Online Workshop: Making Sexuality Education Accessible for Hispanic, Latino, Latinx Families

Workshop Summary

For Hispanic, Latino, and Latinx families, silence around sexuality is often shaped by religion, gender roles, fear, and shame. For families of children with I/DD, there’s a second layer: the belief that disability means their child has no sexual needs at all. This panel of individuals with breaks that silence and shows professionals what actually works.

Note: This is a pre-recorded, 90-minute workshop. Instant access upon purchase. Includes workshop slide deck.

Why This Workshop Exists

Many professionals understand that Hispanic, Latino, and Latinx families may carry cultural beliefs about sexuality that differ from mainstream American norms. What is harder to understand is the texture and depth of those beliefs: the shame attached to girls who ask questions, the pride attached to boys who have sex early, the silence enforced across generations, the religious frameworks that make masturbation a sin and LGBTQ+ identity unthinkable, and the fear that talking about sexuality will cause it to happen.

And then there is the disability piece. When a child has an intellectual or developmental disability, many families believe the conversation becomes even less necessary. As Yazmin Castellano explains in this workshop: “The parents usually don’t think about it. They think that your child will not have those needs at all, regardless of the disability… they believe because the child cannot communicate means that the child cannot understand.”

Those beliefs are not a barrier to work around. They are the starting point. This workshop exists to help professionals understand where families are — and how to begin from there.

Three Voices from the Inside

This workshop is built around a panel of three women who bring both professional expertise and lived experience as Latina women, parents, and educators: Elizabeth Solá, a bilingual special educator with 25 years of experience and the mother of a young adult on the autism spectrum; Yazmin Castellano, a school psychologist and mental health counselor from Puerto Rico and the mother of a child with disabilities; and Raquel Quezada, a Dominican-born advocate, author, and media producer whose mission is to educate and empower families of people with disabilities, primarily in Spanish.

Together, they cover the territory professionals most need to understand: the statistics driving urgency; the cultural beliefs, gender norms, and religious frameworks that shape what families can hear and say; the myths professionals often carry into these relationships; and the practical strategies — how to build trust, when to slow down, what to lead with — that actually open the door.

Yazmin’s approach to working with families captures the stance this whole workshop is built on: “I’m going to dump everything that I know, and I’m going to be an empty vessel. No expectations, no agenda. And I’m here. Teach me. Teach me about you. Teach me about your culture. Teach me about your language. Teach me about your needs. Teach me about your challenges. I want to listen, and I want to learn.”

And Raquel’s closing words to anyone preparing to work with these families: “Before you go to meet or to do a presentation with parents — be respect with the value and belief, will open to learn from another culture, be humble, be professional, be patient. Listen, and don’t judge.”

Who This Workshop Is For

This workshop is for special education teachers, school-based staff, direct support professionals, therapists, social workers, and sexuality educators who work with Hispanic, Latino, or Latinx families of people with I/DD. It is also relevant for bilingual professionals and for anyone who wants to build greater cultural competence when providing sexuality education across diverse communities. Self-advocates from Hispanic, Latino, and Latinx backgrounds who want to understand and engage with the cultural context shaping their families’ beliefs are welcome as well.

What You Will Learn

By the end of this workshop, you will be able to:

Understand the cultural beliefs, language barriers, religious frameworks, and gender norms that shape how Hispanic, Latino, and Latinx families approach — or avoid — conversations about sexuality with their children

Recognize how disability compounds cultural silence: why many families believe a child with I/DD has no sexual needs, and why that belief must be addressed directly

Dispel common myths professionals hold about Hispanic, Latino, and Latinx families — including assumptions about involvement, motivation, and language

Build trust across cultural difference by leading with empathy, listening first, and leaving your agenda at the door

Apply practical strategies for reaching families with sexuality education in a way they can actually hear and use

Identify Spanish-language and culturally responsive resources to support your work with these families and communities

Workshop Presenters

Katherine McLaughlin, M.Ed., AASECT Certified Sexuality Educator, is the Founder, CEO, and Lead Trainer for Elevatus Training. She has been a sexuality educator and trainer for over 30 years. As a national expert on sexuality and intellectual and developmental disabilities, she trains professionals and parents, as well as people with I/DD, to become sexual self-advocates and peer sexuality educators.⁠

Elizabeth Solá, M.A. has 25 years of extensive experience working with individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities as a bilingual special educator, working with individuals from infancy to adulthood and their families, and currently as a self-direction broker to create inclusive opportunities and support self-determined individuals to live their best lives. As the parent of a young adult on the autism spectrum, she also understands the importance of partnering with other parents to ‘start the conversation’ about healthy relationships and sexuality education from an early age. Elizabeth is on the advisory board and leads parent workshops in collaboration with Elevatus Training.

Yazmin Castellano has a master’s degree in School Psychology. Currently working towards her Ed. D. in innovation and leadership. Yazmin has over 15 years of experience in the mental health field. Her primary goals are to raise awareness about Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) among Hispanic families and professionals serving the Hispanic community. Yazmin has had the opportunity to present at the Family Café Annual Conference and CARD Statewide conference, among others. Yazmin currently has a monthly session with D’latinos (Univision Ft. Myers), where she presents topics of interest to families with loved ones with autism as well as professionals working with people with autism.

Raquel Quezada is the author of two books, “Rompiendo Las Barreras De La Discapacidad” (Breaking the Barriers to Disability) and “El Heroe Dentro De Me” (The Hero Within Me). She is also the creator, producer, and presenter of the television program Breaking the Barriers of Disability. Her mission is to educate, inform and share knowledge about the resources that exist for people with disabilities, where their family members can share their experiences and express how they are affected by it. Raquel was recognized as Woman of the Year and Fighter for the Rights of the Community with Disabilities, Boston 2020. Currently, she advocates for the rights of special education in the state of Massachusetts. She teaches with the same purpose of educating parents, being invited as a speaker on various platforms in order to advocate for people with disabilities.