Acknowledgment

I was first introduced to sensory storytelling during my time at Mencap, the UK’s leading charity for people with learning disabilities. I worked on Bags of Ability as a Sensory Storyteller, where my role involved visiting daycares, schools, and community centres to lead workshops for children and their parents or caregivers. I loved working with children and using this sensory storytelling approach to support their early literacy and speech development skills. The importance of working alongside parents and caregivers to strengthen their storytelling skills and confidence was an unexpected outcome for me and one I really valued. During this project, I trained with Dr. Nicola Grove, founder of OpenStorytellers, and she taught me the importance of telling stories with children, instead of telling stories to children.The Storytelling Project at SAAAC Autism Centre was inspired by my work and training at Mencap.

Meeting and working with Geetha Moorthy, Founder and Executive Director of SAAAC Autism Centre has been a tremendous opportunity. Geetha understands and celebrates the importance of the arts in education, and with her support and encouragement The Storytelling Project at SAAAC Autism Centre was born.

Thank you to our Program Partners: The Ontario Arts Council and Unity for Autism. These great organizations believed in our project and provided funding to make it possible.

A heartfelt thank you to the following believers and collaborators: Geetha Moorthy, Mike Lake, Jillian Pearson, Koby Barhad, Leyland Cecco, Jean Hage and the team at SAAAC Autism Centre.

Carrie Hage:
Artist Educator and Creator of The Storytelling Project at SAAAC Autism Centre