Put the stories of people with intellectual disabilities on stage

Using public storytelling to connect with the IDD community

RJI and WORDSLAW are partnering to help newsrooms try a different method of connecting with their under-covered communities — public storytelling.

Public storytelling events allow newsrooms to work with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (often called IDD), form a relationship, and encourage them to share their stories in their own words. It will provide newsrooms a structure on how to communicate with folks in this population, and give them an understanding of what they care about.

We have developed a program that can be replicated by newsrooms for their local communities. Our focus is on people with IDD, but you can certainly apply the principles and methods to other vulnerable populations that we don’t hear from often enough.