AIDS-PROOFING _ TheReview Wednesday, July 8, 1992 — Continued from Page A9 The book also suggests how to gradually prepare teenagers to buy condoms on their own and how to use condoms. A teenager too embarrassed to buy a condom from a store is less likely to use the protection, Acker says. And condom machines in schools will not help at 9 p.m. on a Saturday night, Acker added. Acker also wams that an offer by parents to provide condoms may not be used by a teenager. “No teenager wants to go to his or her parents and advertise his or her sexual hopes for the evening.” So the teenager must know how to oblain and use the protection on “If they fumble and bumble, they re not going to use it again.” Awkwardness can also create an tions essential. Current evidence on AIDS sug- gests the disease is invariably fatal. ‘No teenager wanis fo go fo his or her parents and aadveriise his or her sexual hopes for the evening’ additional hazard, since the skin may be punctured or the condom incorrectly applied, eliminating the protection. his or her own. “It really boils down to these Nitty, gritty skills,” Acker said. The book even details how to arrange family practice sessions, unrolling a condom on to a broom- KipS stick handle, a carrot or a cucum- ber. Proficiency leads to a greater chance that a condom will be used and continue to be used with every sexual partner, Acker says. Acker admits he is treading on dangerous ground with some of the book’s recommendations — but he: believes the danger posed by AIDS makes the recommenda- AIDS increasing among teens AIDS-proofing Your Kids is not intended to sidestep moral values, says co-author Loren Acker. He strongly advocates teaching AIDS-proofing in conjunction with the family’s moral values. For example, one chapter is devoted to sexual abstinence as a safeguard against AIDS while another outlines alternatives to sexual intercourse. “After one Opens up communication, it becomes a family decision on whether the strategy is one of either teaching safer sex skills or teaching abstinence or both.” But Acker recommends teaching both, given the power of the human sexual drive and the prevalence of sexual activity among young people. Surveys show over half of the students now in Grade 11 have had one or more experiences with sexual intercourse, Acker noted. The rate of one easily diagnosed sexually transmitted disease, chlamydia, is climbing among young people. Since that disease passes from partner to partner in the same way as the AIDS virus, Acker said the increase in chlamydia is alarming. Unlike chlamydia, the human immunodeficiency virus responsi- ble for AIDS has a long incubation period. There may be no symptoms until years after infection. Even special screening may not identify the presence of the disease for six weeks to six months after infection. : , The incidence of human immunodeficiency virus is also increasing dramatically among young people — especially those living in smaller communities, Acker said. The Centre for Disease Control in the United States now predicts AIDS could become a leading cause of death for young people by 1995, Acker added. 1987 TODAY @®eeee%e%ee @ 4 ‘TEENS WITHAIDS _ SUN ROOF SPECIAL REG. *249 NOW ONLY er : 199 (‘most vehicles) ES = we Sis ncs : Sane : L Glass and Upholstery (O wT. 656-13 13 e Offer Good till July 22, 92 as UNIT 5 - 10025 GALARAN RD., SIDNEY. | NRS Block Bros. Realty If the spread of the disease is not controlled, Acker fears North Americans may face a similar Situation to that in some African countries where every sexual part- her is a risk, Most of the reaction to AIDS-