World Autism Awareness Day

Today is the sixth annual World Autism Awareness Day. Autism organizations around the world are celebrating with many unique awareness-raising and fundraising events, and individuals are showing their support by wearing blue today.

Although SexEd Central is not an autism organization, we're still celebrating World Autism Awareness Day today! After all, people with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and Asperger's Syndrome (AS) are sexual beings, just like everyone else. They deserve to be treated with the same respect, equality and fairness as everyone else. Relevant, practical and applicable sexuality education is a huge part of that respect, equality and fairness.

What better day to tell you about the new workshops currently under development! Here's what you can look forward to in the very near future ...

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Workshops for Parents, Caregivers, Foster Parents and Support Staff

This interactive workshop aims to provide parents, caregivers and support staff with the knowledge, comfort and skills they need to effectively support individuals with AS and ASD. Because sexuality is a normal, healthy part of the development of every human being, it's essential that caregivers and support persons have an understanding and awareness of sexuality and sexual behaviour in relation to persons with ASD and AS.


Participants in this workshop will:

• Enhance their knowledge and understanding of sexuality and sexuality education


• Gain an understanding of the unique sexuality education needs of people with AS and ASD


• Develop the skills and comfort necessary to effectively communicate with others about sexuality and sexual behaviour


• Learn practical and effective strategies to understand and respond to inappropriate sexual behaviours

Participants will also be provided with a variety of resource materials to further enhance their knowledge, skills and effectiveness.

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Workshops for Children, Youth and Adults with AS and ASD

Participants in this workshop series will gain both knowledge and practical skills in relation to sexuality and sexual behaviour. Because the learning needs of people with AS and ASD differ from those of the neurotypical population, each lesson and all activities will be tailored to the particular workshop audience. The primary goal of this workshop is to equip participants with the information, motivation and behavioural skills they need to be healthy, happy and safe.

Topics in this workshop series may include:

• Puberty: understanding the whats, whys and how to cope


• Communication


• Love and friendship


• Physiological aspects of sexuality


• Sexual relations and other sexual behaviours


• Emotions


• Contraception and pregnancy prevention


• STIs, HIV and prevention


• Sexual orientation


• Alcohol, drugs and sexuality


• Sexual abuse and inappropriate sexual behaviours


• Sexism and violence in romantic relationships


• Managing emotions, theory of mind and intimacy

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These new workshops are VERY exciting and represent a major step forward in the resources and workshops offered here at SexEd Central! If you would like further information or to set up a consultation, please do not hesitate to contact me (Candice) directly.

Stay tuned in the coming months as we continue to grow!

Candice :)

Happy Monday!

Good morning and HAPPY MONDAY! I don't necessarily look forward to Mondays as a general rule ... but this weekend was so uplifting and this week is so exciting that I can't help but be happy to be alive and well this morning!

On Saturday I participated in the 3rd Annual Highland School Craft & Vendor Fair. It was great to get out there and meet so many fantastic people. In particular, I enjoyed meeting other entrepreneurs and community members with an interest in sexuality education. I am excited to have made many new connections and expanded my network. THANK YOU to everyone who helped make it a great day!

Sunday was equally busy -- Paul and I drove up to Barrie for an Arbonne party at After Glow Laser Spa & Salon. I had a GREAT time and am looking forward to pampering myself at the spa! THANK YOU to Heather, my fellow consultant, as well as Julie for hosting, and all the ladies who attended the party. You all helped make my yesterday a fantastic day!

What are you doing to take advantage of this lovely, spring-like Monday?! I would really like to hear from you! Get out there and enjoy the gift of another day to make a difference in the world.

Have a great week!

Candice :)

Today

TODAY is WORKSHOP DAY!!!!

1) Today I will be speaking to students at Georgian College on the topic of Healthy Relationships -- just in time for Valentine's Day! Stay tuned to hear all about it, and to check out my presentation.

2) I'm feeling FABULOUS, and you can read all about it! Check out Journey of Motivation's feature post all about myself and Sex Ed Central!

Have a WONDERFUL day! :)

It's All About Sex

It's no secret that 2012 was a bit of a struggle for me. One of the difficulties I continually ran into was a lack of content for my blog. I simply didn't want to write, and when I did want to write, I didn't know what to write about. It wasn't "flowing" the way writing always has for me. This quickly became a debilitating and frustrating cycle, and eventually, I pushed posting to the back of my mind.

[caption id="attachment_3176" align="alignright" width="216"] Source: www.soulseeds.com[/caption]

Since then I've realized that one of the key issues was that I was holding myself back -- telling myself that everything I wrote had to be about sex, sex ed, sexuality ... and I felt very limited and uninspired. I mean, sex is a fantastic topic, but I'll be the first to admit that there's more to life!

The more I engaged in reflection and redefining my goals, however, the more I realized that sexuality is as much a part of day-to-day life as eating and breathing. Don't get me wrong - I'm not saying that our entire day-to-day lives are (or should be) consumed by sex ... we'd never get anything done! And I'm also not saying that every person is/should be highly sexual.

What I mean is that sexuality - our sexual energy / sexual self - is ingrained into how we interact with and see ourselves, others and the world in general.

Does that make sense?

I'll use myself as an example. Through my self-reflection have realized that, among other things, my energy / essence is very sensual and flirtatious. I thrive off of positive interactions with others, no matter who the other person is. This doesn't mean that I'm having sex with every person I meet (wow, that would be exhausting, not to mention dangerous!). It does, however, mean that my energy - my essence - is part of every interaction with others. And sex is a major part of my energy. This helps explain why people have always been drawn to me and why I've never had trouble finding a lover, should I want one. I'm not saying that's all there is to it, but I definitely feel that my energy has had a lot to do with my interpersonal interactions.

The point of this post is to say that I will be writing about more than overtly obvious sex this year. I believe that, if you look closely enough, you will see the energies of life behind every experience. And quite often there will be a sexual component to those energies.

So in the end, it's all about sex. ;)

The Benefits of Contraception

I'm a big-time advocate for contraception. There's been study after study and article after article demonstrating the positive effects birth control has on the lives of both women and men. But rather than make you read about all the facts and statistics around birth control, I'm opting to share a video with you instead.

This video from the Guttmacher Institute arrived in my inbox not so long ago, and I was so impressed that I wanted to share it with the world! So world, here's your opportunity to learn about how awesome birth control really is. Although this video uses American statistics, the benefits are the same for women everywhere.

Enjoy!
Candice



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Related Links:

Hormonal Birth Control Options

Non-Hormonal Birth Control Options

Birth Control: You Have Options - 1

Birth Control: You Have Options - 2

Pregnancy & Contraception

Declines in US Teen Births

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Babies Having Babies ...

Based on the title, you can probably guess (if you haven't read previous posts or don't remember) - tomorrow's workshop is about Teen Pregnancy.  It's also the FINAL session of my workshop - an adventure which has flown by and developed into far more than I could have imagined!

As is the case with all of my workshop sessions, the information I present tomorrow will be both practical and relevant to my audience.  I don't see any point in standing in front of them and spouting random, irrelevant knowledge that won't help them in their lives.  Instead, I am going to focus on helping them figure out how to apply what I talk about to their own lives.  Maybe one of them will walk away thinking "Wow, I am not ready to be a parent yet."  Fingers crossed!

As I've already stated, this workshop has grown into far more than I could have imagined.  I'm incredibly thrilled with how well everything has gone, and very proud of the youth who have been part of the sessions.

What I have now is a very comprehensive and widely applicable workshop which can be edited and tailored to a variety of audiences.  Running my workshop at the OYC has given me a chance to step back and evaluate every aspect of it; yes, I will definitely make a few changes before I run it again.  However, I have worked hard to build a strong foundation, and it will continue to get better!

Even though my workshop is ending, I will be continuing to post regularly.  There is SO MUCH going on in the world of sexual health education!  Also, don't forget to check out the other pages of this site!

• Contact me (Candice)


• All about my workshop!


• Useful resources and links


• About me!


• Support my efforts to educate!

Thanks for tuning in!

Candice :)

Let's be clear ...

As I mentioned in my previous post, this week's workshop was focused on the topic of Communication - specifically in the context of interpersonal (intimate) relationships.  It was an interesting and challenging week; five new youth for a total of twelve and some interesting group dynamics made for a different session than I am used to.

I think that the challenge of managing this week's group while presenting the material in a clear and understandable way was a really good thing.  Being continually challenged ensures that I am also continually thinking, e.g. "How would I revise this next time?".  I have the opportunity to assess what is working well and what I would like to change, which is certainly important when developing any sort of program.

Yesterday I attended a conference with two others from the Youth Centre; it was a leadership and equity conference focused on GLBTQ students in high schools.  There were approximately 150 students, teachers and allies in attendance and we were there as community supporters and to provide information about the OYC as well as my workshop.  The other two tables were occupied by an RN from Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit and PFLAG, of which I am a proud ally member.  It was an interesting experience, and I would liken it to the proverbial "small fish, big pond" scenario.  I met some really great people and exchanged a few business cards and I enjoyed the opportunity to be there.

Since this is National Youth Week, the OYC hosted a BBQ last night.  The hot dogs were absolutely delicious and the OYC was the busiest I have ever seen it.  What a successful week!

Coming up next week: Teen Pregnancy!

Ciao for now,

Candice

Let's make this FUN!

Another workshop tonight, complete with guest speaker and warm fuzzies!

[caption id="attachment_215" align="alignleft" width="137" caption="HIV/AIDS Ribbon"][/caption]

This time I started the workshop with the activity, rather than saving it until the end.  I learned pretty quickly that if I ever switch things around like that again, it would be a good idea to plan another activity for the end of the session as well.  Tonight was the first time that I have received requests for more games and activities, and I will be sure to follow through on that!  After all, the activities and games are my favourite part as well!

My guest speaker tonight was Karyn, Manager of Community Services at the AIDS Committee of Simcoe County (ACSC) and one of my placement supervisors.  It was great to have her knowledge and expertise and the youth had plenty of excellent questions.  I am so proud of the progress that the youth have learned so much and have made so much progress.  I think that it was very wise to begin the workshop with the hands-on topics, such as anatomy, contraception and STIs and save the personal stuff for the later weeks.  Next week I am discussing relationships and healthy decision making.  The rest of the workshop is much more person-oriented rather than activity-oriented, although I am always open to any questions that may come up!

As always, thank you for your support!

A Fine Balance

Teaching sex ed is a balancing act.  You want to be upfront and honest with the youth, and get the information to them.  At the same time, you don't want to come across as using "scare tactics" or being too graphic.  Also, you need to know how much each group can handle.  This is when having a good rapport with your audience really comes in handy.

As a CYW (Child and Youth Worker), one of the central features of my education is developing the skills to establish relationships with young people.  The awesome part about taking all of these classes and practicing these skills in my labs is that it really works! The youth like me and respond well to me, and almost without realizing it, I can build positive relationships with them.  Yet another reason I love the CYW program :).

When it comes to teaching sex ed, you need to keep it practical and relevant.  While it's great that I know that, in Canada, "the overall reported rate of gonorrhea increased by  124.2% between 1998 and 2007" (Public Health Agency of Canada, 2009), what the youth need to know is that more and more people are getting gonorrhea, and most of them are between 15 and 24 years old - and this means that they are at high risk for contracting gonorrhea.  It's not enough to spew information and statistics at them and expect that they will absorb it all because you're such a great speaker and it's important information.  Bite-sized chunks, clear language, repetition, and fun are all necessary to making your lesson a success.

On that note, it's time for me to get back to next week's lesson!

Thanks for reading,

Candice

STIs, anyone?

This week's session: An Intro to Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs)

Oh the joys of STIs ... you may think I'm strange, but I really enjoy talking about STIs.  Well, I enjoy talking about pretty much ANYTHING related to sexuality or sexual health, but STIs are just plain fun!  They're icky, nasty, and just plain yuck and yet they are completely avoidable and preventable!

And that, my friends, is what I like about them.  I like being able to tell a young person that they can take control and they can protect themselves from this icky nastiness.

Now before I get too far, I want to clear something up:  In no way, shape or form am I putting down anyone who has ever contracted an STI; nor am I making any sort of statement or judgement regarding having STIs.  My emphasis is on the fact that, from a harm reduction standpoint, STIs are a way to give a visual and descriptive (and hopefully, ickifying) reminder of a person's ability to take steps to protect him/herself.

I'm not going to get into the facts and figures in this post ... my blog is just that - a blog - and I'll save the statistics for another page (more content coming soon!  keep checking!).  I am, however, going to tell you that this week's session was AWESOME, that I had 14 youth (yay!!), and that I know that some of them are already excited about next week!  So I am thrilled and, of course, very excited (are you surprised?).

I learned something very important this week: it's a good idea to have several "levels of difficulty" with the jeopardy-like questions I use in my activities ... cuz these youth were way too smart for the ones I had made up!  Time to take it up a notch!

Questions?  Email me!  Comments?  Write one here, or email me!  There's now a "contact" page and you can use that to send me an email, OR write to candice@sexedcentral.com

I can't wait to hear from you!!!

Candice :)

p.s. Don't forget to "Share the Love" below!!!

Great news!

Great news!  I've been accepted to the Poster Presentations at the 32nd Annual Guelph Sexuality Conference in June!

I am very excited to be part of this incredible event.  When I was a student at U of G I volunteered at the Conference each year, and dreamed of being part of the conference itself.  I am now one step closer to that dream!

I wanted to share my news - yay!

:) Candice

The path to sex ed is long and convoluted ...

When I decided to go back to school for Child and Youth Work (go Georgian College!), I didn't really think too much about my human sexuality related ambitions. After graduating from U of G, I had briefly considered doing an MSc in Human Sexuality but decided that research wasn't really my thing ... I prefer to get "in there" and connect with people, and CYW seemed a great way to do that.

Jump ahead to April 2009, at which point I found myself on placement at a really great elementary school in the Orillia/Barrie area. My supervisor gave me the freedom to schedule my time however was best suited to everyone involved, and also gave me the opportunity to pursue what I REALLY wanted to do. At that point I began offering to teach sex ed to the seventh and eight grade students at the school - and all of the teachers went for it! Needless to say, I loved every moment of it and learned more than I had ever anticipated.

Fast forward a few more months, to September 2009. Although I was only anticipating completing my second (six week) placement in the upcoming spring, I was determined to make it the best placement I possibly could. A few revisions and suggestions later, I found myself planning instead for my final 400 hour placement, which was even better! I started phoning and emailing and visiting agencies in the area, offering to do sex-ed outreach, to teach, to run a workshop ... whatever they needed and wanted! At first I didn't have too much success ... I quickly discovered that Simcoe county is rather conservative in many ways, and doesn't offer much in terms of sexual health resources to youth. Even an offer of free labour and an independent student wasn't enough to entice!

My luck turned around when I was referred by one of my fabulous teachers to the Orillia Youth Centre. Kevin quickly agreed to take me on as a student and let me develop, implement, and evaluate my own workshop. He offered me free reign to do as I pleased ... topics, content, guest speakers, activities ... it was all up to me! At that point I was ecstatic, though I was still looking for a second agency to partner with; my ultimate goal was a split placement with an agency whose name and affiliation could benefit me in the long run.

On January 8 I was attending a Leadership Conference at the Georgian campus in Barrie, where I noticed that one of the agencies attending the "networking lunch" was the AIDS Committee of Simcoe County. I introduced myself and explained what I was trying to do, and my ultimate goal of having a "split placement" with an organization such as the ACSC and the OYC. Karyn immediately agreed and said that a split placement would suit her perfectly. If I had been ecstatic before, now I was bursting with excitement!

Now that I had both of my placement supervisors arranged, I started to think about everything involved with planning and running a sex-ed workshop. Of several things I was certain: that I would be working 95% independently, that I wanted to give myself lots of time to plan the workshop, and that I wanted more than 8 weeks to run it. I talked to a few people, did a little self-advocating, and within a few days I had made the arrangements to start my placement two months early, on a part-time basis. I officially began my placement on February 8, 2010.

Though nowhere near over yet, this journey has taught me a great deal. I have realized, among other things, that I am a strong advocate for myself as well as others. I've learned that if I am determined to make something happen, I can do it! And now, as the workshop really gets going, I'm learning that I'm a pretty good sexual health educator as well!

Let's hear it for comprehensive sex ed! :)

And ... success!

Tonight was my first workshop session. Granted, it was just the intro ... I talked about myself, let the youth ask questions (they mostly just wanted to know how old I am), we talked about ground rules (confidentiality, respect, listening and being nonjudgemental), and then talked about what's coming up with the next few sessions! I asked them what kind of things they'd like to learn about and, although they were fairly quiet during the actual workshop, I received some great feedback at the end.

There were 17 youth there to start with, and 13 of them were there long enough to fill out evaluation forms! I'm pleased to say that nobody said "that sucked!" ... yay! The staff were also full of positive feedback, and I had a few good chats with youth who approached me afterwards with questions. So, the ball is rolling!

Thanks for reading :)

p.s. Two veggie trays and one fruit tray, as well as a package of cookies -- GONE in 20 minutes. They were hungry, but not for me! Phew! :)

There comes a day ...

There comes a day when you have to throw yourself to the sharks ... and hope that they're not too hungry!

That day has arrived for me ... it is officially "start my workshop" day!

I consider today to be more of a "soft start" ... like the "soft openings" before the Grand Opening of a new store. Tonight we're talking about me, the workshop, ground rules, and what the kids want to talk about over the next 10 weeks. I'm taking lots of fun stuff (handouts, resources, flipcharts, booklets, condoms) but it's not until next week that the REAL teaching starts.

It's all coming together ... the posters are being printed, schools have been contacted, public health has been called, and the veggie trays have been ordered! Wish me luck!