Bountiful Boston

I am now staying just outside Boston, famed for it’s tea party, the home town of my childhood hero JFK (don’t ask why) and being more Irish than Ireland.

On Wednesday I had the pleasure of attending the Massachusetts Developmental  Disability Sex Educators Forum meeting. This was a lively, enthusiastic group, who were as interested in hearing about our experiences in the UK as they were in telling me what works for them. Fortunately, I had a prepared presentation, which seemed to be well received.

One of the most striking aspects of this group was the scope of its membership. There were regulators ( the equivalent of our CQC Inspectors), Case Managers (similar to Social Workers), Commissioners, Contract Managers, Service Providers and a mainstream Sexual Health Worker, all involved in training and talking passionately about the need to spread the word. It would be fantastic for us to achieve this kind of mix, rather than the predominance of service providers and training agencies that currently exists.

I cannot let mention of today pass by without reference to the BBC Breakfast broadcast, featuring  the Lancashire Friends and Relationships Group, the Meet-n-Match date night and Supported Loving. So proud to have been involved in this and to see our campaign aired on prime time TV. I haven’t managed to pick up on all the comments, but I gather that it has had an impact and raised awareness of the importance of loving relationships for people with a learning disability, which is exactly what we were hoping for. The link is here, in case you haven’t seen it: https://www.facebook.com/bbcbreakfast/videos/413803989261240/