Why choose this course?
- Person Centred Planning supports a person to express their hopes for a positive future, this could include a person relationship
- personal and sexual relationships between people with a learning difficulty can be a challenge to practitioners and carers alike
- people with a learning difficulty are as vulnerable to sexually transmitted diseases as the rest of the population but are often ignorant of safe sexual practices
- people with a learning difficulty are particularly vulnerable to sexual exploitation and abuse (keeping yourself safe), particularly if they have a low self esteem (liking yourself and loving life)
- staff need to be aware of their own response to sensuality, sexuality and physicality before they can sufficiently support users of their service with these issues
- organisational policies regarding sexual activities can be ambiguous and leave staff feeling anxious as to their implementation
- positive result ~ appropriate, sensitive support for users of the service, decreased anxiety for staff, clarity in implementing policy and procedures
Length of course: a 1 day 9.30 -4.30 format for staff alone or
a separate day can be delivered to parents and carers,
followed by a day for key or support workers
followed by 2 days for workers plus the person they support
Expected outcomes: by the end of the course participants will be able to
- provide a safe environment in which users of their service, and colleagues can discuss personal feelings about sexuality, physicality and safe sex
- pass on and support people with learning difficulties to understand information about sexual and personal relationships
- think about different ways of expressing sexuality
- expand creative and lateral ways of thinking and acting so that reliance on the written word is decreased and visual expression increased
- examine local and national resources that can support individual or group work in sexual choices
- consider which mechanisms can be put in place to provide on going support to staff and users of the service
- know the legislation which affects sexual activity and capacity
- evaluate the issues of capacity and consent
Nature of training: maximum of 16 participants if for a staff group. If delivered in a longer format which includes users of the service then the level of support required will be discussed. Art work and drama will be part of the training, to be augmented by puppets if the focus is for users of the service.
