Bright Futures workshops are a space for learning and building connections with the primary purpose of keeping children safe from abuse. Bright Futures’ workshops explore what harmful sexual behaviours are, their impact on children, and provide an opportunity to develop practical skills to confidently approach issues and implement effective outcomes.

The TAS workshop is titled 'Understanding autism: Relationships, sexuality and pornography' and is presented by Maree Crabbe and Associate Professor Wenn Lawson.

Most people develop an interest in sex when we reach puberty. Navigating relationships and sexuality and the influences that shape them can be challenging for anyone. For autistic young people, this can be even more challenging. Monotropism, the key characteristic of autism, can lead to autistic young people being particularly vulnerable to pressure and coercion, to misinterpreting social cues, and to the impacts of pornography.

Pornography has become a default sexuality educator for many young people, but its messages can be a source of confusion and concern, and shape unrealistic and unhealthy sexual understandings and expectations.

This session seeks to support parents and carers of autistic young people to understand the interactions between autism, sexuality, technology, and pornography, and how we can support autistic young people to navigate respectful, consenting and safe sexuality and relationships.

The content that will be delivered in this session was developed through the Porn Is Not the Norm (PINN) project which was supported by Interchange Outer East.

Presenters

Maree Crabbe

Director at It’s time we talked – Young people, pornography and sexuality
Maree Crabbe is Director of the Australian violence prevention initiative, It’s time we talked. She is an educator, author and filmmaker who is passionate about gender-based violence prevention, and about supporting parents, schools, communities and government to address pornography’s influence on young people.

https://itstimewetalked.com

Associate Professor Wenn Lawson

(PhD), AFBPsS. MAPs – Autistic Consultant and Independent Researcher

Associate Professor Wenn Lawson is an autistic expert in autism. He is also a researcher, British psychologist, poet and author. He is a family man with autistic children and grandchildren. In 2021, Wenn won the Lesley Hall disability leadership lifetime achievement award and in 2023 he won the US Autism award for Autism Advocacy. Wenn is passionate about all things LGBTQIA+ and autism.

www.wennlawson.com

Outline:

· About autism

· Autism, young people and technology

· Autism, young people, puberty and sexuality

· Pornography and young people

· How pornography’s impacts can be amplified for autistic young people

· What we can do to address pornography’s influence

Includes:

Light refreshments will be available for registered attendees.

Co-hosted with Laurel House

https://www.laurelhouse.org.au/