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 :)

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! :)

Innocence and Corruption

One of the (many!) fun and interesting aspects of my chosen path is coming across people who have differing opinions from my own. Having earned a BA in Philosophy, I have learned a great deal about critical thinking and logical arguments. I've learned the importance of listening to and learning from others ... as well as having the ability to let things go and, at times, agree to disagree.

Another interesting component of my work is that I sometimes receive interesting messages. While most of the people who contact me are interested in knowledge or want to ask me a question, that's not always the case. What follows is an email conversation I've recently had with someone (we'll call him "T") who found me via my website:

[box] Does the Orillia Youth Centre promote sex education or counsel teens to have an abortion?[/box]

[box] Hi T,

When I was affiliated with the OYC, they promoted education. My role at the OYC was to offer sex education.

Comprehensive education includes knowing about all options. But no, they do not counsel teens to have abortions. That is a personal choice.

I suggest talking to someone at the OYC if you have further questions or concerns.

Candice[/box]

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Candice,

I do not agree with sex education, including the use of contraception.  You
are helping to destroy the innocence of young ones.  Please stop.

T

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What do you think happens when kids don't learn the realities of their own bodies? They experiment and - whoops! - 14 and pregnant.

I am empowering youth to make decisions and protect themselves from pregnancy and potentially fatal infections. I'm teaching them how to be healthy, productive and responsible members of society. If anything, I am helping to preserve their innocence -- how innocent is a 15 year old mother?

Perhaps you should educate yourself. I have a lot of accurate and easy to understand information on my website.

Thanks for your feedback,

Candice

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Abstinence is the only way.  Sex is reserved between a husband and wife for the primary purpose of having children.  This is what was taught in the past and history is the proof that the teenage problems we have today were virtually non-existent.  Your method only encourages them to have sex which leads to all these problems.

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Sorry, I don't wish to waste my time on a senseless argument that will get
us nowhere. Think what you may, but you are out of touch with the realities
of the world if you seriously believe what you're saying.

You are fighting a losing battle. Good luck.

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God will win the battle for us.  You are fighting a hopeless fight and
endangering your soul to eternal damnation.  Turn around while you still
can.

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Thanks for the heads up. I will take my chances.

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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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Back to the OYC

It has been far too long since I've sat down to enjoy the pleasure of writing. I've missed this!

So, to catch you up on my world ...

Mark and I moved into our new home on Canada Day and have been busy unpacking and settling in. On Friday the house was hit by lightening, which has definitely been a challenging experience. We are now in the process of replacing the luxuries destroyed by the hit ... not to mention anxiously awaiting the repair of our a/c as we hit record temperatures today.

However, this post isn't about our new home (more on that soon!) ... it's about the following announcement:

I am pleased to say that I will be facilitating a workshop tomorrow night at the Orillia Youth Centre. If you haven't been following me for long, you may not know that the OYC is where I "started out" with workshops. I am excited to head back there for some thorough and honest discussion with the youth. We'll be talking about STIs and contraception ... as well as whatever topics come up! If you're in the area, you should stop by and check it out tomorrow (July 18) at 5pm!

I'll let you know how the workshop goes!

Candice :)

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!

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!

Let's Talk About Sex

My involvement with the field of human sexuality began several years ago, with an "Intro to Human Sexuality" course in University. This course, in conjunction with my extra-curricular activities, ignited a passion for sexual health education which has continued to grow over the years.

My goal is to get "out there" and connect with young people; to get them to talk and learn about a topic which so many feel uncomfortable discussing. The reality is simple - the decisions people make regarding sex can permanently and drastically impact the rest of their lives. My current project is a joint venture between the AIDS Committee of Simcoe County and the Orillia Youth Centre. I am designing, running, and evaluating a 10 week sex ed workshop, geared towards at risk youth in the Orillia, Ontario area.

In addition to this project, I have several years of involvement with the Guelph Sexuality Conference and spent two years as a volunteer with a group called NAKED at the University of Guelph. Last year I spent six weeks in an elementary school; among other things, I taught sex ed to all of the seventh and eighth grade students.

These experiences, as well as my discussions with young people regarding all things sex, have ignited within me a determination to make my goals and dreams a reality.