Special Schools

What is a story? Does it have to have a beginning, middle and end? Does it have to involve talking?

Nicola Grove, in her excellent book ‘Literature For All’ says this about language:

• ”Emotions are the earliest and most fundamental impulse for communication, but language is too often defined in terms of functional goals like requesting or naming. “
• ”It seems common sense to assume that children will only benefit from a text if they can fully understand the language in it. The trouble is that this approach means that we would never move beyond simple nursery rhymes and picture stories for children with significant learning difficulties, where language may not have progressed beyond infants’ levels.”
• “The origins of language are sharing of experience, and our starting point should be storytelling and conveying feelings.”

Vincent Mealing at Park School in Aylesbury, Bucks said, ” A story is an opportunity to take you away from everything: to find a magic place.

“For students at our school it’s a way of finding a common ground where we understand what they understand, and develop the basis for shared communication.”

I agree with Nicola and Vincent, and like Nicola, I work closely with schools with children with severe learning disabilities. My aim is to work with staff to develop the children’s emotional responses, and to use these as the base for developing communication. This could be a series of workshops round a theme, like Christmas or birthdays, or a sensory experience that helps the youngsters participate in a show that I stage at the end of the day; e.g. based on ‘The Three Billy Goats Gruff’ or ‘Mr. Gumpy’s Outing.’

Following the great success of my Christmas story ‘experience’, ‘The Wrong Christmas Stockings’, I am currently touring special schools and other groups with ‘The Birthday Story Experience’.

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