and through regular therapeutic massages. It triggered Mahamed to start researching on sexual functions and disabilities.
Sexuality and Disability. What Mahamed found in his research was a lot of hush-hush and brick walls. He explained that there wasn’t a lot of help out there for people in his situation.
What Should I Do? In the beginning, Mahamed was confused and overwhelmed with caring for his son but felt as though there must be something he could do. “As a father who understood sexual behavior, I knew that my son was trying to express his sexual feelings because of the arousal that was happening around his body and that this sexual behavior was no different than most teenagers encounter after puberty in their personal sexual development,” Mahamed wrote.
The Fear. Mahamed writes his biggest wall that was encountered came by way of fear in others. He states the issue itself is rarely discussed because it’s feared. “There is a taboo in discussing general sexual matters such as masturbation in society and this attitude gets aggravated in the discussion of sexuality of persons with disability,” he states.
Sex Workers. Mahamed was able to find literature on sexual therapy and sex workers who were trained to help people with disabilities, but says none of which were available to his son. He states from insurance issues, therapy was out, and there were no qualified (or legal) sex workers in the South Africa area where they live.
Equal Treatment. After extensive research and discussions with medical personnel, Mahamed decided on a course of action for his son. “I thought the only way forward was to treat my son equally to other disabled persons and apply the professional advice given to other profoundly disabled persons, namely, therapeutic masturbation to relieve and gratify my son’s sexual expression,” he stated.
Going It Alone. It was after this lengthy research that Mahamed came to the realization he would have to provide the therapeutic masturbation himself if he was serious about going that avenue for his son.
Therapeutic Masturbation. “It was at this stage that I soon came to realize that there was no alternative way to provide the therapeutic masturbation that my son needed other than to apply the therapeutic masturbation on my own,” Mahamed explained in his blog.
The First Time. As Mahamed describes further in his blog, the experience of therapeutic massage was nothing more than a “natural extension” of the care he was already providing for his son. He states it was no different than caring for his son by bathing him or changing a diaper.
The Reaction. Mahamed explained his son’s reaction to the first treatment by saying, “I remember how my son expressed a sense of relief, delight and happiness with a smile followed by laughter and other sounds of contentment when I applied the therapeutic masturbation.”
Calming Effect. The masturbation therapy has worked wonders on his son’s demeanor according to Mahamed. He states the therapy has “led to a calmness in my son’s behavior and he continues to show his contentment and happiness all around him.”
Public Awareness. Mahamed says he understands the controversy behind the therapy procedures, but hopes his blog will bring light to a little-discussed topic. “I wish to appeal to parents and caregivers to consider that such care and nurture includes sexual care and this begins by recognizing that all persons with disabilities are sexual human beings,” Mahamed states in closing.
