A few months back, I stumbled upon a book entitled Writing Our Lives, edited by Mary Ann Jansen of the Women Writing for a Change Foundation. This book contains selections from the first ever 2010 Writing Circle partnering with the Down Syndrome Association of Greater Cincinnati. Each Wednesday over the next few weeks, I will highlight selections from this wonderful work written by adults with Down Syndrome as a part of our “Perfectly Human” series. Today’s post will serve as an introduction. Read the adapted forward by Mary Ann Jansen about how this project came to fruition and what a writing class looked like for this unique group of students.  

To empower individuals, educate families, enhance communities and together, celebrate the extraordinary lives of people with Down Syndrome.

–Mission of the Down Syndrome Association of Greater Cincinnati

Empowering individuals from all walks of life to develop their voices and celebrate their stories, through the art of writing and the creation of community.

–Mission of Women Writing for a Change

A writing class with Down Syndrome adults? My ignorance shouted the question, HOW? Trust the invitation. Step into the situation. Count on Women Writing for a Change processes.

What unfolded through our weeks together left me in awe. I experienced a remarkable phenomenon as each participant, using the writing process, explored and named dimensions of his/her life. What was shared, what I came to realize about Down Syndrome, the individuals that grew to be what I now consider some of my dearest colleagues, was beyond anything that I expected.

Yes, this book provided a chance for individuals with Down Syndrome to publish their work. They worked hard. They wrote. They created. They discovered so much of life in their writings and shared it with each other. But it is my hope that the reader of this book discovers much more. May this collection of writings reveal the uniqueness of each writer. May this book be witness to the challenges faced every day by each of them. May their honesty take the reader of this book by the hand and lead him/her into a life reflection. May we be inspired to dream our dreams; face our fears; name the relationships we value; explore our rejections; admit when we have rejected others; and may we pay a little more attention to what surrounds us. But most importantly, may these writings help us all to realize how similar and connected we all are.

Trust on everyone’s part produced this body of work. It is the culmination of twelve gatherings around the boardroom table on Thursday nights, on the eleventh floor of the Down Syndrome Association on Linn Street, in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. Our seventy-five to ninety minute classes provided a lot of laughter; some tears; discussions; and writing, writing, writing. Trust evoked courage as community developed. Courage allowed for greater depth in our writing. Our topics moved through a gamut of sharings: from what we do, what we like: to what do I feel, what do I fear, what does it mean to have Down Syndrome. For some, this last topic evoked much emotion but those who could, wrote to the question.

During each class, in the midst of utter eagerness, we practiced a consistent process… We began the circle by passing a lighted candle. This inclusion activity settled us down and focused us, making the transition from the outside world into our space. We’d sound the chime (used throughout the evening to indicate a change in activity). We would have a check in, passing the stone from one to another to indicate the person’s turn to share, How was your week? What happened exciting to you? How are you feeling about the day …?

Again, we’d chime, then read a poem…

Following the poem a short discussion ensued to clarify the poem’s meaning and or till our thinking about the topic addressed in the poem. A chime would lead the participants into a fastwrite of ten minutes. The agenda listed prompts based on the poem, to guide their writing. For example:

What is your greatest accomplishment?
Who has helped you through your life?
When people meet you how do they see your face?
What is most valuable to you?

At the end of our fastwrite the participants had the opportunity to read their writing pieces out loud… Enunciation when reading challenged some individuals. For others, reading their own writing was a stumbling block. Coherence in the writing also was a challenge. Others read clearly and coherently. But all read. We all listened. Each individual received whatever time was needed to read his/her piece. We had no applause, just the sound of the chime to acknowledge the writing pieces. (It did become a challenging pattern each week having to decide who would ring the chime!)

We would end the class with soul cards. On index cards, each participant wrote with just as much enthusiasm as their pieces, what he/she liked about the class, what he/she didn’t like about the class…

I like talking about the poem and my boyfriend.
I love listening to my friends’ stories.
I liked today because I got to write something about being a singer.