|
Posted on Thursday, April 05, 2012 9:50 PM
I have always loved words. As a storyteller, I have loved the nuance of finding exactly the right word to correctly evoke emotion, to create a scene. When I began working with people with disabilities, the words I chose took on even more importance. "Imbecile." "Moron." "Idiot." All these words at one time were clinical designations for levels of developmental disability, but as they crept into the common lexicon, as they became insults to be hurled in the heat of anger and cruelty, they fell out of favor in the clinical world. |
|
|
Posted on Thursday, March 29, 2012 10:20 AM
I love telling stories. I love the feeling it gives me, to be able to make people laugh, smile, cry, and experience the world in a new way. Telling to people with developmental disabilities is a special kind of a gift for a storyteller, because when I tell to these audiences, I am bringing story to people who rarely get to be "in on" the story. The joy and the connection is extraordinary. It's a little bit selfish -- how much I love what I do. |
|
|
Posted on Wednesday, March 07, 2012 12:00 AM
"God bless you!" "There's a special place in heaven for you" If I were going to write one of those Sh*t People Say to Social Workers memes, those phrases would certainly be prominently featured. I've been a social worker for almost 15 years, a social worker for people with developmental disabilities for over 7 years, and a storyteller for people with developmental disabilities for just about a year. I've heard those phrases thousands of times. |
|
|
Posted on Sunday, February 19, 2012 11:26 PM
The Hardware Store will never be the same to me... nor will the fabric store, the craft store or the music store. Everywhere I go these days, I find myself touching, feeling for sharp edges, thumping for sound effect, squeezing things, turning them upside down -- I have become a sensory-seeking machine! People often ask where the ideas come from for our stories. Occasionally, someone will have an idea for a story that's based on a folktale, a memory, or a story they've heard from one of our clients that is the basis for a story. |
|
|
Posted on Saturday, February 11, 2012 12:54 AM
We at Touching Stories are so excited by some new opportunities coming soon! It's been a big year for Touching Stories. Our first full calendar year has brought a grant from Douglas County,opportunities to travel throughout the state with our stories, chances to present our techniques to librarians and occupational therapists and now... In a new adventure, we will be starting our first Kickstarters campaign! For those of you who've not yet heard of Kickstarters, it's a fantastic new concept in fundraising. |
|
|
Posted on Wednesday, February 01, 2012 11:02 PM
We have big news here at Touching Stories today. We received notification that our application to become a 501(c)(3) corporation was approved! As an official non-profit, we can now apply for grants that will help us get Touching Stories kits into so many more classrooms, day programs and libraries. As wonderful as this development is, we also have so much to be grateful for in terms of community support. Touching Stories officially "launched" as a company at a small fund-raising event nine months ago at Southglenn Library. |
|
|
Posted on Thursday, January 26, 2012 11:09 PM
One of the wonderful things about starting Touching Stories a year and a half ago has been the opportunity to learn about all the ways in which multi-sensory learning in being used around the world. I first learned about multi-sensory stories about four years ago when I found a website for a program in London called Bag Books ( www.bagbooks.org) Bag Books has been producing and distributing multi-sensory stories for almost twenty years and they have led the way in multi-sensory telling. |
|
|
Posted on Sunday, January 22, 2012 4:42 PM
Welcome to Touching Stories' first blog post! It's a little contradictory to be writing about the benefits of staying low-tech on my new blog page. The truth is that technology has become an integral part of most of our lives. We use our computers, smartphones, and notebooks to communicate, to shop, to give and receive help, and to make our lives easier. Fifteen years ago, I could never have imagined how much of my life would occur on-line. In 1996, I moved to El Salvador. |
|
