Is Everyone Welcome?

- Adapting OutoftheBox to include people with different needs.

This was the title of a workshop that Kathryn Lord led at the Deep Talk conference in Sheffield in September 2023 and we are thankful to those who attended the workshop and gave their insights, as well as to the contributions from Caroline McNunn and Claire Helton. The nature of OutoftheBox means it is ideal for offering people different ways of accessing and responding to the story.

General principles

Don’t make assumptions - ask!
Don’t assume that we know what people need! Ensure that we are giving space for people to voice what they need and so together you can figure out how you might hold a space in which people can both access the story and contribute to the dialogue.

Seek advice and/or training
If you are working with people with needs that you don’t understand then ensure you seek the help you need. For example Dementia Friends offers free training

A diversity of needs in one group
We can make adaptations to serve the needs of people but because there will usually be a diversity of different needs then what we offer will probably not be ‘ideal’ for anyone. This is part of the dialogue in OutoftheBox. It is about community, give and take and seeing things from the perspective of other people.

Suggestions for adapting sessions

The following suggestions are just a taster of how OutoftheBox can be adapted - they are by no means exhaustive. You can join our online peer support group through becoming a member of OutoftheBox. Through reflective practice we share suggestions and questions we have about adapting OutoftheBox.

1. For people who are deaf or who are hard of hearing

Lip reading
Ensure that people who lip read are sitting opposite you. Usually when we share the story we look down but you may need to raise your face a little so that your lips can be seen.

Signing
If someone is helping by signing the story then it is important that the signing isn’t taking place at the same time as you are moving objects or attention will be taken away from the objects, the movements and the gestures of the story. Perhaps you as a storyteller will need to be more intentional about not speaking at the same time as moving objects. Discuss this with the signer before the session.

2. For people who are blind or who have vision impairment

Designing New Materials
Consider how the person will use their senses of touch and hearing (perhaps also smell and taste) to access the story in non verbal ways e.g. don’t be tempted to just replace the wooden bird with a larger version of the bird that they can trace their fingers round - use a way of representing the bird with something which is more meaningful and accessible e.g. a feather or the sounds of a bird. The appropriateness of the adaptation may depend on whether the person was blind from birth or if they used to be sighted. As with most things - no one size fits all! 

Giving opportunity for people to handle the objects
If the person is going to use their sense of touch, smell or taste then obviously the object will need to be given to them. So if you are telling the story to a group you may need more than one of each object. 

You can help the person to have a sense of the size and feel of the circle of fleece or the sandbag in which you are sharing the story by gently holding their hand and trace round the edge of the fleece or move the sand. Perhaps they could be given a small circle of fleece or a little bag/box of sand to handle throughout the story.

3. For people facing social, emotional, psychological, sensory and developmental challenges.

These ideas are from Caroline McNunn who works with young people facing diverse social, emotional, psychological, sensory and developmental challenges 

Story, play and emotional connection are preciously integral to this work and the journey of wellbeing. These are some of the adaptations I make.

a) Modelling Permission to Play
Where there is trauma, the most important thing I think is to facilitate/model freedom and permission to play. These children have been more likely to play silently. I might use repetition, if there is a particular action/object that the child connects with, as this can help to build/strengthen connections/sense of being heard i.e. blowing the feather between us over the top of the story has been a form of play/communication. 

b) The type of stories we offer
Children with reduced attention (i.e. ADHD learning disability) need short stories with more emphasis in my voice/posture/modelling. Some children prefer stories which have logical narrative rather than metaphor ie particularly with autistic spectrum condition.

c) Engaging in the present moment
Where there is trauma, anxiety…if the story enables the child to engage in the present moment this counteracts ‘dissociation’ which is the disconnect between the mind and body. Also using my breath can be useful within the story/okay…deep breathing/mirrored breathing etc activate the parasympathetic nervous system which counters the body’s stress responses.

d) Rhythm
Rhythm is another way to activate the parasympathetic response and share connection, so the sounds the story/we make can be important. The child’s Interaction with the story through play opens their body up, promotes deeper breathing, and reduces the instinct to brace the body.

e) Tactile defensive
A lot of my young people are tactile defensive, so they might only engage in touch on their own terms, the story box offers a way for them to explore diverse tactile input on their own terms.

f) Noticing the child’s reactions and checking in with the child
With neurodiverse presentations and trauma, there is a mix of over reactivity and under reactivity with different senses, often particularly auditory, tactile, olfactory. If I notice a startled response it would indicate a change in the child’s emotional/physical state. If this was caused by a noise for example, I would always aim to name the noise, if touch, would acknowledge the response and check in with the child etc. I have a lavender bag in my box which is a scent that so far most children have liked.

g) Meeting the child where they are
Most of all, my role is to meet the child where they are at, using my observations of them to adapt what I do…..I suppose it can be different every time!

And finally from Caroline Nunn” “It’d be amazing to develop stories about Autism, ADHD, sensory difficulties etc….one day I’d love to do this with the kids at work”

4. For people who are mute

OutoftheBox enables people to express themselves in non-verbal ways. This is the experience of Claire Helton who is a chaplain in a hospice.

“I work with a woman whose mind is active but she’s had a stroke and is now mute; she communicates by pointing at a letter board to slowly spell out each word. We played with the story of The Hidden Heart, and it was such a gift to be able to further our exploration of the family dynamics that are troubling her beyond what we’ve been able to with words alone. She used the people in the story to show distance and closeness in her relationships with her caregivers, and to show that she actually prefers solitude - a dynamic I’d been missing as I’d filled in the gaps in our communication with my own assumptions. It was truly remarkable and I’m so grateful to have this tool in my toolbox!”

5. For people living with dementia

Please see our blog on Dementia and Wellbeing