Teaching Tools Archives - Elevatus Training

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Healthy, Unhealthy, or Unsafe? A Relationship Check-In Guide for People with I/DD

This guide walks you through the three types of relationships — healthy, unhealthy, and unsafe — and provides a practical, step-by-step tool for honestly examining the connections in your own life. Whether you are a person with I/DD working through this on your own or a supporter helping someone you care about, the steps below will help you see clearly and decide what comes next. Read more about: Healthy, Unhealthy, or Unsafe? A Relationship Check-In Guide for People with I/DD

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Building Self-Confidence: Why It Matters for People with I/DD (Worksheet included)

By the end of this article, you will understand why self-confidence is important for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and learn practical ways to help build it. Read more about: Building Self-Confidence: Why It Matters for People with I/DD (Worksheet included)

Finding the Right Fit in Sexuality Education and Healthy Relationships Training

Healthy relationships and sexuality education continuously evolve. As such, we regularly update our products and materials based on feedback from our students and community. In this article, we offer an example and guidance on why it is crucial that educators/trainers continuously upgrade their content and teaching tools. Read more about: Finding the Right Fit in Sexuality Education and Healthy Relationships Training

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Let’s Talk: Simple Conversation Tips for People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

By the end of this article, you will have simple, practical tools to help people with intellectual and developmental disabilities start, continue, and end conversations with greater confidence. Read more about: Let’s Talk: Simple Conversation Tips for People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

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Managing Curveballs in Teaching Healthy Relationships and Sexuality

Teaching healthy relationships and sexuality can be deeply rewarding — and unexpectedly messy. A room goes quiet, a participant says something surprising, a parent feels uneasy or a lesson lands harder than planned. This guide offers practical, compassionate strategies for educators and trainers who want to stay grounded when teaching about sexuality, disability, consent and self-determination gets real. Read more about: Managing Curveballs in Teaching Healthy Relationships and Sexuality

Finally, Disability Representation in Television and Film

In January 2020, an open letter with signatures from 72 actors and directors was released discussing the importance of representation of disabilities in TV and film that features actors with disabilities in those roles. Statistics show that 95% of television shows that feature a person with a disability are played by actors who do not have any type of disability. Of the 61 Oscar nominations and 27 Oscar wins for roles that showcase characters with disabilities, only two of those roles were played by actors with disabilities themselves. Read more about: Finally, Disability Representation in Television and Film

Disability Awareness

Katherine McLaughlin here … I spent many years as a non-disabled person, and people interacted with me as such. They saw me as an independent, regular person and interacted with me as a peer, with respect, and as a very capable person.

Then, at age 26, I acquired a disability, and everything changed. I was the exact same person, but all of a sudden, my interactions with others were different; people had new beliefs about me based only on the disability they saw. These beliefs came from stereotypes we have about people with disabilities. Now, people run to help me and tell me I am so inspiring, which is kind and positive, but there’s also an often-realized, not-so-positive impact of this. Read more about: Disability Awareness

Healthy Boundaries Lesson

Your body is your own, and you get to decide what is okay and what is not okay. These personal rules are called personal boundaries. Each person has different personal boundaries. For example, some people don’t like to hug, and others want to hug everyone. Neither way is wrong; these boundaries are just different. Since people have different boundaries, it is important for you to know what yours are to tell others if they have crossed them. Read more about: Healthy Boundaries Lesson

Free Toolkit : Sexual Assault Awareness for People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Individuals with developmental disabilities are sexually assaulted at seven times the rate of people without disabilities. As always, our team at Elevatus Training believes that education is the first line of defense in preventing sexual abuse. With this in mind, we aim to support all your training needs, and that’s why we have created a toolkit filled with educational articles and resources to support you. Together, let’s raise awareness and educate people about this issue! Read more about: Free Toolkit : Sexual Assault Awareness for People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

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Free Handout: Healthy Relationship Teaching Tool

This free teaching tool is designed to spark meaningful conversations about love, relationships, and sexuality with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Read more about: Free Handout: Healthy Relationship Teaching Tool

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