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Welcome to the PAMIS Story Hub, where people and stories come together. Storytelling is one of our oldest art forms. It stimulates the imagination and connects people and communities. Multi-Sensory Storytelling enables people with profound and multiple learning disabilities to participate in this art form, opening the door to creativity and the opportunity for people to achieve connections they may not have thought possible. Multi-Sensory Stories invite us to honour the spirit of stories – the part that connects, resonates and reaches us all, regardless of ability or expression. At PAMIS we explore personal stories, stories from the oral storytelling tradition, sensitive stories and many more. In developing our resources we have been mindful that there is no one way to tell a multi-sensory story. Everyone is an individual. We have suggested sensory stimuli and activities to accompany and enhance our stories, which can all be adapted to suit the people with whom you are sharing or creating the story. You may wish to use other items entirely! Our resources are for you to use as you wish and we hope that they serve as a source of inspiration for you on your story journey. If there is something you would like to see here, please get in touch with us. Community is at the heart of everything PAMIS does and we welcome your ideas. We hope you enjoy exploring! Take me there Find out about Multi-Sensory Storytelling with PAMIS Looking for a specific story, or theme? You can search using the title, or keywords Search A Loo for You, A Loo for Me A Changing Places Toilet awareness story The crow that would not go What will the scarecrows do to scare away a naughty crow? The Imagination Toolkit A multi-sensory storytelling resource for challenging times War Resources Describe the item and include any relevant details. Click to edit the text. Loretto's Stories Multi-sensory tales from the oral storytelling tradition Item Title Describe the item and include any relevant details. Click to edit the text.

Oona and the Giant On this page you will find a video of the story, as well as music and lyrics for the accompanying songs, the multi-sensory story with sound buttons and some fun activities to make your own sensory items and further engage with the story. Our teaching community may find the supporting documentation useful, as this booklet contains information about how multi-sensory storytelling links to the curriculum, as well as our general activity analysis and risk assessment. There Was A Giant Called Fionn Macoull Full-Length Traditional Story 00:00 / 02:00 00:00 / 11:57 Click here for the song lyrics Oona and the Giant All suggested activities can be found via the link at the bottom of the page. Have a read through of the story to see our suggestions for additional items you could gather to help bring the story to life. Long ago, Giants lived in Ireland and they were always fighting to see who was strongest. Using a resistance band, stretchy rope or even a pair of tights, test your strength with lots of 'gggrrrrs' and groan sounds! Now there was a Giant called Fionn Macoull and his wife Oona and they lived in a house on top of a mountain. One day Oona was planting flowers in her garden. Activity - Flower Making Pass around your flower, a picked flower, or perhaps enjoy a spot of gardening and plant your own flower! Suddenly she heard Fionn shout: "Help, help, Cuchulainn's on his way. He'll squash me flat as a cow pat if he finds me today." "Hush dear Fionn, I have a wonderful plan. We'll soon be rid of Cuchuuuuuuulainn", whispered Oona. Put your finger to your lips and say ssshhhhh. Oona put on her apron and baked some buns. Three had rocks in them, three hadn't. Activity - Rocky Buns Pass around the Rocky Buns. "Quick Fionn, get in this basket and be a baby", Oona said. Take turns being covered with the blanket and shaking the rattle. There was a great loud roar and a banging at the door. Depending on the tolerances of your group, you could shake a thunder drum, roar loudly, knock loudly on table or door, stamp your feet and make lots of noise! And the mountains shook...and the house shook...and Fionn Macoull shook until all his bones rattled. Shake the rattle Oona opened the door and said: "Who are you? What do you want?" "My name it is Cuchulainn I'm the strongest, I'm the best. Put my magic finger to the test!" "Oh no you're not, my husband Fionn is hard as rock. If he were here when the north wind blew, he'd turn our house the other way." So Cuchulainn clicked his magic finger once... twice... three times... He pulled and he pulled...and he pulled... and he turned the house round. Take hold of the resistance band, stretchy rope or tights and pull. If this is difficult, use hand under hand technique to guide movement. If participants respond well to hand touch, gently pulling hands can be a lovely shared physical interaction. "My name it is Cuchulainn I'm the strongest, I'm the best. Put my magic finger to the test!" Fionn's teeth chattered and his bones rattled Shake the rattle and Oona said "Oh no you're not, my husband Fionn is hard as rock! By lifting off the mountain top he gets me water for my pot." So Cuchulainn clicked his magic finger once... twice... three times... and he pushed and he pushed and he pushed Take hold of the resistance band, stretchy rope or tights and lift up and up and up as if raising the top of the mountain. If this is difficult, use hand under hand technique to guide movement. If participants are comfortable with touch, applying gentle but firm pressure to shoulders, chest or arms can offer feeling of resistance in a calming way. and out the water gushed. "My name it is Cuchulainn I'm the strongest, I'm the best. Put my magic finger to the test!" Fionn's teeth chattered and his bones rattled. Shake the rattle Oona put her hands on her hips: "Oh are you now? Then here's my test, Fionn's favourite buns, they are the best!" Pass around heavy 'bun' with rock inside. So Cuchulainn bit...and he bit...and he bit so hard he broke his teeth. If Fionn could eat these buns...my...he was very strong...there was no mistake! And as for his baby...! Cuchulainn's teeth began to chatter and his bones began to rattle. Shake the rattle Oona played the drum and sang: "There was a Giant called Fionn Macoull, Fionn Macoull, Fionn Macoull, there was a Giant called Fionn Macoull and he lived upon a mountain." Then Cuchulainn said in a very shaky voice: "My...what a loud voice your baby has" "My...what strong legs your baby has" "My...what big teeth your baby has!" "All the better to eat one of my buns", said Oona. "Here, feed this bun to my son Fionn." Pass around a soft 'bun'. Fionn opened his mouth and bit Cuchulainn's magic finger! And Fionn pulled...and Cuchulainn pulled... and Fionn pulled...and Cuchulainn pulled... Take hold of the resistance band, stretchy rope or tights and pull. Use hand under hand technique to guide movement if necessary or pull hands gently if participants respond well to hand touch. If sharing with a group, have half the group pull for Fionn and the other half for Cuchulainn! and Fionn pulled HARDER. Cuchulainn's finger lost all of its magic and he got smaller...and smaller...and smaller. Have everyone let go of the band, stretchy rope or tights. The wee giant called Cuchulainn ran and ran away down the mountain as was never seen again. Fionn and Oona laughed until the mountains sang: "There was a Giant called Fionn Macoull, Fionn Macoull, Fionn Macoull, there was a Giant called Fionn Macoull and he lived upon a mountain." Suggested Activities Supporting Documents Back

Story has always been central to the work of PAMIS. Stories are everywhere in our everyday lives, they surround us. Stories help us understand the self and others. They support learning and development, understanding, interaction, engagement, connection. With Multi-Sensory Storytelling we don’t just tell a story, but we use objects or sensory stimuli to enhance the story and allow it to be experienced with all the senses, to help bring it to life for the person experiencing it. So rather than just listening to the words, they become involved with the story…a part of the story. Multi-Sensory Storytelling can Support people to connect with real life experiences through their senses Support people to share their experiences through their senses Help prepare people for difficult situations in their lives Help prepare people for new experiences Support people to engage with their culture and heritage Support people to access the school curriculum and lifelong learning opportunities What would you like to do? Download our free guide to creating multi-sensory stories Find our about multi-sensory storytelling workshops offered by PAMIS Explore our story resources Take me there Take me there Take me there

Loretto's Stories Created in loving memory of Loretto Lambe, founder of PAMIS, this multi-sensory story resource is a celebration of her contribution to multi-sensory storytelling for people with profound and multiple learning disabilities. Loretto grew up in Sligo in Ireland, surrounded by stories and a community spirit that valued the telling of these stories. The three stories here were chosen because of their Irish roots and come from the rich oral storytelling culture that she loved. They are designed to take you on a creative multi-sensory journey that awakens your senses and stimulates the imagination. The Selkie Bride The Tramp and the Fairy Boots Oona and the Giant Loretto's life was dedicated to making sure that people with profound and multiple learning disabilities were seen as valued members of society with much to contribute. Inclusive communities were at the heart of all her work and it is those communities that came together to continue Loretto's storytelling legacy in the making of this resource. People made this project happen. Everyone worked together and everyone who wanted to help and be a part of it could help. To learn more about the project and the communities involved, please click on the image below to read 'Loretto's Story Book' by Maureen Phillip. Back

The Tramp and the Fairy Boots On this page you will find a video of the story, as well as music and lyrics for the accompanying songs, the multi-sensory story with sound buttons and some fun activities to make your own sensory items and further engage with the story. Our teaching community may find the supporting documentation useful, as this booklet contains information about how multi-sensory storytelling links to the curriculum, as well as our general activity analysis and risk assessment. The Sun Goes Up 00:00 / 02:32 Full-Length Traditional Story 00:00 / 11:09 Click here for the song lyrics The Tramp and the Fairy Boots All suggested activities can be found via the link at the bottom of the page. Have a read through of the story to see our suggestions for additional items you could gather to help bring the story to life. Play or sing 'The Sun Goes Up' to open. It was a hot and sunny day Activity - Make your own sun. This is also a lovely story to enjoy outside on a sunny day. An old man was walking down a lane Tap a walking rhythm on knees, a table or another surface. He saw a mossy green hill. There was a shady tree on top. Activity - Tree Umbrella Alternatively you could collect fallen branches and attach handprint leaves or leaf cut out shapes. Or if outside, gather under a lovely big tree. The old man sat under the tree Shade participants with the tree umbrella or branches. If outside, take some time to listen to the leaves, the birds, feel the breeze... He took off his boots and sighed Activity - An Outdoor Walk Sensory Trays Sigh a big happy sigh The soft wind lulled him to sleep Gently fan everyone. In his dream he heard magical bells Gently shake bells When suddenly a voice shouted "Get up...get out...go go go!" The old man woke...he looked...but he could see nobody Stretch and yawn, then look all around - up, down, left and right. The soft wind lulled him back to sleep Gently fan everyone. In his dream he heard magical bells Shake the bells. When suddenly a voice sang: "Get up...get out...go go go, come on old man, you're too slow. The fairy king, he wants you gone, so make a wish and don't take long!" Shake the bells. Repeat - either speak or sing - the rhyme a few times. There he saw a wee fairy man dressed in red and green. Activity - Wee Fairy Man So the old man wished for a pair of buttercup yellow fairy boots. Activity - Fairy Boots His wish came true. Shake the bells. The old man put them on and sang a little song: "The sun goes up, the sun goes down, the world keeps turning round and round. The birds they sing, the bees they hum, the frogs they croak that summer's come." The fairy man said "Ssssshhhhh...don't tell anyone about the boots...Ssssssshhhhhh!" The boots made the old man happy and he walked Tap a walking rhythm on knees, a table or another surface or take turns to 'walk' the fairy boots over a surface and he skipped Tap a skipping rhythm on knees, a table or another surface or take turns to 'skip' the fairy boots over a surface and he danced 'footsteps' on table, knee, floor Tap a dancing rhythm on knees, a table or another surface or take turns to 'dance' the fairy boots over a surface When one day he saw a river Blue fabric - ideally a blue silk material The old man took off his boots and put his feet in the river and sighed: "Aaaaaahhhhhhh." Run blue fabric over feet or hands, if feet are not tolerated. When a fisherman shouted: "Where did you get those boots?" "The fairy king gave them me", cried the old man. Whooooooosh! and the fairy boots were gone. Use your voice or a groan tube, or a whistle. In their place were two yellow buttercups Activity - Buttercup craft Perhaps with a drop of aromatherapy oil if safe to do so. And the birds they sang And the bees they hummed And the frogs they croaked... Play or sing 'The Sun Goes Up' song to close Suggested Activities Supporting Documents Back

The Selkie Bride On this page you will find a video of the story, as well as music and lyrics for the accompanying songs, the multi-sensory story with sound buttons and some fun activities to make your own sensory items and further engage with the story. Our teaching community may find the supporting documentation useful, as this booklet contains information about how multi-sensory storytelling links to the curriculum, as well as our general activity analysis and risk assessment. Selkie Seal Song 00:00 / 04:25 Connemara Cradle Song 00:00 / 04:38 Full-Length Traditional Story 00:00 / 10:57 Click here for the song lyrics The Selkie Bride All suggested activities can be found via the link at the bottom of the page. Have a read through of the story to see our suggestions for additional items you could gather to help bring the story to life. Once upon a time, there lived a kind but lonely fisherman called Thady. Activity - Make your own Thady sensory board Explore the textures He lived in a cottage by Lissadell Beach Create sea breeze effect by wafting fan, or paper. You could also spray a little water, if you'd like to have some sea spray. One evening he sat by the sea. Activity - Make an Ocean Drum Gently rocks to make sea sounds He heard beautiful singing. Listen to the song and pass around some shells He watched as a Selkie stepped from the sea and took off her magical cloak. Activity - Make your own Selkie sensory board or lay shiny material in lap of each person in turn and help them remove it. She sang her sad Selkie Seal Song. Listen to the song and pass around some shells The fisherman fell in love with the Selkie and he took her magical cloak so she couldn't return to the sea. Remove the cloak from the Selkie or hide the shiny material used as a Selkie cloak. She was sad without her cloak but loved the kind fisherman. Make gentle crying sounds, use a Tear Dropper to drop 'tears' onto a cheek or the back of a hand. Then Thady hid her magical cloak in a sea chest. If you are not fortunate enough to possess a sea chest or treasure chest, a fun activity might be to decorate a cardboard box with shells or netting. Just large enough to hide the cloak in and 'slam' the lid shut. Thady and the Selkie lived happily together in the cottage with their children. At night she listened to the sea and sang her sad lullabies to her children. Listen to the song and pass around some shells One night, her youngest son saw the magical Selkie cloak. It shone in the moonlight. Take cloak from box and shine torch on it. He took it and gave it to his mother, who took him by the hand If the participants are comfortable with touch, take each person by the hand and walked down to the sea where she put on her magical cloak Reattach Selkie cloak to Selkie Sensory Board, or lay shiny material over lap of each person. She waved goodbye and swam into the sea Gently rock the ocean drum to make sea sounds. Perhaps run a blue scarf or piece of fabric over arms or legs, or if tolerated, over the heads of participants. The Selkie never forgot her family and often left fish for their tea on the seashore. Activity - Make your own fish It is said that one evening as the sun kissed the land goodnight, old Thady heard the calling of an old seal He went down to the shore and stepped into the ebb and flow of the salty ocean. Gently rock the ocean drum to make sea sounds. Perhaps run a blue scarf or piece of fabric over arms or legs, or if tolerated, over the heads of participants. It is told that in the bay there swim two old seals together forever. Play the Connemara Cradle Song to close. Suggested Activities Supporting Documents Back

The crow that would not go A PAMIS Creating Together project developed by the PAMIS Story Squad and inspired by the work of the PAMIS online Art Group. Funded by Shared Care Scotland and Clackmannanshire Council. About the story The crow that would not go The suggested activities can be found via the link at the bottom of the page. You can enjoy the story with the sound buttons, gather the items we use in our story or create your own story - gather lots of items and invite participants to choose their favourites to scare away the naughty crow! There are lots of scarecrows on the farm All standing proudly with outstretched arms All day and night they guard the corn In the field right next to the big red barn But one day, a big crow swooped down. And started pecking at the ground "He's eating the seeds! Oh no, Oh no! Naughty crow, off you go!" But the crow would NOT go! The scarecrows shouted "Shoo crow, shoo!" Then Scarecrow Emma said "I know what to do!" She shook her yellow shaker at the crow... But the crow would NOT go! The scarecrows shouted "Shoo crow, shoo!" Then Scarecrow Quinns said "I know what to do!" He jangled his red bells at the crow... But the crow would NOT go! The scarecrows shouted "Shoo crow, shoo!" Then Scarecrow Cooper said "I know what to do!" He brushed his big broom at the crow... But the crow would NOT go! The scarecrows shouted "Shoo crow, shoo!" Then Scarecrow Blair said "I know what to do!" He honked his horn at the crow... But the crow would NOT go! The scarecrows shouted "Shoo crow, shoo!" Then Scarecrow Kodi said "I know what to do!" He tringed his bike bell at the crow... But the crow would NOT go! The scarecrows shouted "Shoo crow, shoo!" Then Scarecrow Kacie said "I know what to do!" She flashed her torch AND rustled her tinsel at the crow... But the crow WOULD NOT GO! The scarecrows all looked at each other And said "Okay, let's try this TOGETHER!" They shook, jangled, brushed, honked, tringed, flashed and rustled at the crow... AND THE CROW FLEW AWAY! HOORAY! Back

PART 3 Using Stories About this session Participants will be introduced to the idea that stories create meaning and give understanding to events that happen to us. We do this by the way in which we construct stories about these events. Important underlying values and principles of stories will be covered including ideas of being able to re-author your story, re-membering, finding exceptions in your story, honouring strength and resilience as well as honouring other things that are important to us, respecting other’s stories and flexibility (recognising that there is no single truth). The pre recorded presentation will end with an exercise inviting participants to think about and reflect on what stories we tell about ourselves and others. It will introduce people to ‘thin’ descriptions and ‘rich’ descriptions and ask them to think about the origins of the stories that we hold about ourselves. Learning Outcomes By the end of this training session, participants can expect to: . Back

Imagination Imagination offers us the opportunity to recreate and remodel our world. It plays an important part in our mental and emotional health. It offers endless opportunities for connection to ourselves, others and our communities. Imaginative play helps relieve stress and improve relationships. Imagination supports knowledge and experience of the world around us. It enables exploration of the unknown. The Imagination Toolkit blends stories of real-life events with the mythical and through this offers a pathway into exploring emotions through narrative and story. Imagination is a powerful tool and when active it can help generate ideas that lead to action that can ultimately bring about powerful change. Research has shown that imagination sits in the same part of the brain as memory but the processes operate in different ways. Imagining something can be as vivid as remembering something. Imagination is the ability to form a mental image independently of the senses. However, when imagining something independently we draw on memory of smells, sights, sounds, touch to form our imaginary world. When experiencing nature, the sights, sounds, smells of the seasons all impact on my imaginary thought. We need personal experience to fuel our imagination. Think about a world with no books, or creative activities, like film, drama, dance, art etc. All these everyday things in life would not exist without imagination and what a very different world it would be without them. You just have to watch young children play to see how quickly they learn about the world around them through their imagination. It is imagination that creates hope and change in this world. Without imagination we would lead very different lives. Imagination, however, can also create emotions of helplessness, fear, anger, anxiety and worry which can lead to sadness, overwhelm and depression. Like little seeds in a garden these worries can grow and if unattended these powerful feelings can emerge, become overgrown and take over. This is where story and narrative can support an exploration of these emotions. The Imagination Toolkit is our gift to you, to help people with profound and multiple learning disabilities and those that support them to explore their emotions during times they feel challenged by helping them ignite their imagination. This toolkit has been designed to help open the door to a creative exploration of the power of imagination and help everyone to imagine a better life for all. PART 1 PART 4 PART 2 PART 5 PART 3 PART 6 Back

The Imagination Toolkit A Multi-Sensory Storytelling Resource for challenging times. The Imagination Toolkit is a resource that helps people with profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD) and those who support them, to explore their feelings and emotions through the narrative of multi-sensory stories. An experiential course accompanies the resource and introduces people to reasons why stories (narrative) give meaning to our lives and are important in helping to process emotions, particularly during challenging times in our lives. The resource will explain how stories give meaning and understanding to events that may be emotionally challenging for people with profound and multiple learning disabilities. Everyone deserves to have the opportunity to have their feelings acknowledged and it is no different for those who have no voice. The resource provides a practical framework where people with profound and multiple learning disabilities and those caring for them can explore emotions together through multi-sensory story narrative. The course will also provide opportunities to learn how to design, develop and deliver multi-sensory stories. It also explores the importance of the story space and how being in that space helps to develop a model of practice based on presence, trust and knowing. The Imagination Toolkit provides you with practical skills to help you to connect with people with PMLD during challenging times through multi-sensory stories and it is lots of fun too! Log In This resource is password protected and accessible by approval only. To enquire about the resource, please contact maureen.phillip@pamis.org.uk Back

Privacy Policy A legal disclaimer The explanations and information provided on this page are only general and high-level explanations and information on how to write your own document of a Privacy Policy. You should not rely on this article as legal advice or as recommendations regarding what you should actually do, because we cannot know in advance what are the specific privacy policies you wish to establish between your business and your customers and visitors. We recommend that you seek legal advice to help you understand and to assist you in the creation of your own Privacy Policy. Privacy Policy - the basics Having said that, a privacy policy is a statement that discloses some or all of the ways a website collects, uses, discloses, processes, and manages the data of its visitors and customers. It usually also includes a statement regarding the website’s commitment to protecting its visitors’ or customers’ privacy, and an explanation about the different mechanisms the website is implementing in order to protect privacy. Different jurisdictions have different legal obligations of what must be included in a Privacy Policy. You are responsible to make sure you are following the relevant legislation to your activities and location. What to include in the Privacy Policy Generally speaking, a Privacy Policy often addresses these types of issues: the types of information the website is collecting and the manner in which it collects the data; an explanation about why is the website collecting these types of information; what are the website’s practices on sharing the information with third parties; ways in which your visitors and customers can exercise their rights according to the relevant privacy legislation; the specific practices regarding minors’ data collection; and much, much more. To learn more about this, check out our article “Creating a Privacy Policy ”.

About World Toilet Day World Toilet Day takes place each year on 19th November. It highlights the critical importance of clean, safe toilets and good sanitation. The hummingbird was the symbol of World Toilet Day and World Water Day 2023. In the ancient story, a hummingbird does what she can to fight a great fire – carrying droplets of water in her beak. Her actions – even though small – are helping solve a big problem. You can be like the hummingbird. The more ‘hummingbirds’ there are, the bigger the impact. Back