Consulting, Training & Professional Development Services
Services are offered both online and in-person.
Professional Development Opportunities
With the increase in exposure to and the volume of sexual content across all forms of media in recent years; there has been an increase of sexualized behaviours in students and young adults.
It is imperative that school districts and community agencies provide their staff with the tools, training and skills to ensure they are able to support clients when these concerns arise.
Concerns may look like but are not limited to…
exposing ones self in public or public masturbation
talking about sexual material at an inappropriate time or place
crossing boundaries, unwelcome touching, not listening or not understanding consent
requesting or sending images online
misinterpreting messages and accidentally stalking a person of affection or developing an obsession
making inappropriate partner choices (a caregiver or relative or someone who is under the legal age).
In one to two days of engaging training, Jan will cover the following topics with your staff.
The Why and the How…
Statistics and Situations - Why is this training necessary, the current situation and online climate.
Bias and Barriers - How can we set aside our own beliefs about sexuality and support our clients in a bias aware, sex positive way.
The Proactive Work of Educating Everyone…
Student/Client Profiles - What are the must teach topics to a level of mastery and for which populations?
Human Sexual Development and Neurodiversity - The facts, the science and resources.
Getting Buy In - Supporting the understanding of staff members, parents and guardians
The Reactive Work which will be Greatly Reduced by your Proactive Work…
How to Answer Questions and Respond to Behaviours - These tools will help you feel prepared and confident when supporting students/clients and parents/care-givers.
How to Assess the Function of a Behaviour - Why is it happening? Where and when is it happening? Is it recurring/ increasing in frequency, duration or intensity? Then determining a course of action including what replacement behaviours to offer.
Determining when to ask for more support, call law enforcement or in some cases the ministry, depending on your province.
Consulting Services
Can be used by organizations to…
Proactively develop an agency wide process to prevent and handle future incidents and then train staff on that process.
Consulting services focus on working with your team to develop an organization- wide process to effectively handle problematic sexual behaviours in neurodivergent individuals or individuals with suspected neurodiversity.
Your organization will receive tools that clearly outline steps in a user-friendly manner, supporting document(s) as well as flow chart(s) to endure the information is salient. This information is then presented via an interactive one-day session to ensure all team members learn how to respond to situations in a consistent, congruent, respectful and sex positive manner. The goal is to ensure staff have the skills to foster positive relationships with their clients/students, to avoid quick decisions being made from a place of discomfort or fear and to protect the rights of neurodivergent individuals.
Assist with problematic sexual behaviours
Consulting services are available for specific instances or reoccurring problems, such as supporting individuals who have engaged in harmful sexual behaviour. This process begins with an assessment to ensure a full understanding of the concern(s) and to determine the cause of the behaviour. Following this a comprehensive plan is developed to address the concern in a respectful, sex positive way.
Learn what is considered developmentally appropriate behaviour
Learn what is considered a harmful sexual behaviour
Learn how to assess the function of the behaviour and offer alternative healthy replacement behaviours
Learn what and how to report incidents to parents or caregivers
Professional Development & Speaking Testimonials
I had the pleasure of attending one of Jan's conferences on Sexual Health Education for Neurodiverse students in the fall of 2023. In the past, students I worked with with exceptionalities would be excused from the general sexual health curriculum, which didn't sit well with me, but at the same time I knew the curriculum would not be tailored to meet their specific needs. I already know this population is at a high risk for being taken advantage of, and navigating relationships and sexual desire is so challenging for them to educate themselves independently.
Jan's presentation was informative and opened my eyes to things around relationships amongst our neurodivergent population I had never even considered. Jan is an engaging presenter and her witty sense of humor and personal stories added a light touch to her presentation. After a day with Jan, I felt reinvigorated to share my knowledge with my students, parents, CEA's, and teaching staff. Any school lucky enough to have Jan as a presenter would benefit immensely from her expertise.
Jennifer McLeod
Counsellor and Inclusive Educator, School District 23
I had the pleasure of attending the Diversity Doesn't Stop Desire workshop put on by Jan Arneson at our district Professional Development day last week.
I was so impressed by all the new information that was presented. Jan is able to take a difficult topic and make it accessible for teachers and support staff in a fun and humorous way. This information needs to be more widely available, and I highly recommend this workshop for anyone working with neurodiverse people.
Lisa Fidler
Learning Assistance Teacher, English Language Teacher, ESchool23
Fees for Services Offered
Consulting Session
Consulting sessions for school districts and other community agencies
Fee: $195 per hour
Professional Development and Workshop
Reach out so we can discuss your organization’s challenges and solutions. I customize my services to fit your needs and will provide you with a quote.
Consulting and professional development services can be bundled into one to three day packages.