January 14, 2025

Consent Focus Group Leads to Rich Discussion 

Last month, Autism Nova Scotia staff met with 10 Autistic youth from across Canada to talk about consent. The youth provided first voice perspective on their knowledge of consent, their experiences learning about consent, and their feelings of being able to communicate consent.  

The focus group was led by Charli Miller (Employment & Community Transitions Manager) and Rachael Wallace (Program Coordinator, Healthy Relationships, Sexuality & Autism). It was offered in partnership with the Sex Information & Education Council of Canada (SIECCAN) and funded by Women and Gender Equality in Canada (WAGE).   

The discussion was rich and will support SIECCAN in developing resources to help service providers give consent education to Autistic youth. The youth who engaged in this focus group discussed the importance of plain language, a safe learning environment and consent-related topics to be included within mainstream education curriculum.    

Autism Nova Scotia would like to thank the Autistic youth who participated in the discussion and SIECCAN for the opportunity to support their work in developing accessible comprehensive sexuality and relationships-based education materials. 

For more information about consent or about the workshop, contact: 

Charli Miller, Employment & Community Transitions Manager, cmiller@autismns.ca 

Rachael Wallace, Program Coordinator, Healthy Relationships, Sexuality and Autism, rwallace@autismns.ca  

For resources on sexual and reproductive health, visit: Home | SIECCAN – Sex Information and Education Council of Canada 

For insights from Charli on healthy relationships, sexuality and Autism, read: Charli’s Insights on the Healthy Relationships, Sexuality, and Autism – Autism Nova Scotia