Media
This is such a great story from WCCO & CBS News Minnesota - highlighting the joyful celebration of Disability Pride yesterday along with Katie Thune sharing her message and the work of Mad Hatter Wellness. This event was organized by the fabulous folks at ACT - Advocating Change Together.
A conversation with Dr. Marcia
Katie Thune, joined Dr. Marcia Nathai-Balkissoon on the Special Needs Parent Podcast to discuss sexual health and wellbeing for individuals with disabilities. Katie emphasizes the importance of teaching sexual health from a young age and the need for ongoing conversations throughout a person's life.
Check out this story on 13 WGME Portland! Katie shares about the Empowered Together program and the work we are doing with organizations in Maine.
A conversation with Cindy Scharkey
Mad Hatter Wellness Educator Anna Hayek has a conversation with Cindy Scharkey of Permission for Pleasure. They spend time exploring how all people, regardless of abilities, are sexual beings, and deserve access to sexual health education. In addition to background information on sex ed for all abilities and what Mad Hatter Wellness does, they discuss tools, language and strategies for parents and caregivers.
Reframing Our Stories with Kara Haug
In this episode, Kara Haug of Reframing Our Stories talks with Anna Hayek, Mad Hatter Wellness Educator, and Marco Orlando, peer educator and advocate, on the topic of sexuality health education for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and the community that supports them.
We were honored and enthusiastic about expressing our support for Comprehensive Sex Education for Youth with Disabilities in this report, as well as to share our curriculum as a resource. Read more about the history, research and hope for the future of Sex Education for young people with disabilities.
Listen to Katie & Leah's interviews on the Wheel With It Podcast with Devon Wieters
Loma Special Needs Podcast Interviews
In this episode, Katie shares some foundational things we can be teaching our loved one such as consent, rules, and guidelines around some of the grey areas, public vs private spaces, compliance vs appropriate non compliance, and necessary vs exploitive touch.
Neglecting to teach sexual boundaries can have devastating consequences. In this episode with Leah Bauman-Smith, they discuss the importance of understanding consent and teaching it at a very young age starting with simple displays of affection such as hugs. Leah talks about how to teach public vs private spaces and public vs private behaviors as well as sensory replacements for inappropriate public self touching.
A conversation on MPR about Sex Ed and People with Intellectual Disabilities
Katie had the opportunity to sit down with host Marianne Combs, NPR reporter Joseph Shapiro, and local attorney Patrick Noaker for a conversation about sexual education and people with intellectual disabilities.
What is a True Friend?
Campers and staff from around the world came together at Courage North of True Friends in Bemidji, MN in the summer of 2018 to talk about what it means to be a true friend. This awesome video was created as result of a partnership with Courage North and Mad Hatter Wellness.
MinnPost Article: Workshops help middle schoolers and their significant adults understand each other
Learn more about Power of Me Parent-Child Retreats and how they enhance your relationship with the child(ren) in your life!
Check out this article about the work we’ve done with Upstream Arts!
The women have developmental or intellectual disabilities, and for many of them, this is the first time they’ve had any sort of sex education. A new program is using the arts to teach women with such disabilities how to have meaningful relationships while protecting themselves from all-too-common sexual abuse.
Our founder was featured in Lake Time Magazine
Learn more about Katie Thune, founder of Mad Hatter Wellness / Sexuality for All Abilities:
- Katie’s mission
- Her definition of success
- The biggest challenge / sacrifice she’s faced in pursuit of her passion
- How she builds herself up in moments of self-doubt and adversity
- And more!
Our article is on p 90-91.