Kate Reynolds: A Fellowship through online learning
Kate Reynolds: A Fellowship through online learning
Author
While Churchill Fellowships are rooted in learning from best practice in other countries, not all Fellowships involve travelling abroad, as Kate Reynolds ably demonstrates.
As a single mother with two children, both autistic, going overseas to explore her area of interest wasn’t an option. So for her 2023 Fellowship, Kate was able to conduct her explorations online.
Kate’s early career was in HIV/Aids, as a nurse, counsellor, and trainer. She had set up an online helpline for parents of autistic children, and found many of the enquiries were related to sexual behaviour.
Because of her professional background, she was able to talk comfortably to parents about their concerns, and so began running workshops around relationships, sex education, and sexualised acts in relation to autistic young people.
This led her to a writing career, and Kate has now authored 13 books on the subject. It was her Fellowship learning that directly fed into the most recent: How to Respond to Sexualized Acts. A Research-Based Guide for Families and Frontline Staff Working with Neurodivergent Individuals. Not only did the book draw on her Fellowship interviews, but what she learned reshaped the narrative, and made her question her use of language around autism (in particular, the use of the word ‘behaviours’), resulting in extensive rewrites.
“The Fellowship enabled me to speak to key people in other countries... it was a godsend that I could do the work online. I really wouldn’t be here now without the opportunity.”
Online learning from abroad
What Kate found, by speaking to key academics and practitioners in New Zealand, Australia, the USA, and the Cayman Islands, was there seemed to be as much a lack of action and support for parents and frontline staff abroad as there was in the UK.
“It’s well documented that relationships and sex education are given on the basis of the perception of the individual. Assumptions are made that a young person with a cognitive disability won’t become sexual, or that they are unteachable on the subject of sex. But I believe teaching and giving information helps prevent sexual abuse as well as gives a young person the information they need to be safe.”
Kate hopes to change attitudes, advocating early intervention as soon as sexual acts manifest.
“We tend to talk about harmful sexual behaviour, and pathologise it. In fact, the behaviour is natural and appropriate, it’s just not being directed at the right time, or at the right person, or in the right place. I want to address it the moment these acts start to happen, so we support those young people, so they know and understand when they can be sexual.”
Helping parents and schools to support neurodivergent young people
Since completing her Fellowship, as well as publishing her book, Kate has launched a service for parents and schools via her website Kate E Reynolds; she has recorded podcasts with ‘Supported Loving’; and, in an exciting step, she has recently been approached by a university to design training programmes for parents of neurodivergent young people.
“The Fellowship enabled me to speak to key people in other countries. I would love to have physically gone there, but it wasn’t possible with my son so it was a godsend that I could do the work online. I really wouldn’t be here now without the opportunity.”
As a single mother with two children, both autistic, going overseas to explore her area of interest wasn’t an option. So for her 2023 Fellowship, Kate was able to conduct her explorations online.
Kate’s early career was in HIV/Aids, as a nurse, counsellor, and trainer. She had set up an online helpline for parents of autistic children, and found many of the enquiries were related to sexual behaviour.
Because of her professional background, she was able to talk comfortably to parents about their concerns, and so began running workshops around relationships, sex education, and sexualised acts in relation to autistic young people.
This led her to a writing career, and Kate has now authored 13 books on the subject. It was her Fellowship learning that directly fed into the most recent: How to Respond to Sexualized Acts. A Research-Based Guide for Families and Frontline Staff Working with Neurodivergent Individuals. Not only did the book draw on her Fellowship interviews, but what she learned reshaped the narrative, and made her question her use of language around autism (in particular, the use of the word ‘behaviours’), resulting in extensive rewrites.
“The Fellowship enabled me to speak to key people in other countries... it was a godsend that I could do the work online. I really wouldn’t be here now without the opportunity.”
Online learning from abroad
What Kate found, by speaking to key academics and practitioners in New Zealand, Australia, the USA, and the Cayman Islands, was there seemed to be as much a lack of action and support for parents and frontline staff abroad as there was in the UK.
“It’s well documented that relationships and sex education are given on the basis of the perception of the individual. Assumptions are made that a young person with a cognitive disability won’t become sexual, or that they are unteachable on the subject of sex. But I believe teaching and giving information helps prevent sexual abuse as well as gives a young person the information they need to be safe.”
Kate hopes to change attitudes, advocating early intervention as soon as sexual acts manifest.
“We tend to talk about harmful sexual behaviour, and pathologise it. In fact, the behaviour is natural and appropriate, it’s just not being directed at the right time, or at the right person, or in the right place. I want to address it the moment these acts start to happen, so we support those young people, so they know and understand when they can be sexual.”
Helping parents and schools to support neurodivergent young people
Since completing her Fellowship, as well as publishing her book, Kate has launched a service for parents and schools via her website Kate E Reynolds; she has recorded podcasts with ‘Supported Loving’; and, in an exciting step, she has recently been approached by a university to design training programmes for parents of neurodivergent young people.
“The Fellowship enabled me to speak to key people in other countries. I would love to have physically gone there, but it wasn’t possible with my son so it was a godsend that I could do the work online. I really wouldn’t be here now without the opportunity.”