Finding a Voice: Poetry and People With Developmental Disabilities

Area of Science:

• Therapeutic Arts
• Developmental Disabilities
• Creative Expression

Background:

• Individuals with developmental disabilities often face challenges in self-expression.
• Traditional communication methods may not fully capture their experiences.
• Poetry offers a unique modality for expressing complex emotions and thoughts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the use of poetry as a tool for self-expression in individuals with developmental disabilities.
• To investigate the therapeutic potential of poetry creation for this population.
• To demonstrate how poetry can enhance creative experiences and communication.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing poetry by established poets to illustrate concepts.
• Employing strategic questioning to elicit and record participants' ideas in poetic form.
• Facilitating a creative process centered around poetic expression.

Main Results:

• Poetry served as an effective vehicle for self-expression, even for minimally verbal individuals.
• The process yielded therapeutic benefits for participants.
• The resulting poems were powerful expressions of human experience.

Conclusions:

• Poetry is a viable and effective method for fostering self-expression and therapeutic outcomes in individuals with developmental disabilities.
• This approach can unlock profound insights and enhance the creative and communicative abilities of participants.
• The use of strategic questioning combined with poetic forms is a valuable technique.