Healing Narratives: The Art & Sound of Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities

Image credit to the original article

Greeting Stewards, 

Health narratives and health equity are two ideas that we strongly believe in here at PAHS.  Narratives have the power, if indirectly, to help open more doors towards health equity and a better healthcare system for all. 

As a part of the Healing Narratives project, the Virginia Commonwealth University’s (VCU) School of Education Partnership for People with Disabilities uses art and sound to tell the stories of BIPOC adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDD). The main focus of this project was to share the experiences of people who identify as IDD. These stories showed both the good and bad experiences of the patients. Seb Prohn, the Partnership’s assistant director said, “One of the goals is being able to amplify the voices of people who typically have their voices silenced or are not heard.”

There were 25 art pieces installed on eight panels in the busiest hallway of the medical center, allowing providers, patients, and visitors to experience them all. Additionally, instead of adding normal text captions under the pieces of art, the organizers installed QR codes for people to scan and be taken as audio files. This was intended to make the project more accessible for those with lower literacy or impaired vision.

Who are other groups that may benefit from a project similar to this? Let us know over on Circle! 

Warmly, 

Asheranna