“As we move towards a more person centered way of providing services to individuals with intellectual disabilities, I believe the training Shauna provides is critical.”
It's not so much what you say, but how you say it.
Talking about sex isn't easy for most of us. Medical providers, service providers and caregivers are no exception. (And when caregivers are family members, saying it isn't easy is an understatement!) And though it's true that it's hard for most of us to talk about sex, the desire to know ourselves sexually, to express ourselves sexually, and to share intimacy and connection with others is true for most of us, too.
I currently focus on three essential trainings to support service providers: Sexual Health Competency Training, Consent Takes Practice and Trauma-Informed Support for People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.
If you are an individual service provider who wants to learn these skills to support you in your individual work, follow the links below to register for one of the upcoming online trainings.
If you are a manager or director of a disability service organization and want to offer this training to your full staff, contact Shauna directly to schedule a private staff training (currently provided online due to covid).
I’m also happy to create special topic trainings based on your organization’s particular needs (Understanding Gender, Porn Literacy, etc), and I offer sexuality education classes for the folks you support. See below for detailed descriptions of each training.
Photo by Austin Schmid on Unsplash
Sexual Health competency training
When it comes to talking about sexuality, people with disabilities are often left out of the conversation. The truth is all humans are sexual beings who need access to accurate information, resources, and skills to enable them to make healthy decisions about sexuality and relationships. Many disability service organizations are aware of this gap in services, but don’t have the knowledge or skills to feel comfortable and confident implementing programming, supporting the people they serve, or being sensitive to the wide-range of values held by various organizational staff members.
next online training:
april 14, 2023, 12:30 - 4:30pm Pacific time
“Shauna is really a master of her craft and made me feel much more comfortable dealing with these topics in my work and even in my personal life, too.”
consent takes practice!
Consent isn’t just about sex. In fact, you have the opportunity to help the people you serve understand, practice, and embody consent every day. This not only increases their safety (consent education is abuse prevention) but also fosters agency, supports self-advocacy, and dramatically improves quality of life.
next online training: May 19, 2023 2Pm - 5pm Pacific time
“Shauna’s work on the critical topic of consent is accessible and engaging for all audiences. I’ve had the pleasure of participating in two “Consent Takes Practice!” workshops and highly recommend this experience for self-advocates, support people, family members, and organizational leaders alike.”
Trauma-Informed support for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities
Though it is ubiquitous, trauma often goes unrecognized, which actually hinders your ability to best support the people you serve. But there’s good news! It’s actually quite easy to learn to recognize trauma and to make simple, but profound changes in the way you offer support and programming to not just prevent trauma but to also create the opportunity for folks to heal.
next online training: June 18, 2021 12-3pm PT
“Shauna has a way of making you feel comfortable and safe in sharing thoughts and opinions.”
Comprehensive Sexuality Education for the people you support
Whether you need a 2-hour workshop for your patients in a breast cancer support group or a 12 week sex ed series for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, I’m happy to design the perfect curriculum to meet your needs. Contact me today to get started.
“Once again, your training was very successful! We asked the individual groups how it went. The men were especially vocal about their comfort level with the training topics. The women also stated they enjoyed the training and felt comfortable. We expected this of the women because [you are] a woman and our women tend to be more open and comfortable about discussing this topic, however our men struggle so to hear that they really felt comfortable is wonderful!...Thank you for having a great approach with our folks. I wish I could be in the training to witness it, but the feedback is very telling.””