“We’ve all enjoyed sharing our stories – it really is powerful stuff.”
The Team
Nicola
I’m a retired teacher and speech and language therapist, with 40 years experience working in the field of learning disability. I specialise in storytelling, signing, and curriculum development, I founded the charity Openstorytellers, the first company of storytellers with learning disabilities in the UK.
With Flo and Katrina I developed the idea of Surviving through Story, to collect experiences from children with special needs, and adults with autism and learning disabilities. Our website went live in October 2020 and there are some wonderful stories there. https://www.survivingthroughstory.com
I’m a Fellow of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, and an honorary lecturer at the Tizard Centre, University of Kent.
You can find out more about my work and publications at www.drnicolagrove.com.
A recorded interview about Surviving through Story can be heard HERE.
Katrina Arab
I am a class teacher at Three Ways School with children with profound and multiple learning difficulties. I am the lead for the Pre-formal communication, sensory stories and engagement. I have also worked with The Sensory Projects and have a published sensory story called Fire Alarm.
Storysharing® owes much to the work of Jane Harwood and the team at Openstorytellers, which is gratefully acknowledged.
Flo Hopwood
I trained as a Music Therapist, and now am a class teacher at Three Ways Special School working with students with a range of severe and moderate learning disabilities and autistic spectrum difficulties.
Storysharing® is essential for our students to find their ‘voice’ in a form that makes others LISTEN UP and understand, no matter what their communication difficulty. It really has been the most powerful and moving tool I have used during my teaching career so far.
To get a glimpse of Storysharing in action within a school setting check out this video…