Project SHINE Launches Interactive Sexuality Education Toolkit and Online Game for Youth with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and Their Caregivers  

NEW YORK, NY – May is Sex Education for All Month. Project SHINE, a multidisciplinary network of intellectual and developmental disability experts, self-advocates, and sexual and reproductive health professionals, including AHRC New York City, YAI Network, The Self-Advocacy Association of New York State, Natalie M. Chin (Director, Disability & Aging Clinic at CUNY School of Law) and Planned Parenthood of Greater New York, is thrilled to announce the launch of a brand-new sex education toolkit, including an interactive online game. Your Sexual Health Toolkit and Our Stories, Our Journeys: A Sexual Health Game are created especially for teens and young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities ages 16-24 and the people who support them. The creation of this toolkit comes after reports by the network published last year highlighted that licensed professionals, parents, and caregivers lack suitable tools and methods to communicate with youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) about sexual and reproductive health, sexuality, bodily autonomy, and consent. 

Too often, young people with intellectual and developmental disabilities are left out of sex education conversations. To address this in conjunction with the game launch, Natalie M. Chin, a Project SHINE partner and the Director of the Disability & Aging Clinic at City University of New York School of Law, released an advocacy paper outlining law and policy recommendations to address current gaps in the sex education and disability fields and to ensure that youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities have equitable access to high-quality information and affordable health care. The paper is called, “ A Call to Action for Sexual and Reproductive Health, Wellbeing, and Bodily Autonomy for Youth with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities,” and the need for sex education resources like the Your Sexual Health Toolkit is reiterated as one of its many recommendations. 

The toolkit, which has been created with and tested by young people with disabilities, the Project SHINE advisory board, and youth ambassadors, includes engaging content on sexual and reproductive health, anatomy, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, sexual behavior and activity, pleasure, body image, and relationships. Although this toolkit can be used by anyone interested in learning more about bodies and sexuality, this launch hopes to be a contribution in the quest for disability rights. Youth with disabilities have direct access to the toolkit or can choose to use it with trusted adults.

Additionally, a variety of accessible features such as alt text, text-to-speech, interactive graphics, videos, games, and concrete images are essential parts of the toolkit. The toolkit is available in Spanish and English and includes a section with real-life testimonies from self-advocates, an extensive glossary of terms, and a resource hub for youth, parents, caregivers, and professional educators.  

Statement by Marisol Getchius - Long Island Regional Organizer, Self-Advocacy Association of New York State: 

As a Project SHINE partner, I'm in awe of the collaborations of different organizations and I love working with the youth. The [Your Sexual Health Toolkit] is so needed for youth with developmental disabilities/intellectual disabilities. As a woman with a developmental disability, I only wish I had Project SHINE when I was a youth.

Statement by Uly Ramos - Self-Advocate and Grassroots Presenter, Self-Advocacy Association of New York State: 

Working on Project SHINE has been a wonderful experience, knowing for the first time, as self-advocates working on a project about sexuality and reproductive health, that we were able to have the voices of people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities guiding the project from the very beginning.

Statement by Consuelo Senior - Assistant Director of Training, YAI Network  

There is no information out there for young people between the ages of 16-24 needing sex education. We realized that there was a need, and the vision of SHINE is to make sure people with disabilities have equitable access to high quality care, information, and healthcare, just like everyone else. We want to get the information out there and make sure youth with I/DD are equipped with necessary knowledge.

Statement by Michael Impelli - YAI self-advocate and Project SHINE ambassador: 

I am very excited to be an actual ambassador, something I thought I would never become. The biggest thing I am looking forward to is sharing the website to bring more inclusivity to people with I/DD and give them the proper sex education that they need in this world.   

Statement by Martina Victoria - Parent on the Project SHINE Advisory Board:

I am so grateful the taboo around sex education has been lifted and that a tool like this exists. The few programs that do this education are costly and not client-friendly for the individual who needs to learn this. The game makes learning more fun and reaches individuals like my daughter who learn better from games than other learning methods. This site intends to allow both individuals with IDD as well as their caregivers to see that sex is natural and a normal part of being a human. It is a comprehensive educational site that sheds light on a thousand questions young adults might have in a nonjudgmental, clear, honest, and medically correct manner. I loved being a part of a creative team of dedicated and like-minded professionals who see the dire need for this tool for IDD youth. Personally, I have been searching for years for something like this for my daughter and now here it is, and I am so excited about that.

Statement by Giokazta Molina-Schneider - VP of Education and Training, Planned Parenthood of Greater New York: 

At the heart of the Project SHINE network is a mission to create a world where youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities have equitable access to high-quality information and affordable health care, with supportive laws and policies that ensure the greatest autonomy and informed sexual well-being possible across their lifespan, and this toolkit is a certain continuation of that work. In this Sex Ed for All Month, we need to celebrate, empower and educate youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities with tools such as this one because everyone deserves to have a worry-free and healthy sex life, no matter what.

Statement by Janice Bartley - Activist, Public Speaker and Self-Advocate, Project SHINE Advisory Board Member: 

I am proud to have helped create this tool about sexuality. When I was growing up, I wished I had more people to talk to about sex and meaningful relationships, and I wasn't sure I would ever have either. I hope my niece, goddaughter, and other young people with disabilities will be able to use SHINE, feel more comfortable learning and talking about themselves and their needs, and open their minds to the possibilities of relationships. I'm happy with the relationships I have, and I hope others can get there too. 

Statement by Marco Damiani - Chief Executive Officer, AHRC New York City: 

Passionate, creative people can achieve incredible things, especially when there is a diversity of opinion and lived experience. People with disabilities are entitled to a full life, filled with joy and positive relationships. AHRC NYC is proud to provide even a small contribution to promote this vital goal.

About Project SHINE Network:  

People with disabilities deserve access to the fullest range of sexual and reproductive health information and care they need and want. Project SHINE envisions a world where youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities have equitable access to high-quality information and affordable health care, with supportive laws and policies that ensure the greatest autonomy and informed sexual well-being possible across the lifespan.   

The project described is supported by grant number 1 TP2AH000068-01-00 from the HHS Office of Population Affairs. Contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Department of Health and Human Services or the Office of Population Affairs.