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 :)

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 :)

Moving forward in a seriously SEXY way!

I am really, really happy with the new website. The new layout and new functionality has made it easier than ever for me to add content and expand the information and resources available throughout the site. As well, I am pleased to announce that my new mobile site is under development; I'll let you know when it's ready! All of my website work, including the mobile site, is thanks to Analyzed Marketing Solutions. Check them out to learn about all of the services they offer, including web development, mobile websites, QR codes, Google Places and Facebook Fan Pages!

You may have already noticed that I've added lots of new content to the site over the past few weeks. Education Central has really grown, and now features articles on various sex-related topics (e.g. relationships, sexual health, contraceptives and LGBTQ). I've also added links to some great videos, and the selection is expanding! If you're interested in some great reading on the topic of sexuality, check out my suggested reading page (also expanding!) -- and feel free to make suggestions of your own!

I have several great posts and articles in development so don't forget to subscribe to the mailing list by entering your email (to the right of this post on Sex Ed Central). We'll never send you spam or give away any of your info, and you'll receive an email every time I make a new blog post!

I'm looking forward to meeting your sex education needs!

Candice :)

 

New Workshop Offerings

My new Bartimaeus business cards arrived today!  If you haven't already heard, Bartimaeus and I are partnering to offer a variety of sexual health education workshops.  At this point the focus is on serving the sexuality education needs of children and adolescents with developmental disabilities, as well as their caregivers, foster parents and support staff.  You can find more information about these new workshops on the Bartimaeus website.

Let me be clear that I will be continuing to offer a wide variety of workshops, available for both staff training and front line clientele.  If you're interested in more information, please contact me.

I am very excited about this next step in my sexuality education / sex ed work and I will keep you posted on how things progress!

[caption id="attachment_1483" align="alignright" width="240" caption="Candice's Bartimaeus Card"][/caption]

Candice :)

Monogamy as the only way?

Monogamy ... a necessary requirement of a healthy relationship, or an unrealistic expectation placed on individuals by our monogamy-centrist society?

Like many of you, I was raised in a society which values monogamy, long-term relationship/marital commitment, and expects sexual exclusivity as the "norm".  Until my early twenties, I had never even heard of an "open relationship".  The first time I met someone who told me they were in an open relationship, I remember thinking this person (and his partner) must be strange.  After all, how could someone claim to be in a relationship but still allow their partner - and be allowed by their partner - to pursue outside relationships as well?  I assumed that being in an exclusive, monogamous relationship was the only way to "be" with someone.  That's what everyone does, right?

Wrong.

Fortunately, I value learning and I try to keep an open mind.  It's not always easy (my first response to non-monogamy wasn't entirely "open-minded"), but learning about and educating others about sexuality means learning about what I'm going to be talking about.  And since much of sexuality takes place in the context of interpersonal relationships, I've often found myself wondering about how those relationships function.  So, being the nerd that I am, I've read books, articles and magazines on the subject; I've talked to people who are in non-monogamous relationships; I've subscribed to and follow a number of blogs on the subject.  And, as I've mentioned in the past, I faithfully read Savage Love every week, listen to Dan's podcasts and try to keep myself informed about the subject in general.  So when the New York Times published a magazine article entitled "Dan Savage on the Virtues of Infidelity", I had to check it out.  (In case you're unsure, Dan is also the founder of The It Gets Better Project).

[caption id="attachment_1477" align="alignright" width="120" caption="Love Outside the Box"][/caption]

The article is seven pages long (as published online), well-written and a great read.  I've taken a few excerpts from the article and included them in this post.  You can read the full article here: "Dan Savage on the Virtues of Infidelity".

"Savage believes monogamy is right for many couples ... We can’t help our urges, and we should not lie to our partners about them ... honesty is the best policy." (Oppenheimer, 2011)

... He does not believe in promiscuity ... And he does not believe that monogamy is wrong for all couples or even for most couples. Rather, he says that a more realistic sexual ethic would prize honesty, a little flexibility and, when necessary, forgiveness over absolute monogamy. And he believes nostalgically, like any good conservative, that we might look to the past for some clues.  (Oppenheimer, 2011)

... “Folks on the verge of making those monogamous commitments,” ... “need to look at the wreckage around them — all those failed monogamous relationships out there (Schwarzenegger, Clinton, Vitter, whoever’s on the cover of US magazine this week) — and have a conversation about what it’ll mean if one or the other partner should cheat. And agree, at the very least, to getting through it, to place a higher value on the relationship itself than on one component of it, sexual exclusivity.” (Oppenheimer, 2011)


... “The point,” he wrote on his blog last year, “is that people — particularly those who value monogamy — need to understand why being monogamous is so much harder than they’ve been led to believe.” (Oppenheimer, 2011)

FYI: By posting this, I want to share with you an alternative perspective that says that relationships are not only about sexual exclusivity, and that there is more to loving relationships than what we've been socially conditioned to believe.  I wish to give you an opportunity to to open your mind to more information.  :) 

Enjoy!

Candice :)

Sex ed workshops, partnerships and being a CYW ...

I've been holding off on this post for a few days, as I wanted to make sure things were relatively solid before I said anything.  Now, I can make a few announcements ......

 

1) I'm employed!  Yes, after two and a half months, I have a job, as a Child and Youth Worker (CYW), and I am thrilled!

2) I have officially developed a partnership with Bartimaeus Inc., where I will be offering specialized training workshops as well as child and adolescent group programs, all in the field of sexuality education.  I'm very excited about this opportunity -- stay tuned to my blog to hear all about it!

3) The Guelph Sexuality Conference was AWESOME.  I learned all kinds of great information and useful ideas.  Keep reading to hear more!

4) I am graduating next week!  The day is almost here, where I will become an official, full-fledged CYW.  Look out youth, here I come!

5) I have more exciting training and professional development coming up, including a workshop next week at the AIDS Committee of Guelph.  The topic is LGBT and Aging, and you can find more information here.

6) The workshops I'm developing right now are related to sexuality for individuals with developmental disabilities.  Do you have something to contribute?  I would love to hear from you!

I know this has been a short post, but I need to get back to my workshop development.  Stay tuned and thanks for your support!

Candice :)

Site updates!

If you haven't checked out the rest of the site lately, now's a great time to do so!  I have been working on a number of updates and revisions, including those listed below.

As well, all pages and blog posts now feature a "LIKE" button for Facebook -- please click it whenever you like what you've read!

Please share with others, and enjoy!

- Updated: Learn about Sex Ed Central

- Updated: Learn about our approach to sexuality education!

- Updated: Learn more about Candice!

- Updated: Learn more about our services!

- Updated: Learn more about topics we cover!

- Updated: Education Central - Public Health Guidelines