Navigating Puberty, Adolescence and Beyond: Supporting Individuals with Neuro-Developmental Challenges

Filmed January 2014 – edited into 15 parts; total 221 minutes

Joy Becker uses humour and insight to provide parents, caregivers, and professionals a foundation for teaching individuals with ASD and/or other diverse needs about sexuality and their bodies. It is geared to individuals with age-appropriate language skills and includes information about the sexual development of children, and the information they should understand at various stages of their development. It is designed to address the anxieties caregivers and parents may experience when they discuss sexuality with their children. Education can help children and young adults develop safe relationships and protect them from sexual exploitation, which is more likely to happen if children with diverse needs are not provided information.

About the Presenter

Joy Becker is a nurse educator who draws on many years of experience in educating teenagers with diverse needs. She emphasizes the importance of parents as the primary sexuality educators of their children. In addition to speaking to numerous parent groups, she has delivered courses and workshops to students, teachers, social workers, nurses, and diverse needs individuals of various ages. Ms. Becker has two sons on the autism spectrum and lives in Nanaimo.

Part 1: Introduction and Characteristics of ASD (16:16)

Part 2: Joint Attention, Social Reciprocity, Imitation and Teaching Sexuality (16:42)

Part 3: Knowledge, Attitudes and Skills Needed to Teach Sexuality (20:52)

Part 4: Issues Surrounding Sexuality Education for Individuals with ASD (5:42)

Part 5: Effective Principles and Approaches for Teaching Sexuality (18:01)

Part 6: Being an Effective Sexuality Educator (4:31)

Part 7: Levels of Learning: Privacy, Hygiene, Body Parts and Functions (19:23)

Part 8: Specific Topics about Sexual Education (14:53)

Part 9: Attitudes and Values, Activity: Taking a Stand (14:53)

Includes values clarification exercise. 

Part 10: Teaching Strategies: Visual, Communication and Emotion Management (19:38)

Part 11: Teaching Strategies: Public and Private, Modeling, Social Stories (8:58) 

Part 12: Visuals: Books and Comic Strip (5:33)

Part 13: Visuals: Life Horizon slides, Anatomical Doll, Role Play (27:40)

Part 14: Responding to Questions, Collaboration, and Q&A (13:24)