Table 3.
Resources for providers, parents, and adolescents
| Resource | Contact Information/Web Site | Description/Useful Features |
|---|---|---|
| Advocates for Youth | (202) 347-5700 AdvocatesForYouth.org | Works in both the United States and abroad to promote sexual health education and services for youth. Web site includes resources, continuing education opportunities, and curricula for sex educators |
| American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) | AAPorg HealthyChildren.org BrightFutures.aap.org |
Professional guidelines and standards for pediatric care. Specific useful resources:
|
| American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) | ACOG.org/About-ACOG/ACOG-Departments/Adolescent-Health-Care | Information and resources for adolescent sexuality and sex education |
| American Sexual Health Association (ASHA) | (919) 361-8400 ASHASexualHealth.org IWannaKnow.org |
Organization advocating for sexual health education and policy to promote sexual health. Web site includes especially good information for teens, including suggested questions to ask a health care provider about sex |
| Answer: sex ed, honestly | answer.rutgers.edu | Provides training and education to teachers and other youthserving professionals. Web site also includes resources for parents and teens |
| Bedsider & Bedsider Provider (a program by The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy) | Bedsider.org Providers.Bedsider.org |
Bedsider: An online birth control support network that includes a hotline for free birth control information and e-mail or text reminders for birth control, appointments, prescription refills, and gonorrhea and chlamydia retests Bedsider provider: Resources to offer patients, frequently asked questions for providers, and “Shoptalk”: currents events, updates, and featured resources in the world of reproductive health care practice and research |
| Boston Children’s Hospital | YoungMensHealthSite.org YoungWomensHealth.org |
Provides medically accurate information, educational programs, and conferences about many health topics, including sex |
| The Center for Sex Education (CSE) | (973) 387-5161 SexEdCenter.org | An organization within Planned Parenthood that writes and publishes resources on sex education. Includes an online bookstore (www.sexedstore.com) with books, curricula, and training manuals for sex educators and parents. CSE sells several books authored by Robie H. Harris recommended within this article |
| The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) | (404) 639-3311 CDC.gov | US federal agency that works to promote health, prevention, and preparedness activities in the United States and worldwide. Includes a useful tip sheet for talking with parents about the HPV vaccine (referenced within this article) at http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/who/teens/for-hcp.html |
| Center for Parent Information and Resources | ParentCenterHub.org | Information for parents and teachers about sexual education for students with disabilities, including specific disabilities, such as autism spectrum disorders, cerebral palsy, and spina bifida |
| Futures Without Violence | FuturesWithoutViolence.org | Organization focused on ending domestic and sexual violence. Provides free resource cards (in large quantities, if necessary) containing screening questions for IPV in adolescents |
| Go Ask Alice! (from Columbia University) | GoAskAlice.columbia.edu | Provides questions and answers on a variety of health topics, including sexual health. Maintains a large question and answer library and accepts new questions |
| IMPACT on Health and Wellness (an initiative by the Maternal Child and Health Bureau of US Department of Health and Human Services [DHHS]) | Family Voices, Inc Phone (505) 872-4774 or (888) 835-5669 fv-impact.org/ | Information and resources promoting maternal and child health including The Well Visit Planner—an online tool to help families prepare for their upcoming well-child visits (available in English and Spanish) |
| KidsHealth (by Nemours) | KidsHealth.org | Provides health information about kids and teens that is free of “doctor speak” |
| The Mediatrician | http://cmch.tv/parents/askthemediatrician/ | A Web site where a pediatrician offers research-based information and advice to parents about their children’s media use and its implications for their health and wellness |
| The National Campaign to Prevent Teen And Unplanned Pregnancy | (202) 478-8500 TeenPregnancy.org |
An organization providing national and state statistics on teen pregnancy, poll results, and analyses of factors affecting sex education and teen sexual behavior and contractive use. Promotes teen sexual health through initiatives such as Bedsider and Bedsider Provider |
| North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology (NASPAG) | (856) 423-3064 E-mail: hq@naspag.org NASPAG.org |
Professional organization devoted to promoting research and education related to gynecologic care in youth; holds an annual meeting |
| Office of Adolescent Health | (240) 453-2846 http://www.hhs.gov/ash/oah/ |
Department within the US DHHS that funds research and interventions to reduce unplanned pregnancy and STIs in adolescents. Maintains a list of Evidence-Based Programs (EBPs) for pregnancy and STIs and a list of federal resources (tip sheets, fact sheets, treatment guidelines, and so forth) for adolescent health, including reproductive health |
| Parent Advocacy Coalition for Educational Rights (PACER) | (952) 838-9000 1-800-537-2237 Pacer.org |
Training, information, and resource center for families of youth with disabilities—includes sexuality |
| PFLAG (formerly known as Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) | PFLAG.org | Advocates for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people and their families |
| Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) | (212) 541-7800 PlannedParenthood.org |
Provider and advocate for reproductive health care and education across the United States |
| Scarleteen | Scarleteen.com | Highest-ranked Web site for sex education and sexuality advice; read by youth 15–25 |
| Sex, Etc. | Sexetc.org | Magazine and Web site offering sexual education and health information to teens. Includes material written by teens, forums for discussion, sexual health videos, blogs on current events, a state-by-state guide to teen rights in sex education, birth control, and health care |
| Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS) | (212) 819-9770 siecus.org | Organization that provides policy, community action, and research updates on hot-button issues related to sexuality and sexuality education. Has a free toolkit for providers: PrEP Education for Youth-Serving Primary Care Providers Toolkit |
| Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine (SAHM) | AdolescentHealth.org THRIVE app | Multidisciplinary professional organization promoting adolescent health through advocacy, clinical care, health promotion, professional development, and research. Holds an annual meeting |
| Urban Dictionary, LLC | UrbanDictionary.com | This is “the” Web site to look up slang words and phrases. The contents are crowd sourced and continuously updated- especially sex-related slang- useful for parents trying to interpret mass media and social media their child is exposed to, such as common expressions, slang words, and acronyms |
| Your Child Development and Behavioral Resources | www.med.umich.edu/yourchild/ Web site for materials, resources, and useful Web sites for families of youth with disabilities— includes sexuality education resources | |