Definitions and Beyond
There are many ways to identify. Everyone is different and that’s good! This guide, “Definitions and Beyond,” will explain some of the ways people identify. Maybe you are LGBTQ+ and want to learn more about the community, or maybe you are looking for ways to be an ally. With this guide, you can learn more and help make the world a better place for LGBTQ+ people!
This guide will talk about things like:
- What being LGBTQ+ is
- The different ways people can identify and present themselves
- What different kinds of discrimination against LGBTQ+ people there are
- What stereotypes are and why they are bad
- How to find community and support if you feel bad about being different
And more!
The toolkit is available in two versions:
Our Easy Read edition. The Easy Read version uses pictures along with large text, and has more white space. Click here to download the Easy Read version of “Definitions and Beyond.”
A Plain Language version without accompanying graphics. Click here to download the Plain Language version of “Definitions and Beyond.”
The Easy Read Edition is split into parts. Each part has its own Words to Know section, and there is also a separate Words to Know part with all of the terms from every section.
Select the title of any of the parts below to download it:
- Part 1: To Start
- Part 2: Definitions
- Part 3: If you are questioning your gender or sexuality
- Part 4: Being an ally
- Part 5: Pronouns
- Part 6: Types of discrimination
- Part 7: Presentation
- Part 8: Beyond the Box
- Part 9: Telling other people
- Part 10: Changes
- Part 11: Being different
- Part 12: Trying new things
- Part 13: Finding community
- Part 14: Having pride
- Part 15: Words to know
Click here to download the entire Easy Read version of “Definitions and Beyond.”
This resource was made possible due to generous funding from the New York State Developmental Disabilities Planning Council (NYS DDPC). It was developed in collaboration with the National Alliance of Direct Support Professionals (NADSP) and the Burton-Blatt Institute (BBI) at Syracuse University.
If you used this resource, please take our short survey!
Rights and Respect
LGBTQ+ people deserve to be treated with respect, just like everyone else! If you are LGBTQ+, you deserve to be treated with respect by everyone in your life — including the people who support you. That’s why we made a new guide for LGBTQ+ autistic people called Rights and Respect! This guide will help you figure out what to do if you aren’t being respected. This guide will talk about things like:
- What are my legal rights?
- Why is fighting for rights important?
- What does it look like when a support worker respects me?
- What can I do if my support worker isn’t respecting me?
And more!
It can be hard when someone doesn’t respect you. Now more than ever, we all need to keep fighting for our rights. We hope you’ll use this toolkit and share it widely so we can speak up and talk about discrimination when it happens. Let’s fight for our right to respect!
The toolkit is available in two versions:
Our Easy Read edition. The Easy Read version uses pictures along with large text, and has more white space. Click here to download the Easy Read version of “Rights and Respect.”
A Plain Language version without accompanying graphics. Click here to download the Plain Language version of “Rights and Respect.”
The Easy Read Edition is split into parts. Each part has its own Words to Know section, and there is also a separate Words to Know part with all of the terms from every section.
Select the title of any of the parts below to download it:
- Part 1: To Start
- Part 2: What are my rights
- Part 3: We have to fight for our rights
- Part 4: What are my rights with a support worker
- Part 5: What can you do if a support worker doesn’t respect your rights
- Part 6: Self-Care
- Part 7: Words to Know
Click here to download the entire Easy Read version of “Rights and Respect.”
This resource was made possible due to generous funding from the New York State Developmental Disabilities Planning Council (NYS DDPC). It was developed in collaboration with the National Alliance of Direct Support Professionals (NADSP) and the Burton-Blatt Institute (BBI) at Syracuse University.
If you used this resource, please take our short survey!
A Self-Advocate’s Guide to Safer Sex
Everyone deserves access to sex education. But information about what sex is, and ways to make sex safer for everyone involved, isn’t always accessible. People with intellectual and developmental disabilities can and do have sex and deserve accessible sex education! A Self-Advocate’s Guide to Safer Sex talks about things like:
- Why people have sex.
- How to have safer sex.
- What pregnancy is and how to prevent it.
- What STIs (including HIV) are and how to prevent them.
- What sexual and reproductive health care is, and how to get it.
And more!
The toolkit is available in two versions:
Our Easy Read edition. The Easy Read version uses pictures along with large text, and has more white space. Click here to download the Easy Read version of “A Self-Advocate’s Guide to Safer Sex.”
A Plain Language version without accompanying graphics. Click here to download the Plain Language version of “A Self-Advocate’s Guide to Safer Sex.”
The Easy Read Edition is split into parts. Click the title of any of the parts below to download it:
- Words to Know
- To Start
- What is sex? What is safer sex?
- What is pregnancy? How can you prevent pregnancy?
- What are STIs? How can you prevent STIs?
- What is HIV? What is AIDS? How can you prevent HIV and AIDS?
- What is Mpox? How can you prevent Mpox?
- Getting sexual and reproductive health care
- What is consent?
- What is sexual assault?
- To Learn More
Click here to download the entire Easy Read version of “A Self-Advocate’s Guide to Safer Sex.”
This resource was made possible due to generous funding from the New York State Developmental Disabilities Planning Council (NYS DDPC). It was developed in collaboration with the National Alliance of Direct Support Professionals (NADSP) and the Burton-Blatt Institute (BBI) at Syracuse University.
If you used this resource, please take our short survey!
What Do I Need to Know About Sexual Assault?
People with disabilities are at a higher risk of sexual abuse. The lack of accessible information means many people may not know they are being abused. People with disabilities deserve accessible information to recognize sexual abuse and seek help when it happens to us. Our guide What Do I Need to Know About Sexual Assault? covers:
- What is consent?
- What is sexual assault?
- What you can do if you’ve been assaulted.
- How to support others who have been assaulted.
The toolkit is available in two versions:
Our Easy Read edition. The Easy Read version uses pictures along with large text, and has more white space. Click here to download the Easy Read version of “What Do I Need to Know About Sexual Assault?”
A Plain Language version without accompanying graphics. Click here to download the Plain Language version of “What Do I Need to Know About Sexual Assault?”
We know this is a hard subject to read about. If you need support, you can contact RAINN:
The Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN) is one resource for people who have been sexually assaulted.
RAINN has a phone hotline you can call.
The RAINN hotline number is 1-800-656-4673.
You can also contact RAINN through their online chat.
RAINN can help you find sexual assault resources in your state or area.
Los recursos y servicios también están disponibles en español.
This resource was made possible due to generous funding from the New York State Developmental Disabilities Planning Council (NYS DDPC). It was developed in collaboration with the National Alliance of Direct Support Professionals (NADSP) and the Burton-Blatt Institute (BBI) at Syracuse University.
If you used this resource, please take our short survey!
A Self-Advocate’s Guide to Gender Affirming Health Care
Gender affirming health care is health care that helps someone feel more like their gender, and more comfortable in their body. Transgender and nonbinary people with intellectual and developmental disabilities deserve equal access to information about gender affirming health care. Our resource A Self-Advocate’s Guide to Gender Affirming Health Care answers questions like:
- What do the words “transgender,” “nonbinary,” and “intersex” mean?
- What kinds of gender affirming health care can people get?
- What are the steps to getting gender affirming health care?
- How can you be a good ally and friend to transgender and nonbinary people?
And more!
The toolkit is available in two versions:
Our Easy Read edition. The Easy Read version uses pictures along with large text, and has more white space. Click here to download the Easy Read edition of “A Self-Advocate’s Guide to Gender Affirming Health Care.”
A Plain Language version without accompanying graphics. Click here to download the Plain Language version of “A Self-Advocate’s Guide to Gender Affirming Health Care.”
The Easy Read Edition is split into parts. Click the title of any of the parts below to download it:
- To Start
- What is sex assigned at birth? What is being transgender or nonbinary? What is being intersex?
- What is gender-affirming health care? What are the different types of gender-affirming health care?
- How can I get gender-affirming health care?
- How can I change my name and gender marker legally?
- How can I find support as a transgender or nonbinary person?
- Good manners around transgender and nonbinary people
- Words to Know
This resource was made possible due to generous funding from the New York State Developmental Disabilities Planning Council (NYS DDPC). It was developed in collaboration with the National Alliance of Direct Support Professionals (NADSP) and the Burton-Blatt Institute (BBI) at Syracuse University.
If you used this resource, please take our short survey!
Barriers to Gender Affirming Health Care
Many transgender and nonbinary people face barriers to getting gender affirming health care. Some of these barriers have existed for a long time, like rules about what you need to do to get gender affirming care. Other barriers are new, like new state laws that try to limit or ban gender affirming care. Our resource Barriers to Gender Affirming Health Care answers questions like:
- What does someone need to do to get gender affirming health care?
- What rules are there around gender affirming health care? How can these rules hurt transgender and nonbinary people?
- What might stop someone from being able to get gender affirming health care?
- How are some people trying to stop others from getting gender affirming health care?
And more!
The toolkit is available in two versions:
Our Easy Read edition. The Easy Read version uses pictures along with large text, and has more white space. Click here to download the Easy Read version of “Barriers to Gender Affirming Health Care.”
A Plain Language version without accompanying graphics. Click here to download the Plain Language version of “Barriers to Gender Affirming Health Care.”
The Easy Read Edition is split into parts. Click the title of any of the parts below to download it:
- To Start
- Why are there barriers to gender affirming care?
- How do people pay for gender affirming care?
- What are the costs of gender affirming care?
- Why is it hard to pay for gender affirming care?
- Why is healthcare hard for transgender and nonbinary people with disabilities?
- What does a transgender person need to have in order to get gender affirming care?
- Legal barriers to gender affirming health care
- What other legal barriers make life hard for transgender people?
- How does this hurt transgender and nonbinary people?
- How can I get gender affirming care in this system?
- Who can help me get gender affirming care?
- If there are all these barriers, why do transgender and nonbinary people still want gender affirming care?
- What can allies do to support transgender and nonbinary people?
- Conclusion
- To Learn More
Click here to download the entire Easy Read edition of “Barriers to Gender Affirming Health Care.”
This resource was made possible due to generous funding from the New York State Developmental Disabilities Planning Council (NYS DDPC). It was developed in collaboration with the National Alliance of Direct Support Professionals (NADSP) and the Burton-Blatt Institute (BBI) at Syracuse University.