Wed, March 10, 2021
This quarter's highlights include: Supported Employment | New White House Administration | COVID-19 | Interview with Jessica Sinchcomb | and more...
Sexuality
Thu, January 28, 2021
Sexual assault is one of the most traumatic, isolating experiences a person can go through. According to the National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), 94% of women who are raped experience PTSD symptoms over the two weeks following their assault. For many, these symptoms can last a lifetime or get worse with time. Pair this trauma with an intellectual or developmental disability (I/DD), and victims are routinely dismissed, overlooked, or further traumatized by the reporting process. Project Shield, a collaboration between the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office and YAI, has been working to support sexual assault victims since 2004.
Thu, December 19, 2019
The week before Thanksgiving, Connie Senior, YAI’s Assistant Coordinator of Sex Education, traveled to South Korea to help families, researchers, and direct support staff learn how to best support people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) as they navigate their sexuality.
Tue, November 13, 2018
YAI has over 60 years of experience and expertise in supporting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) locally, throughout Downstate New York and Northern New Jersey. Our outstanding training program is renowned on a national level. However, YAI is taking bigger, and further, steps toward expanding its international reputation. Over the past few weeks, YAI has sent in-house experts to both Chile and South Korea to share their diverse knowledge on I/DD issues. We are also...
Mon, May 21, 2018
Consuelo Senior, YAI’s Assistant Coordinator of Sex Education and Clinical Curricula, recently presented on Puberty, Sexuality, and Behavior: How to Guide Young People with Disabilities. Co-presented with INCLUDEnyc’s Kaitlin Roh, the hour-long live stream covered everything from setting manageable goals, to building up your child’s self esteem, and much more.
Tue, March 27, 2018
Sexuality refers to the total expression of who you are as a human being. Our sexuality begins in the womb and ends at death. (Freud, 1986) Everyone is a sexual being, babies, children, teens, adults and the elderly. Sexuality is therefore experienced throughout the developmental lifespan. So why is social-sexual education for people on the autism spectrum and with other developmental disabilities (DD), still taboo? The American Academy of Pediatrics states, “Sexual development is a...
