Workshop Description
Note: This is a pre-recorded, online workshop. Upon purchase, you will receive access to the video recording and any accompanying documents.
Parents and caregivers of people with developmental disabilities are their children’s primary educators, just like any parent. The difference with this group of parents is that they are often very concerned about their child being taken advantage of or an unplanned pregnancy, and some parents even find it hard to think of their child as a sexual being. All of these concerns are legitimate and can make parents worried about how to communicate with their own children or have their children attend sexuality education classes.
This workshop will explore how to:
- Work with parents to dispel any myths they have,
- Help parents communicate about healthy relationships,
- Answer their child’s questions,
- Provide guidelines for direct support professionals
Although our goal may be to get parents’ buy-in, we also need to respect their values and concerns and build our relationships so we can be their partners in supporting their children. In addition to the workshop facilitator, we will have parents who have children with a developmental disability to add their perspective to this sensitive discussion.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this 90-minute webinar, participants will be able to:
- Explore parent concerns and barriers
- Examine multiple perspectives and ways to work in partnership
- Examine what strategies work for with interacting with parents
- Discuss how to establish guidelines between parents and direct support provider
This workshop is for anyone who works with parents, professionals, self-advocates, etc.
Workshop Price: $30.00
Workshop Leaders
Katherine McLaughlin, M.Ed., CSE, is a national expert and trains individuals, staff, and parents on sexuality and developmental disabilities. She teaches sexuality education to people with DD/ID as well as trains them to be peer sexuality educators themselves. Katherine is the author of an agency and school curriculum, Sexuality Education for People with Developmental Disabilities, and has developed two online courses: one to train professionals, Developmental Disability and Sexuality 101, and one for parents, Talking to Your Kids: Developmental Disabilities and Sexuality. Katherine has spent her career trying to elevate the status of all people, which is why the new name for her growing company is Elevatus Training.
Elizabeth Solá has 25 years of experience working with individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities as a bilingual special educator from early intervention to preschool and, more recently, collaborating on grassroots efforts to create inclusive opportunities for self-determined adults. She is also the parent of a young adult on the autism spectrum and understands the importance of partnering with other parents to ‘start the conversation’ about healthy relationships and sexuality education.
Laura H. Pace, MS, LMT, is a Health Educator, Wellness Specialist, and Licensed Massage Therapist. Over the last decade she has taught several college courses in NH, MA, and NY, and currently teaches Healthy Relationships and Human Sexuality for people with intellectual disabilities. Laura is the owner of All Ability Wellness, LLC in East Setauket, NY, where she provides individual and small group health education community classes. As the parent of a child with special needs, Laura is devoted to health promotion and disease prevention by educating and supporting all of the families she works with.
Wanda Douglas, CPSP, is a Nationally Certified Trainer and a Nationally Certified Family Support Provider. She currently works with North Carolina Families United, a Statewide Family-Run Organization, as a Family Partner Coordinator and Trainer. As a part of her work with System of Care, she partners with the local MCO and various Child-Serving Organizations. Her passion for advocacy began as a result of working with youth with special health care needs (I/DD; Autism) and youth who were displaced from their home of origin and placed into Foster Care. To build on the foundation of trauma-focused care in our local community, she partners and delivers multiple Evidence-based and Promising Practice Trainings (Mental Health First Aid, QPR, CRM, Trauma/Resilience/ACEs, Intimacy and Healthy Sexuality, etc) to various child-serving agencies and individuals including schools, child welfare, Juvenile justice, mental health professionals, law enforcement, social workers, foster parents, youth and families. Wanda attended Tuskegee Institute and More Than Conqueror’s College and has a degree in Christian Ministry. She is married with three children.