My Body Safety Rules

Empower children with disability with crucial knowledge on body safety and consent.

This book teaches 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. 

‘My Body Safety Rules’ serves two purposes:

1. The first is to educate children with disability in body safety and consent, and what they can expect from the people who interact with them.
2. The second is 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 the child's rights especially in regard to their body.

This book may be read over a number of sittings, depending on the child's needs. Please take the time to discuss each rule, the illustrations and engage the child in the questions provided. Each child's disability is unique. Please adapt the text to the needs and abilities of the child.

Key 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.

Comprehensive Discussion Questions are included to further draw out the learning.