WHY teachers and other professionals?
Teachers and other professionals can play critical roles in supporting autistic young people to navigate pornography’s influence.
Schools are often the main – or even the only – place that young people get access to reliable information about sex. To support students to develop the skills they need for healthy, respectful relationships, contemporary sexuality education needs to address the real-world influences shaping young people’s experiences. Young people’s high levels of exposure to pornography and its impacts on their sexual understandings and experiences makes porn a key issue to address.
Autistic young people need information and education about relationships, sexuality, consent, safety and pornography that make sense to them. In fact, many young people would benefit if we approached education with the clear, literal communication styles that support autistic young people’s learning.
A wide range of other professionals who work with autistic young people and their families can also play key roles in supporting autistic young people to navigate pornography’s influence. Psychologists, counsellors, support workers, occupational therapists, speech pathologists and other professionals who work in more personalised contexts can tailor their approaches to autistic young people’s specific contexts, experiences and learning needs.
The best approach is when these professionals work in collaboration with parents, carers and schools to equip the young people they support with the skills they need for a sexuality that is respectful, mutual, consenting and safe.
What autistic young people have to say
A lack of access to clear, age- and developmentally-appropriate sexuality and relationships education may increase the risk that pornography becomes autistic young people’s primary source of sexuality education.
The autistic young people we interviewed highlighted how important it is that they are educated about sex, consent and pornography.
!['There were big chunks missing [in our sexuality education]. Then when you get thrown into the world, where you do become sexually active, you're like "Oh, I didn't know about this".' Ella, aged 16.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/65d2ddf5d662de7fdcaa1379/0e88a38a-45d9-403f-877f-11bf1f97685b/Teachers_Quote+1.png)
Understanding the issues
In order to support young people to navigate the influence of pornography we must first understand the issues.
Teachers and other professionals who support autistic young people need to develop an understanding of the nature of contemporary pornography, how it is impacting on young people, how pornography’s influence may be amplified for autistic young people, and why we need to support them to navigate this new normal.
Starting the conversation with autistic young people
All young people need education and support to safely navigate pornography’s influence, but there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. Autistic young people need ongoing education and support that is tailored to their cognitive style and learning needs.
Porn Is Not the Norm has developed resources to help teachers and other professionals tailor conversations about these issues. All these resources include tips and suggestions such as:
Keep calm – These conversations may feel challenging for us – and also for the young people we’re working with. But if we’re able to remain calm, caring and open in our communication, young people are more likely to feel comfortable to talk with us.
Use accessible language – It’s important to use language that young people understand and connect with. The right kind of language is going to look different for different young people. It may be visual, spoken or written language.
Talk with young people, not at them – Remember the importance of ‘nothing about me without me – do this with me not to me or for me’. Ask questions to better understand the experiences and understandings of the young people in your care, and work together to develop approaches that will work.
Check in with each young person about their level of understanding – When you check in with autistic young people about their understanding, don’t simply ask ‘do you understand?’ They may say what they think you want to hear. Ask instead for them to tell you in their own words what you have been discussing. If they can’t do this, try another way to share the information. For example, you could use speech bubbles like you see in a comic strip, other types of pictures or appropriate role play.
Keep your messages clear – Avoid euphemisms or implication: say what you mean and mean what you say. It is quite common for people to use euphemisms when talking about sex and related issues. For example, if someone is not comfortable or familiar with using words such as penis, vulva, clitoris and vagina when they refer to genitalia, they may find themselves using a euphemism such as ‘down there.’ But euphemisms are often unclear and confusing for autistic people – or for anyone!
Avoid using metaphors – Metaphors can also be very difficult to understand. It is better to speak directly about what you are trying to say. For example, if you try to explain sexual consent by using a metaphor such as how it is important that you never force someone to drink a cup of tea, autistic young people may struggle to grasp what you are communicating. Whereas if you explain that sex should only ever happen when everybody involved really wants it to happen (and other conditions of consent, such as age of consent, are met), you are saying what you mean in a way that is more likely to make sense.
Create a bridge from where attention is – If autistic young people are focused on something else, it can be difficult to shift their attention because of how their brains are wired. This may be particularly difficult if you are asking them to reflect on challenging or new issues. Creating a link can help shift attention. The young people you support may need help to move incrementally rather than all of a sudden. For example, if they are busy playing a game and you want to introduce one of the activities that Porn Is Not the Norm has developed to support conversations about pornography, you might say ‘Just like you’re playing […], we’re going to play another game. This one uses cards (or videos).’
Learn more about any passionate interests – To engage autistic young people in important conversations, it may be important to start by making a connection with an area of interest. For example, if the young person you support is interested in photography, express interest in photos. Talk about the importance of seeking consent if you want to take a photo of other people. The aim is to explore how we can make choices that keep us and others safe.
For more information and ideas about how to have conversations about relationships, sex and pornography with the young people you support, see our resources.
What can Schools do?
Each school community is different, and it is important that these differences are taken into account. However, there are some basic steps involved in creating an effective response to pornography’s influence in any school:
Establish a team to lead the work – Gather a group of people to oversee the process of developing your school’s approach to the issues. Having the support of your school leadership team is an essential foundation.
Learn about the issues – Build a solid understanding of how pornography has become mainstream, the nature of the material to which young people are exposed and how it is affecting their sexual understandings and experiences.
Develop a shared approach – Work out together how you’re going to address these issues in your school. How will you integrate age- and developmentally-appropriate content addressing pornography into your school’s relationships and sexuality curriculum? How will you address porn’s influence as part of your school wellbeing program? How will you equip staff? How will you partner with parents, carers and the relevant professionals involved in supporting students and their families?
Build staff capacity – Implement your plan to equip your staff to do this work well – through professional learning and access to resources and support. For key staff addressing this content with young people, It’s time we talked’s resources include an extended multi-module, self-paced online training on these issues.
Create parent and community partnerships – Partner with parents, carers and professionals who support autistic young people to create a shared, coordinated approach.
Porn Is Not the Norm has developed a range of resources to support professionals who work with autistic young people to have conversations about pornography with them and their parents and carers.
