Supported Loving webinars
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Find all Supported Loving webinars here, where we discuss good support around sexuality and relationships
To collaborate on a future webinar, get in touch with Dr Claire Bates.
If you would like to become a member of the Supported Loving network, fill out our quick sign up here. We meet a few times a year to discuss and share good practice.
Webinar 25: Supporting people with learning disabilities through the menopause
We are joined by Claire Lightly of Lightly Consulting to explore the important, and often neglected topic, of supporting people with learning disabilities through the menopause.
Webinar 24: Skills for Care Relationships and sexuality awareness training course
Supported Loving Leader Claire Bates and Sue Sharples Director of the U-night share their training pack developed for Skills for Care on how best to support people surrounding relationships and sex in social care. The pack is freely downloadable from here
Webinar 23: Autistic Loving
Supported Loving Leader Claire Bates and autistic researcher Rose Matthews discuss the findings of a KSS- ARC NIHR funded study exploring the social care support needs of autistic people surrounding sex and intimate relationships. See our toolkit page for more information and to download the free training pack for social care staff
Webinar 22: Care and support arrangements for registered sex offenders
Barrister Ian Brownhill, will explain how people convicted of sexual offences are restricted within the community. In particular, Ian will explain the nature of sex offender notification requirements, the nature of restrictions arising from sexual harm prevention orders and sexual risk orders. Ian will also explain how the law is developing in respect of supporting people who lack capacity to make decisions as to their care and support arrangements. Ian is a barrister at 39 Essex Chambers and a Trustee of the Sentencing Academy. Ian appeared in the Supreme Court in the JB case which decided the legal test for capacity to engage in sexual relations.
Webinar 21: Josephine and Jack
Josephine & Jack are life-size anatomically accurate cloth figures who we use in workshops and one-to-one work with adults and young people with learning disabilities to discuss a range of issues around relationships, sex, sexual health and sexuality using storytelling, games and role-play in small groups. In this presentation, Simon and members of the team will introduce Josephine and Jack and explain our unique story-telling approach to supporting people with learning disabilities
Webinar 20: Making RSE accessible to people with speech, language & communication needs
Kate Boot is an autistic ADHD Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist and Sensory Integration Practitioner, she presents the ways in which you can make RSE accessible to people with speech, language and communication needs. She’ll offer ideas for ways you can assess how much people understand and ways of shaping the learning to make it as accessible as possible.
Webinar 19: Inclusive sex toys with The Pleasure Garden
Francesca Cross runs The Pleasure Garden, the UK's inclusive sex shop. Central to The Pleasure Garden is the belief that everyone - regardless of gender, sexuality or disability, has the right to a fulfilling sex life as well as access to the products and information to help them achieve it. Francesca discusses: Accessible sex toys and what to look for when choosing a sex toy, simple ways to adapt sex toys to make them more accessible and sex toy safety.
Webinar 18: Let's talk about sex - an OT's perspective
Sex is still a taboo subject within Occupational Therapy. It is touched upon as part of the current degree programme but rarely part of an occupational therapist's role when it comes to intervention. This presentation discusses the importance of developing a good therapeutic relationship and how it led to the request for research and delivery of sex and relationship education by a young man who had experienced traumatic brain injury.
Webinar 17: Sexuality Legal Cases Discussion
Join Prof. Claire De Than discussing two recent high profile legal cases regarding sexuality and mental capacity (The Secretary of State for Justice v A Local Authority & Ors [2021] and A Local Authority v JB [2021]) Claire will explain what these cases mean for people conducting capacity assessments, providing sexuality support and delivering relationships and sexuality education.
Webinar 16: Older People’s Understanding of Sexuality (OPUS)
Dr Jane Youell is currently a Research Fellow at the University of Leeds and is a member of the Older People’s understanding of Sexuality (OPuS) network. Jane was awarded a Churchill Fellowship which enabled her to investigate LGTIQ+ inclusive older people’s services in Australia and the USA. Jane shares some of her experiences of researching with older people when discussing sexuality and intimacy and offer insights into supporting older couples with their relational needs.
Webinar 15: Masturbation and people with a learning disability and/autistic people
Mel Gadd has been as relationships and sex educator, working with vulnerable young people and with adults with learning disabilities for over 18 years. She delivers RSE projects in North Wales and last year co-founded the social enterprise; Cwmni Addysg Rhyw - Sex Education Company. Through her practice, she developed guidance on working with the issue of masturbation and people with learning disabilities and this has developed into a popular training course and a book due to be published in July. This webinar will introduce why opening up the conversation on masturbation is so important and why having the choice and freedom to masturbate in an appropriate place can be a rights issue. Mel will give suggestions on how you can support people with learning disabilities to masturbate in private if they so choose to.
Webinar 14: Reach Out Stop Exploitation (ROSE)
The Rose (Reach Out Stop Exploitation) presentation shows how we use the Ring of Safety to support work with young people with learning disabilities stay safe from sexual exploitation. The Rose project has 15 peer mentors who have undertaken a training program on sexual exploitation, staying safe, how to work in different settings and how to teach people with different abilities. We deliver training sessions in schools, colleges and day services to people with learning disabilities on what makes a good relationship and how to spot warning signs that a relationship might not be all it seems. We talk about how to stay safe and how to avoid grooming including online grooming.
Webinar 13: Sexual safety, empowerment and prevention
Sue Sharples will discuss approaches to preventing the sexual harm of adults with a learning disability. She will draw on U.K. policy and practice and her recent Churchill Fellowship visit to Canada and America, to consider how we might do things differently.
Webinar 12: Delivering RSE for people with complex needs
Helen Dunman, a teacher at Chailey Heritage Foundation, shares her years of experience delivering relationship and sex education (RSE) to people with multiple and profound learning disabilities.
Webinar 11: Helping at all make sense: developing bespoke RSE for the people you support
Nigel Hodges joins us again to speak about making bespoke relationship and sex education (RSE) sessions. Nigel was a Community Learning Disability Nurse for over 31 years. He is now (allegedly) semi-retired! His current work includes supporting young men and adults with learning disabilities in school, college or work environments - either individually or in groups - around friendships, relationships and sexuality issues, as well as offering support and training for staff who support them.
The webinar describes ideas for additional or alternative activities, giving practical examples, which can help make sessions bespoke and allow participants opportunities to think about decisions they might take about their relationships.
Webinar 10: Relationships and sexuality education sessions for parents
We welcome back Kate Reynolds (mother to two young people on the autism spectrum - one with epilepsy and the other with learning disabilities - and a researcher/author for Jessica Kingsley Publishers) to talk about her work with parents. Kate outlines the principles and key themes of training sessions for parents of people with learning disabilities and/or autism. In addition, Kate outlines some of the exercises she uses in relationships and sexuality workshops, which form the basis of her training pack designed to enable parents to work positively with their children.
Kate has a range of books and resources on the topic of sexuality available here.
Webinar 9: Supporting the human right to have fun: how sex, relationships, intimacy and the law fit together
Claire is joined by Prof. Claire De Than (Professor of Law, Law Commissioner and author), discussing how everyone has the right to relationships, intimacy, sexual expression and fun. What does the law say about supporting people in these parts of their lives?
Webinar 8: How can organisations be more LGBTQ+ inclusive?
Claire Bates, Supported Loving Leader, will be sharing the findings of a study she conducted that looked at the experiences of bisexual people with a learning disability and/or autism. She applies the learning to look at how organisations can be more LGBTQ+ inclusive.
Claire is joined by Christian Buchan, from Choice Support, and Charlotte Johnson, the founders of 2BU Wakefield. They will be sharing how they set up, and continue to run with virtually no funding, a social group for LGBTQ+ people with disabilities.
Webinar 7: Engaging with parents to support their children around relationships and sexuality
Kate Reynolds is a public speaker, researcher, author for Jessica Kingsley Publishers and a single mother of two young people on the autism spectrum, one with epilepsy and the other with learning disabilities. Kate will talk about her work providing information on relationships and sexuality, which she either offers individually to parents and families, or by running workshops. Kate outlines research on parents' approaches to their children’s sexuality, how to engage with parents and how to support them in supporting their children around relationships.
Webinar 6: Should I tell them that? Developing relationship and sex education (RSE) for people you support
This webinar helps you to explore key themes and prepare for successful delivery of inclusive, reflective and responsive RSE, tailored to the needs of people you support. The two presenters and their contact details are:
Nigel Hodges - Nigel worked as a community learning disability nurse for 31+ years and is now semi-retired. He currently works with young men and adults with learning disabilities in school, college or work environments - either individually or in groups - around their relationship and sexuality issues, as well as offering support and training for the staff who support them.
Gillian Leno - Gill leads RSE provision in a specialist college, developing and delivering RSE for a wide range of people, including her students (young adults aged 16-25) and their parents, as well as training and supporting staff. She is responsible for safeguarding and passionate about ensuring that this is proactive.
Webinar 5: Domestic abuse project run by women with learning disabilities and/or autism
Us Too is a project about domestic abuse run by women with learning disabilities and/or autism. The Us Too team have been teaching other women with similar support needs about how to stay safe in their relationships. They've also been using their own experience to teach professionals about how domestic abuse affects women with learning disabilities/autism.
Us Too is funded by Comic Relief and run by ARC England
Webinar 4: Contraception explained
In this series of three webinars, Claire Lightley from Lightley Consulting explains three different methods of contraception:
- LARC
- other hormonal methods
- barrier methods
and answers some of the most common questions about them. These webinars can be used with people with learning disabilities and/or autism, to help explain about different types of contraception, and help people decide what options would best suit them.
For further questions please contact Claire Lightley.
Webinar 3: Developing an inclusive organisational relationship and sexuality policy and procedure, including an easy read version
Sue Sharples, Director of the U-Night Group, along with Daniel Hall and Becky Gammon from Voice for All in Lancashire, share their experience of developing an organisational sexuality and relationship policy and procedure, including an easy read version. They will talk about why this is important, what to include and who to involve.
Webinar 2: Delivering sex and relationships education to adults with learning disabilities
Claire Lightley from Lightley Consulting talks about some of the resources that are available to buy to support people with learning disabilities around relationships and sex education. She talks through some of the most popular ones, what they have in them and how to use them.
Webinar 1: Setting up a dating agency with Meet N Match
Claire Bates, Supported Loving, talks to network member Meet N Match, which is a friendship and dating agency for adults with a learning disability.
What is Supported Loving?
For some people finding love is often more than just chemistry – it can come down to getting the right support
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Supported Loving network
Supported Loving is not a formal membership organisation. Anyone can take part, it is free.
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Supported Loving toolkit
The Supported Loving network has produced a series of guides to help support people with issues surrounding sexuality and relationships.
Read more