Speaking Advocates

ABOUT SPEAKING ADVOCATES

Speaking Advocates is a six-week (or six session) workshop designed to enable neurodivergent adults with developmental and other disabilities to write personal stories and develop the public speaking skills to present those stories in a variety of venues (conferences, civic group meetings, schools, legislative sessions, etc.). Each workshop series ends with a Showcase where participants perform to an audience of friends, family and interested members of their local communities. These stories are also recorded and included as episodes on Art Spark’s podcast platform, TRUE TALES PODCAST.

Benefits of participating in a Speaking Advocates Workshop:

• Develop your writing skills while sharing in a safe space.
• Experience a sense of community among the participants – this happens

organically because as we share our stories, we learn about each other.

• Each writer-participant receives support in every stage of the process.
• Learn basics of public speaking: using voice and body, movement, microphones, the importance of timing and many other basic tools for delivering a great story.

• Telling your story is self-advocacy at its best!

By combining the art of storytelling with public speaking skills, we challenge misconceptions about what it means to live with a disability, demonstrating that we are all more alike than different. This group evolved from our Opening Minds, Opening Doors project, 2013-2017. Graduates have gone on to present at various events, large and small—from storytelling groups to state conferences, college classes to disability awareness training, and everything in between.

CLICK HERE to view the foundational curriculum for our Speaking Advocates program, Opening Mind Opening Doors.

Questions? Want to get involved? Email: [email protected]