Special Needs Programming

Rebecca and Rachel bring strong unique qualifications qualified when telling stories to audiences with disabilities.  As a special education teacher and a behavior specialist, Rebecca has worked with students with special needs such as: intellectual disabilities, emotional and behavioral problems, learning disabilities, autism, visual impairments, physical disabilities, attention deficit disorders, and severe/multiple disabilities.  Rebecca, who has a Ph. D. in educational psychology, has presented storytelling workshops to teachers and others at the local, state, and national levels.

Rachel holds an LMSW with specialization in children and adolescents and has had experience in educational, recreational, and clinical settings.  She has worked with individuals with developmental disabilities, emotional and behavioral problems, ADD-HD, learning disabilities, and autism.  She also has worked in areas such as depression, anxiety, anger management, bi-polar disorders, and oppositional defiant disorder.    Rachel has presented a number of demonstrations on learning and telling stories to beginning storytellers.  She has performed in numerous community theater productions and a variety of short films.

StoriesGalorious offers a wide variety of special needs programming, and programs will be tailored to meet the needs of your group.

Adapting for Special Needs

StoriesGalorious presentations include songs, sound effects, visual and tactile materials, audience participation, and movement to engage audiences. Tellers attend closely to the responses of the listeners and adjust their telling as needed during performances.

Storytelling for All

Bring the delight of storytelling to your program with StoriesGalorious, one of Western New York’s most versatile storyteller teams. Based on their years of experience working with individuals with disabilities, the storytellers offer presentations that are:

• Accessible
• Age and developmentally appropriate
• Geared to audience needs

Benefits of Storytelling

In addition to providing enrichment, entertainment, pleasure, and stimulation, storytelling can:

• Foster language development
• Support attentive behaviors
• Encourage listening skills
• Aid development of audience skills
• Bolster a variety of social skills