The Elevatus Conceptual Model Project is an endeavor to systematically refine a sex education program for young people with intellectual disabilities. In 2024, our team applied for and was accepted to the Theory and Innovation Support Hub run by The Policy and Research Group. We wanted to use the opportunity to revise Elevatus Training’s Sexuality Education for People with Developmental Disabilities Curriculum to better integrate youth voices and perspectives, include a wider pool of people’s experiences, strengthen the program’s theory of change, and create a conceptual model that was grounded in theory, empirical evidence, and professional experience. Throughout this project, we have closely collaborated with young people who have intellectual and developmental disabilities.
The Curriculum
The Elevatus Curriculum was originally developed to fill a gap in sexual health programming (sex ed) for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Members of the disability community have requested this kind of programming—especially programming that includes people with disabilities in its design and development. Katherine McLaughlin, founder of Elevatus Training and developer of the Elevatus Curriculum, created the curriculum to respond to this request. She developed collaborative sexual health education by providing a program that was affirming and tailored for young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The Elevatus Curriculum is an evidence-informed program incorporating concepts that support the rights of people with disabilities (e.g., self-advocacy, independent living, etc.). This program also provides strategies to avoid unwanted pregnancy and education on related topics, including types of relationships, public settings versus private settings, relationship skills, avoiding sexually transmitted infections (STIs), communication, decision-making skills, and sexual health.
The Team
Katherine McLaughlin, M.Ed., AASECT Certified Sexuality Educator, is the founder and CEO of Elevatus Training and a nationally recognized expert in sexuality and intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD).
Morrigan Hunter, M.A., MSW, has eight years of experience advancing the sexual health and rights of people with disabilities, including via community support groups, research studies, and delivery of education and training on relevant issues.
Elizabeth Cook, MSPH, is a researcher, program evaluator, and project director at Child Trends specializing in adolescent sexual and reproductive health.
This work is funded by the Policy and Research Group through a grant from the Office of Population Affairs (OPA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).