3 Steps to Support Children with I/DD to Have Healthy Relationships
We all want our children to have full lives. One important component of a full life is having a healthy, romantic/sexual relationship with a partner. If you are a parent, this can be a scary thought because they worry about […]
A Prelude to Consent
As sexuality educator, I teach people how to say no, but it’s also my job to teach people how to say yes. To be able to say yes to the things you really want and no to the things you […]
Autism and Gender Identity
Article This article is short and explores Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, Gender Expression and the connection to Autism. This article is longer, but provides some real examples of people with Autism who are “gender variant” or “Transsexual.” It also has […]
Can You Be a Vegetarian and Work at McDonald’s? Managing Values and Attitudes as Professionals
We all have values and attitudes regarding sexuality. We have thoughts and beliefs about sexual decisions such as when to be sexual and with whom. There is nothing wrong with having values and, as a parent of someone with a […]
Consider This: Self Advocates as Sexuality Educators?
One way to help people with developmental disabilities lead sexually healthy lives is to provide sexuality education classes. Here at Elevatus, we believe the most effective way of doing this is by including self-advocates in the teaching team. Here are […]
COVID-19 Resource for People with IDD
This resource is an 8 page handout you can share with the people you work with. SARTAC is the Self Advocacy Resource and Technical Assistance Center: https://selfadvocacyinfo.org/. This booklet was created by Green Mountain Self-Advocates, a SARTAC partner.
Dignity of Risk is About Seizing Opportunities
“To deny the right to make choices in an effort to protect the person with disabilities from risk is to diminish their human dignity.” -Robert Perske, Long-time advocate for people with intellectual disabilities We all take risks in our lives. […]
Disability Awareness
Here’s the link to the video Katherine 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 […]
Do Autistic People Speak a Different Language?
Many Autistic people want to find a sexual/romantic partner, just like many neurotypicals. Our needs are the same as everyone else’s, including the need for love and belonging. People who are in loving, committed relationships tend to live happier and […]
Finally, Disability Representation in Television and Film
Have you ever sat down to watch TV or a movie and wondered: “Where is the representation of people with disabilities? Where are the actors or characters that align with me or my family member or someone I support? Why […]
Has Pornography Become the “Go To” Sexuality Educator for Our Youth? Part 1
Like it or not, agree with its availability or not, pornography has become the ‘go to’ place for sexuality education, and is here to stay. This generation is known for using the internet to learn about a topic and, in […]
Has Pornography Become the “Go To” Sexuality Educator for Our Youth? Part 1 and 2
Has Pornography Become the “Go To” Sexuality Educator for Our Youth? (Part 1) Like it or not, agree with its availability or not, pornography has become the ‘go to’ place for sexuality education, and is here to stay. This generation […]
Healthy Boundaries Lesson
Your body is your own and you get to decide what is okay for you and not okay for you. These personal rules are called personal boundaries. Each person has different personal boundaries. For example, some people don’t like to […]
Hidden Barriers to Sexuality Education for Chinese Parents with Children Who Have Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
In my journey to become culturally competent in reaching people with I/DD from other cultures, I asked Bin Feng to give me some insight on working with Chinese families. Bin lives in New York with his son, , with autism. […]
How Sexuality Policies Empower, Support and Protect
It’s a common occurrence, an individual with a disability has a question you don’t know how to answer. Maybe they want to go out on a date, or want privacy in their bedroom. You’re not sure what to do, or where to turn […]
How to Support LGBTQ+ People with I/DD to Come Out
Here’s a sample of the FREE handout. Download the full version below. “Being in the closet, it is so much pressure living day to day with the lie of not being who I am.” This quote, from an anonymous self-advocate, […]
Is Asexuality Really a Thing? Isn’t it Actually a Disorder?
While presenting sexuality education training, these questions often surface when discussing sexual orientation. Many ask, “Is asexuality really a thing?” “Isn’t it more a symptom of a larger problem?” ” To answer the first question, Is asexuality really a thing? […]
Knowledge is Power
“I was in the mainstream health class in high school learning about health with students without disabilities. When the sexuality unit started, they removed me from class.” ~Anonymous Self Advocate I remember the shock I felt when a self-advocate told […]
Listening to Self-Advocates Voices
Being accepted for who you are and being in relationships has many benefits, yet people with developmental disabilities face barriers in achieving acceptance and for building friendships and romantic sexual relationships that they desire because of restrictions, lack of control, […]
Nothing About Us Without Us
I remember the day Karen Topper, Executive Director of Green Mountain Self Advocates, asked, “can we create a sexuality education curriculum where people with developmental disabilities are teachers and are actively involved in creating this educational tool?” This startling statement […]
Self-Advocates Speak Up About Sex
Members of Green Mountain Self-Advocates in Vermont held a discussion group about sexuality for the purpose of sharing their thoughts and experiences. Here are their candid responses to a number of questions about the messages they received about sexuality over […]
Sexual Rights – Pleasure
Sexual Rights: Pleasure is Not a Four Letter Word As a society, we have a difficult time discussing sexuality and relationships in general, but when the topic of the right to sexual pleasure is talked about, some people can feel […]
Sexual Rights: Acceptance – We All Want to Be Accepted for Who We Are
We all want to be accepted for who we are, and if you fit into what most people see as typical (cisgender, binary, and heterosexual), you are, in some ways, automatically accepted. On the other hand, self-advocates who are also […]
Sexual Rights: Are They Honored or Taken Away?
I want to explore the topic of sexual rights. There are many lists online of what sexual rights are, but what I found most useful was this Sexual Rights Statement that was developed by the Sex Education Implementation Oversight Committee […]
Sexual Rights: Autonomy
Autonomy is to self govern or to determine what you want in your life. It’s about being in charge of your life, body, mind, and relationships. It’s about having the ability to make informed decisions without others pressuring, manipulating, or […]
Sexual Rights: Equity Versus Equality:
There is a Big Difference
The word equality means everyone gets the same thing, but unfortunately, equality doesn’t always work for everyone. In the top image, everyone is given the same bicycle. We’ll call this the “equality bike.” When a person who uses a wheelchair […]
Sexual Rights: Knowledge
We know that knowledge is power and ignorance is NOT bliss. Last month, we talked about choice and making your own choices, but this month we are adding “informed” to making choices. We all need knowledge to make informed choices, […]
Sexual Rights: Privacy
Privacy is a human right. HIPPA laws give us this right regarding our health information, but when people with I/DD are receiving services, others or even ourselves, may forget about this right. Self advocates state that if there is anything […]
Sexual Rights: Safety, Empowering Self-Advocates to Keep Themselves Safe
Many people with developmental disabilities aren’t safe from physical or sexual abuse. One of the reasons this is true is because people think of them as vulnerable and uneducated. And, unfortunately, many of them are uneducated due to myths about […]
Supporting LGBTQ+ People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
Hello! I’m Pauline Bosma. I grew up in a small, country town in Massachusetts. When I was young I was considered a boy with slight mental retardation. In addition to a disability label, at the age of four I […]
Tips for Talking About Sexuality for Parents
Many parents of children with developmental disabilities need help talking about sexuality. Here are some general tips for talking about this sensitive topic. You may have to initiate Many children won’t ask questions, so you may need to be the […]
Tool Kit : Sexual Assault Awareness for People with 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, […]
Turning the Gray Areas into Black and White
“Part of me longs for a job where there’s not a gray area”. Jodie Foster Can you relate? Gray areas make everything harder, especially when working with people with I/DD. Here’s Oxfords dictionary’s definition of a gray areas: “an ill-defined […]
Victim or Offender?
People with I/DD Accused of Sex Offending Behaviors
People with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (I/DD) are overrepresented in today’s criminal justice system as both victims and offenders. For example: As Victims: People with intellectual, cognitive or developmental disabilities get involved in the criminal justice system as victims more […]
What the ‘Sex Talk” looks like Now
A father realizes that he should’ve done his homework before trying to talk to his son about the birds and the bees. With summer starting to wind down many people are getting in the back to school mindset. Think back […]