My Body Safety Rules

This book aims to teach children with disability about body safety and consent and provide them with essential skills to recognize unsafe situations. Using age-appropriate language and illustrations, this book addresses the needs and challenges often faced by children with disability, helping them to understand their rights in regard to their body and personal space. This book serves two purposes. The first is to educate your child in body safety and consent and what they can expect from the people who interact with them;

and secondly to educate family, caregivers, teachers and healthcare professionals in the concepts of body safety and the language of consent, and how they need to respect your child’s rights especially in regard to their body. This book may be read over a number of sittings, depending on your child’s needs. Please take the time to discuss each rule, the illustrations and engage your child in the questions provided. These important conversations are ongoing and should continue in daily interactions with your child and your child’s caregivers. There are in-depth Discussion Questions on pages 36-38 to further draw out the learning. Each child’s disability is unique. Please adapt the text to the needs and abilities of your child; for example, children who are non-verbal will need to show other ways such as using body language or communication devices to indicate their needs.

Written specifically for children with disability; they will learn 7 key Body Safety Rules. Topics covered include:

• body boundaries and consent
• respect and ‘checking in’
• greetings are a child’s choice
• private and public spaces
• private parts are private
• recognizing Early Warning Signs
• developing a Safety Network
• what to do when feeling unsafe
• the difference between secrets and surprises.