An Australian mother and her teenage son have started up a support club for intellectually disabled LGBT youth in a bid to help others navigate the sometimes difficult process of coming out and entering into a same-sex relationship. Mary McMahon says that she has always known her son Charitha is gay and at age 15 he came out saying; “Mum I’m gay and I’d like a boyfriend”. Charitha has a condition known as Global Development Delay and Ms. McMahon says the process of navigating his sexuality and in particular finding an appropriate boyfriend has been a difficult one. She says she has been disappointed at the lack of support services for her son. "Even within various gay organisations, there wasn't anything specifically for people with intellectual disabilities.” “But having spent the last 15 years working through schools and other organisations for Charitha I wasn't really surprised.” She is currently providing information about the club to local schools and disability support groups, the club for 16 to 26 year olds is the first of it’s kind in New South Wales and the first meeting will be held in the new year.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Thursday, 22nd October 2015 - 12:44pm