What is Sexual Abstinence

Autoethnography is an intriguing and promising qualitative research method that gives voice to personal experience to extend psychological and sociological understanding. The author's experience of having a spinal cord injury (SCI) provides the reader with insight regarding perceptions of quadriplegia and informalities of addressing disabilities in communication settings. Education on communication is valuable because it helps people who have not had previous exposure to disabilities understand guidelines for appropriate and ethical behavior when having a conversation with an individual with disabilities. Taboo conversations that are mishandled can lead to adverse physical and mental health outcomes in society. This chapter includes quantitative and qualitative research to provide evidence of these negative social and health outcomes and present communication and coping strategies for dealing with the more difficult conversations associated with quadriplegia and paralysis.