IMAGINATION WORKSHOP

“An exhilarating and fun trip into fantasy! It’s had a very positive effect on my life — it’s the very best place to be Wednesday mornings.”

– Imagination Workshop participant

Still Point artists conduct theatre and music classes with developmentally disabled adults at multiple sites around the Chicagoland area. Programs include regular performances, exposing audiences to the humor and artistry of these remarkable men and women. Through the Imagination Workshop, Still Point cultivates greater community integration, seeking to break stereotypes and reduce stigmas associated with disability.

The Imagination Workshop is Still Point’s longest-running outreach program. Using dance, movement, music, comedy, and improvisation, our Facilitators provide a space in which individual expression is encouraged and celebrated. By discovering and developing each participant’s unique gifts, and then combining efforts to create a play, communication and social skills are enhanced. Self-esteem increases as members serve the community through performances, and take pride in their contributions.

Significantly, these benefits have been measured and documented through the use of a program evaluation rubric developed with the Adler School of Psychology. The Imagination Workshop develops important skills that enhance participants’ quality of life.

We are excited to share with you the video that has grown out of this work...

None of Us Want to Stand Still

The video comes out of work that continued after the AHRQ funded PATH-PWD (Partnering to Transform Healthcare with People with Disabilities) Conference in 2017. In collaboration with Dr. Sarah Ailey, a Rush professor in the department of Community, Systems, and Mental Health Nursing, Still Point’s Lisa Wagner-Carollo and James Cornolo, led a training and created a performance with self-advocates at the conference.

Dr. Ailey contacted Ms. Wagner-Carollo after the conference and discussed the idea of the video. They immediately began work on the project, engaging filmmaker Adam Villani as director.

The video highlights the challenges that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities face in the health care system and presents solutions that have been implemented at Rush University Medical Center and Georgetown University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities. People with intellectual and developmental disabilities and advocates highlight the challenges by sharing stories and experiences, while providers contribute examples of successful solutions.

The video follows an outline. The outline covers what we know of best practices in acute and transitional care services for persons with intellectual disabilities. We are working on an accompanying manual with examples and more details about how to implement the best practices.

The film is dedicated to the memory of Laura Callahan-Hazard, who is interviewed in the video and facilitated Still Point’s Ravenswood Players Theatre Troupe from 2013 to 2020.

Please share this video far and wide.

Producers

Sarah Ailey

Molly Bathje

Adam Villani

Lisa Wagner-Carollo

Associate Producer

Clearie McCarthy

Director

Adam Villani

Adam Villani Films

Editors