Resources

Resources to support with teaching human sexuality and also for learning about teaching human sexuality.

Gender Identity and Disability

/ sarahlcurtiss / 1 Comment

During the workshop we talk a little bit about gender identity and gender fluidity but I thought it might make sense to talk about this topic more in depth.  Parks, Hall, and Taylor* looked at gender dysphoria (discontent with with biological sex) with individuals with cognitive disabilities and suggest “Developing a gender dysphoria or wanting to cross-dress usually has ramifications for the person’s family and social network, perhaps more so with people with intellectual disability, who may be more dependent on family and paid caregivers and have less choice about who is in their network. They may experience more hostility and gain less appropriate support from their network.”  But there is still very little information about how common it is, why for some individuals gender is more fluid (have a wide flexible range of gender expression), and how best to support individuals with disabilities with issues related to gender.   This topic also raises issues related to guardianship and self determination.  Some individuals start going on puberty suppressants and hormone replacement starting in adolescence so their bodies can match the gender they express and the gender they identify with.  For people with disabilities, who gets to make that choice?

Could having a developmental disability lead to difficulties with gender identity?

This is a little difficult to answer.  There are very few studies ask this question.  In Holland they looked at co-morbidity of ASD and gender disorders * and did find more individuals with ASD coming to their clinic then you would expect.  However individuals with ASD may be tapped into to services which might account for this difference.  When individuals with disabilities seek support they may be unable to give an accurate history and professionals in this area may be unfamiliar with working with people with disabilities which could lead to false impressions.

Given how little is known, where can I go for more information?

There are new clinical guidelines that address how clinicians should assess and support individuals with autism and persistent gender dysphoria. The new clinical guidelines (there haven’t been any in the past) affirm the right of individuals with autism to obtain gender realignment. It also affirms that many individuals with autism experience gender outside the male-female binary. Check out a reader friendly overview of the guidelines on Spectrum News.

Gender Spectrum is a great place to start looking for more information.  This is a website that can link families with medical, mental health, social, and legal services.  The have great definitions of all the different terminology and a great overview of gender development.

Here is also a This American Life podcast that features interviews with two little girls who were born as biological males and their families.  For me, it was really eye opening and helped me connect this topic to real people.

On May 19th the Washington Post published an article on this topic (which I thought was really well done) featuring a little boy named Tyler.  The story had almost 2,500 comments 5 days later.  They published a follow up article about the response on May 21st, “I heard from transgendered senior citizens who lamented their decades living a lie.  I got e-mails from confused parents who had their aha moment when they read Tyler’s story.  And sure, I heard from the haters”.  This article not only has nice information but also speaks to the relevance and controversy surrounding this topic.

*This links to the abstract of the article.  Unfortunately, the full text of the article is not available for free online.

Implementing Sexuality Education

/ sarahlcurtiss

When you think about implementing sexuality education, it is important to think of what your agency is already doing because it is often easier to build on something than to start from scratch.

I’m going to present a model for one approach for implementing sexuality education at the agency level.  This isn’t the only way to do this, but rather a suggestion of one path that I have found to be successful. Your agency may already have completed some phases or find some phases to be unnecessary.

Phase I: Start a committee- bring together a few people who are interested in topics of human sexuality and willing to do some of this work.

Phase II: Draft a sexuality policy- this will serve as a foundation the committee’s path.

Phase III: Invest in curriculum and teaching materials-  you don’t need much to start out with, but I think it’s helpful to have something and you can always add later.  Having said that, I’ve never come across anything that didn’t need some adaptation.

Phase IV: Start thinking about who you want to target and how- do you want to do small groups or individual education?  Who is going actually implement the education and what support do they need (training, regular meetings to process how it’s going)?  What will your process be for getting individuals receiving services involved?  (I’ve attached a sample Referral Form).

Phase V: Start Implementing!

Phase VI: Expand and Revise- self advocates, expanding curriculum, increasing training for all employees…there’s so many interesting and fun places you can go.

You may be saying to yourself, “this is great, but I’m not really in a position to implement agency wide change where I work”.  Here are some questions to ask yourself in regards to what you can do at a personal level.

  • Where could I fit in with what my agency is already doing?
  • How can I reinforce and incorporate human sexuality concepts into my everyday interactions?
  • How can I incorporate human sexuality concepts into programing?
  • What can I do to advocate for human sexuality education?

Supporting People with Disabilities with BEING Sexuality Educators

/ sarahlcurtiss

What does supporting people with disabilities with BEING sexuality educators?

It’s all about self-advocacy!

According to SDC (UIC’s Institute on Disability and Human Development and their Sexuality and Disability Consortium (SDC), “Sexual Self-Advocacy means: People with disabilities taking control of their own sexuality by making their own decisions and speaking up for themselves and others about sexuality.”

As sexuality educators, individuals with disabilities can be…

  • Safe people for their friends to talk to
  • Knowledgeable sources of information
  • Leaders and co-leaders in educational sessions
  • Models of healthy sexual relationships
  • Advocates for raising awareness about sexuality topics
  • Fill in the blank ____________

This is a great webinar to learn more about how to advance sexual self-advocacy for people with disabilities.

Another great resource for learning more about sexual self-advocacy is  The Green Mountain Self-Advocates.  They have developed materials for self-advocates interested in teach human sexuality (as well as many other topics).

SDC recommends the Developmental Disabilities and Sexuality Curriculum which has a self-advocacy component built in.

Teaching About Joking

/ sarahlcurtiss

Here is an activity you may want to try out for teaching about joking in context.  Joking is really difficult because it’s very nuanced.  It can be a great way to connect with people but also hurtful.  I also think it is difficult because of the educational context- jokes that aren’t appropriate at school, work, etc. It might be okay in some places but it feels weird saying- “yeah, it’s okay to tell fart jokes with your friends.”  It really easy to cross over from actual social skills to formal social skills.  

Free Curriculum- Parent Version, Teacher Version, Spanish Version

/ sarahlcurtiss

ImageI’m really excited about this free curriculum, “Sexuality Across the Lifespan” by: DiAnn L. Baxley and Anna L. Zendell.  It has versions for educators, teachers, and Spanish speakers.  You can view the curriculum by clicking on the links below.

What makes this special?  They do a nice job at adjusting lessons for different age groups, giving ideas for supplemental activities, and giving ideas for incorporating the topics into routines.  The parent version really focuses on how to reinforce healthy sexual development through interactions and daily routines.

This curriculum in not comprehensive but does have sections on social skills, dating, sexual abuse, puberty, and anatomy.  I hope you find this useful!

Let’s Talk About Ability and Sexuality

/ sarahlcurtiss

http://vimeo.com/17317232

This video was filmed at the Healthy Relationships and Sexuality Conference in California 2010. What’s special about this conference is that it was organized by people with disabilities (and their allies) for people with disabilities.

I’ve highlighted some of my favorite quotes from the video. My main point in posting it, is not so much that you watch it and learn a bunch of facts, but rather use as an example of a teaching tool. Creating a video like this is a wonderful learning experience and helps give purpose and permanence to the expression of ideas.

“Sexuality needs to be part of the service planning process” – “It’s not the people with disabilities who are uncomfortable but the staff who are helping support them” – ” “The definition of support needs to change as the person changes” – “A person with a disability can always find love” – “Disability does not define me. The way I think about other people and the way I treat other people: that’s what defines me” – “Maybe people will eventually become more open to us” – “If you get asked a frank question, give a frank answer”

Teaching Strategies- Autism Internet Modules

/ sarahlcurtiss

Many of the teaching strategies that you use when teaching human sexuality you also use in many other contexts.  Autism Internet Modules can help you learn teaching strategies like the ones listed below (currently they have 37 modules and they are always adding more).  The modules give a really complete overview (they can be a little boring but overall they are very helpful).  Some these may be a review but others may be something you have heard of but aren’t quite sure what it really is.  What’s especially nice is often the expert who developed the technique is the one teaching the module.  Just a little warning- you do have to set up a log in.  Many of these interventions have been specifically developed for people with Autism Spectrum Disorders- but not all of them!

Antecedent-Based Interventions (ABI) – Differential Reinforcement – Extinction – Functional Communication Training – Language and Communication – Naturalistic Intervention – Overview of Social Skills Functioning and Programming – Parent-Implemented Intervention – Peer-Mediated Instruction and Intervention (PMII) – Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) – Pivotal Response Training (PRT) – Preparing Individuals for Employment – Prompting – Reinforcement – Repetitive Patterns of Behavior, Interests, and Activities – Response Interruption/Redirection – Rules and Routines – Self-Management – Social Narratives – Social Skills Groups – Social Supports for Transition-Aged Individuals – The Incredible 5-Point Scale – Visual Supports

For those of you who attended the workshop, in the workbook starting on page 34 there is a table with examples of strategies.  Some of the strategies come from Autism Internet Modules.

Introduction to Sexuality Education for Individuals Who Are Deaf-Blind and Significantly Developmentally Delayed

/ sarahlcurtiss

I found this great (free) book online.  Although it targets parents, caregivers, and professionals who work with individuals who are deaf-blind and significantly developmentally delayed- you may find useful info even if this not your target population.  Kate Moss & Robbie Blaha’s overall approach to education considers four basic tools for instruction: routines, units, teachable moments, and behavior plans.  Chapters include …

Chapter 1 – Introduction
Chapter 2 – Sexuality Education
Chapter 3 – Developing an Instruction Plan
Chapter 4 – Modesty
Chapter 5 – Appropriate Touch and Personal Boundaries
Chapter 6 – Menstruation
Chapter 7 – Masturbation
Chapter 8 – Sexual Health Care
Chapter 9 – Sexual Abuse

I just want to highlight a couple of things I found particularly useful.  They provide instructions for developing a sexual education policy and provide a model policy as well as sample permission forms.  I also thought that their plan for supporting with menstruation was well thought out and useful.

There’s also the Texas School for the Blind and Visually-Impaired’s website, which offers some strategies for supporting and educating visually impaired individuals about many topics such as gender roles, social skills, personal safety, gender identity, sexual language, masturbation, and reproductive anatomy.

Sexuality and Intellectual/Developmental Disability Community Forum

/ sarahlcurtiss

I just wanted to share this upcoming event with you (Friday, April 13th from 12:00-3:30).  It looks really interesting.  The Sexuality and Disability Consortium (SDC) at the University of Illinois at Chicago is hosting a roundtable discussion and a presentation by Linda Sandman, MSW, LCSW, Clinical Director of the Developmental Disabilities Family Clinics on…

“Successes and Challenges:Sexuality Education with People with Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities.”

After the main discussion you can choose to attend one of several roundtable discussions on the following topics • Sexual self-advocacy • How to talk to families about sexuality • Why is sexuality education important in my agency • Sharing sexuality education resources

The cost is only $10 and self advocates are welcome.

If you can’t make, don’t worry.  I’ll post an update on what I learn.

A Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism

/ sarahlcurtiss

“A Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism” is a wonderful resource and online community.  They have a blog, facebook page, and book so you can check them out in what ever way is most comfortable to you.  Although they deal with many topics related to Autism Spectrum Disorders, they often touch on topics of sexuality.

I especially would recommend checking out this post, “Talking About Sex with Young Adults with Autism”  Here’s an excerpt.

“Amy looked nice, but the grown-ups wouldn’t let us go in Amy’s room and shut the door.”

“Did Amy want to go in her room with you and shut the door?”

“Not really. So we went outside and the parents kept watching us.”

“Did Amy want to be alone with you outside?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Did you touch Amy?”

“I wanted to. I wanted her to lie down on the grass so we could do sex.”

“Have you ever had sex with anyone else?”

“Probably not.”

For Parents

/ sarahlcurtiss

In a parent focus group* on the topic of sexuality and their children with ASD several interesting themes emerged: parents struggle with what healthy sexuality looks like in their child with ASD, they feel their child’s social impairments make many sexuality topics difficult to understand, they feel the community does not understand the sexuality needs of their child, and they feel unprepared to support their child with their sexuality need.

Does that sound like you?

These researchers made several suggestions for parents.  Although they were focused on children with ASD, I think this would be applicable for almost all children.  I think they are also good things for professionals to keep in mind too!

1) Lean about sexuality and ASD as well as sexual development in general.

2) Think about your hopes and fears for your child.  Also think about your own experiences learning about sexuality.

3) Set goals for your child (and I would maybe modify, to the degree that they are able, with your child).

4) Think about the method to communicate these messages to your child.

5)  Coordinate with schools, physicians, ect.

I have found a book that may be useful called “Adolescents on the Autism Spectrum: A Parent’s Guide to the Cognitive, Social, Physical, and Transition Needs of Teenagers with Autism Spectrum Disorders “.  You can get a pretty good preview on google books to make sure it is right for you.  I like it because it talks about ASD in general and then weaves in topics related to puberty.  It also thinks about changes from multiple domains.  For example, one suggestion was realizing your teen might need more control and finding ways to incorporate that into his or her daily life.

This tip sheet from the Better Health Channel may also be helpful: Sex education for children with intellectual disabilities – tips for parents – Better Health Channel

*Only a short preview of this article is available for free online.  Although the entire article is available for purchase it is written for an academic audience.

The Specials

/ sarahlcurtiss / 2 Comments

I had a great time in Rockford at The Birds and the Bees workshop.  I always feel like I learn so much each time I do a workshop.  I got to meet a lot of interesting folks and I hope people walked away with a few things to think about.  One thing that people asked for was some video showing what education might actually look like.  I haven’t been able to find a great video yet, but I did find a web series that is really interesting called “The Specials”.  It is made in the UK and follows five young adults as they transition out of school and into a group home.  It is really interesting and touches on topics of sexuality.  Worth checking out.  http://www.the-specials.com/episodes 

Unfortunately- the website just has excerpts from the show and the DVDs aren’t available for purchase yet in the US.  The excerpts are rather long and sometimes the full ones pop up on You Tube so keep an eye out.

Updated Resouce List

/ sarahlcurtiss

I added atomically correct dolls to the resource list.   This company has lesson plans available, but I have never used them.  I have used the dolls before with middle school students to talk about how different people may be feeling.  I also added a link to atomically correct models of reproductive organs that are more life like.

Social Narrative for Initiating Social Interactions

/ sarahlcurtiss

This is a social narrative in comic strip form.  It supports initiating social interactions.  One strip is for people you don’t know at all and the other strip is for people you know a little.  I would use this in combination with role playing (can you tell I like role playing?).  Over initiating and under initiating can both be a problem.  This is geared more towards encouraging initiation, but it could be used to help establish boundaries too. The YAI relationship videos also cover some of this information. Click here to get as a pdf: How do I even start

.

Ways to Say No

/ sarahlcurtiss

I developed this to be used in conjunction with the YAI relationship series, but you could definitely use it independently.  I would use this to supplement role playing and practice using each of the saying no strategies.  You can click here to get it as a pdf:

Ways to say no.