THE BIG BOOK OF STORYSHARING: A Handbook for Personal Storytelling with Children and Young People Who Have Severe Communication Difficulties - Softcover

Personal stories are the way we develop a sense of who we are, make sense of our experiences and make and sustain relationships. Research shows that people with severe communication difficulties - such as severe and profound learning disabilities, autism and language impairments - find it hard to recall and share the stories of their lives. This handbook draws on fifteen years of research and practice into personal storytelling in adult services and educational settings. Storysharing is a unique, innovative and highly effective approach to enabling the most severely disabled individuals to participate in telling their own stories.

Nicola Grove PhD started out as an English teacher, and turned into a speech and language therapist 35 years ago, specialising in the use of sign language, early communication and the design of inclusive programmes of study for the National Curriculum. Since 2004 she has been practising as a storyteller and facilitator of storymaking with children and adults who have communication and learning difficulties; running projects and training courses in schools, day centres and residential homes. She is the founder of Openstorytellers, a charity which empowers people at risk of social exclusion through the use of narrative (www.openstorytellers.org.uk).