Autism, Sexual Health, and Today’s Sexual Culture

Presented by Katherine Antall, MS, Human Sexuality Specialist, Behavioral Health Department, Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities (CCBDD)
Sponsored by Monarch Center for Autism, STAR Autism Support, and VizZle

Watch the Recording

The world of sexual health can be intimidating for anyone, but if a person has autism spectrum disorder (ASD), it can be even more challenging. Difficulties with boundaries, safe sexual expression, and forming healthy romantic relationships are common for teens and adults with ASD. If you support someone who struggles with these issues, and you want to learn more about sexuality and positive supports, please watch Katherine Antall, MS in this edWebinar that addresses these topics and more. Learning objectives of the presentation include:

• Learn about typical sexual development through the lifespan
• Examine how ASD may impact sexual expression and forming romantic relationships
• Explore the role of sensory processing within the sexual response cycle
• Discuss the role of culture and technology on sexual health, specifically as it applies to those with ASD
• Discover ways to develop positive, supportive environments for healthy sexuality
• Learn about addressing problematic sexual behavior with tips and resources for parents and professionals

This recorded session will be of particular benefit to middle school through higher education teachers and school and district leaders as well as therapists, behavior specialists, associate teachers and aides.

About the Presenter

Katherine Antall, MS obtained her bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Dayton, her master’s degree in educational psychology from Miami University, and completed additional training through the University of Michigan’s Sexual Health Certificate Program. She is the human sexuality specialist in the Behavioral Health Department at the Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities (CCBDD). Katherine provides sexual health assessment, counseling, and consultative services to individuals with developmental disabilities and their support teams. Prior to CCBDD, she worked in the Clinical Psychology and Behavioral Medicine Department at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

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Monarch Center for Autism, a division of Bellefaire JCB, is located in Cleveland, Ohio. Monarch offers a comprehensive array of programs and services for individuals ages three through adulthood with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Highlights, which incorporate Monarch’s visual language treatment model, include a preschool; day school for children, adolescents & young adults; transition education program; summer & extended school year programs; therapeutic residential treatment program; adult vocational & supported living programs; and community training.

STAR Autism Support (SAS) provides curriculum materials, workshops and training to school and agency staff who work with students with autism. Our mission is to help others successfully implement research-based applied behavior analysis (ABA) techniques. We want every child with autism to receive effective instruction!

VizZle provides a library of more than 14,000 lessons and the tools and media to customize them or create your own from scratch. The lessons can be tailored to any grade level, assigned to any student, and played on iPad or Android tablets, laptop or desktop computers. Data is tracked automatically. This award-winning software is developed collaboratively with educators.