What began in 2018 as an opportunity for Georgians with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) to share stories with their legislators has become a robust collection of photographs, written stories, audio conversations, and films displaying the diverse array of experiences that create the lives of these individuals. L’Arche Atlanta, StoryMuse, and their partners have traveled the state of Georgia collecting images and stories of Georgians with intellectual and developmental disabilities and the lives they live. So far, more than 150 stories have been told through the two seasons of the Hidden Voices podcast, the documentary 6,000 Waiting, two collections of Treasure Maps Roadshow short films, and both short- and long-form written stories with accompanying photographs. Throughout the project, L’Arche Atlanta has partnered with organizations and people throughout the state and across the country to make the project come to life.

On December 7, 2022, Cow Tipping Press, writers from across Georgia, L’Arche Atlanta, StoryMuse, and the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD) Storytelling Project team went on Facebook Live to celebrate the launch of their book, “Green Pasture Nightmare.” The book, the latest work done as a part of the Storytelling Project, is an anthology of poetry and short stories, both fiction and nonfiction, penned by ten Georgians with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Cow Tipping Press, a Minnesota-based inclusive writing center/publishing company, leads workshops that create opportunities to relish the assets, rather than the deficits, of people with disabilities through the unique lens of creative writing. They seek to change the narrative on developmental disability. The organization offers writing classes for adults with developmental disabilities (over 400 alums and counting) and creates platforms for them to speak for themselves in spaces that have historically been used to speak about them. Cow Tipping workshop instructors use differentiated instruction methods that are accessible to diverse learners and, over the course of the two-month long story development curriculum, expose the students to new writing topics and genres. Through an application process, nine budding authors from across Georgia were selected to participate in the workshops to build their creative writing talents and craft their ideas and experiences into a series of authentic stories and poetry. For many participants in the program, this is the first time they have ever had their work published.

The nine Georgian authors who participated in the project are as follows:

• Ronald Bovell - Stockbridge
• Wesley Ford - Jackson
• Derek Heard - Albany
• Christopher Fleming - Tyrone
• Kyleigh Kramlich - Lawrenceville
• Kristian Thomas - Barnesville
• Tina Wheeler - Macon
• Jessica Winowich - Columbus
• Joshua Williams - Statesboro

Rachel Liberman, Cow Tipping Press Program Manager stated, “Kudos to GCDD for their work to include more than a 'single story', or the important but expected stories directly on disability in their storytelling project. As author Chimamanda Ngoze Adichie famously said, ‘to create a single story, show a people as one thing, as only one thing, over and over again, and that is what they become.’ We at Cow Tipping believe creative storytelling—fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and journalism—from the perspective of authors with intellectual/developmental disabilities is just as important for self-advocacy as stories of challenges faced in medical, educational, and social services settings, and we're excited to be included in this important project.”

As a part of the Facebook Live event, several authors shared their scripts, poetry, and short stories that were humorous, suspenseful, and soul-stirring. While the level of previous writing experience varied among the participants, it was obvious that the authors embraced the process in ways that best suited their individual talents, perspectives, and voices.

GCDD’s Storytelling Project contract manager Maria Pinkelton commented, “Cow Tipping Press has served as a wonderful launch pad for these writers. The confidence that comes from participating in the creative process is powerful, and I hope it’s an activity that they use often. It was a wonderful launch pad for these writers. It’s been proven that the process of writing lowers stress, increases one’s ability to communicate complex concepts more effectively and builds persuasive communication skills. During the book launch event, we also saw the confidence that this practice builds in those who ‘flex’ their creative muscles. I am pleased that this group of advocates had the opportunity to participate in this project and hope they build on the skills they’ve learned.”

For those who were unable to attend the event, a recording is available on the Cow Tipping Press Facebook page. You can find out more about Cow Tipping Press, as well as purchase Green Pastures Nightmare and other books by previous classes on their website at https://cowtippingpress.org.

The entire collection of works created as part of the GCDD Storytelling Project can be found on our Telling Our Stories website at https://story-collection.gcdd.org/the-gcdd-storytelling-project.

Kelvin, who has an intellectual disability, is able to dedicate time to these passions because he lives independently in his own apartment, with staff who come several times a week to help with his medications, errands, and other tasks. Kelvin’s budget is tight, but he loves to find deals at thrift stores on the furniture and décor that he loves. He explains that his tastes run to “more antique-like things,” which is clear everywhere in his home from the classic sleigh-bed frame to the vintage 1980s crock pot that has its place in a neat line in the kitchen, alongside the air fryer, the Instant Pot, and the non-vintage crock pot.

These appliances are more than a convenience for Kelvin; they make it safer for him to cook meals independently in his home. For one thing, he says, the timers on these devices make it impossible for him to walk away from his cooking for too long and risk a fire. And another: Conventional ovens make kitchens quite warm. “And if I get too hot,” he explains, “I will get a seizure. And I know the old saying goes, ‘If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen!’” His laughter is infectious. Kelvin’s flair for interior decorating is a family trait. “Oh, yeah. I’ve always enjoyed decorating, ever since I was coming up as a child.” He has a sister who is much older and remembers admiring the look of her house when he was growing up. And then there was his mother.

“My mother always said, ‘Ooh, I’ve got to put this sofa over here and move this loveseat over there.” She was a busy woman, though, and didn’t always have time to follow through on her redecorating desires—and so one time, when she wasn’t home, he moved the furniture for her. He beams now to recall her expression when she saw her living room looking exactly the way she’d wanted. The lesson of that story? “Surprise your mama, and she’ll be proud of you!”

The loss of his mother two decades ago left Kelvin completely bereft. “I felt so all alone. And that’s when I really got closer to God.” These days, Kelvin attends church weekly, listens to his favorite minister preach on the radio, and finds solace in his prayer room, whose wall hangings inspire him. He says his family doesn’t get together much anymore except for funerals; it’s church that sustains him and keeps him connected to a source of love and community.

Kelvin’s sense of style extends to personal fashion, too: He keeps a neatly stacked collection of trilby hats in a broad range of colors, from purple—his favorite (“That’s a royal color, and that’s the color Jesus’s robe was!”), to grey houndstooth (“I’m looking for a matching suit for this one!”), to bright red (On Valentine’s Day, he wears all red and laughingly tells people to call him “the love doctor.”)

Sometimes, he gets frustrated. It often happens when his fierce desire to shape his own environment meets the constraints of life as someone living on a fixed budget, as he does. For example, in his love of comparison shopping, he sometimes feels condescended to by aides who tell him that certain items are outside of his price range. Or, as he puts it, “I like to take my time and make my own decisions. I don’t need someone telling me, ‘You don’t need to get that!’ like a parent tells a child.” Living with a disability means Kelvin needs help with some activities of daily living. But he’s also a 46-year-old man with his own passions, goals, and natural desire for personal agency.

A few years ago, that sense of agency led him here. He grew up in a housing project in a part of town he says is best known for occasional shootings. “That environment I was in, I got tired of that area,” he says—especially as younger friends began leaving and the elders who had checked in on him and had been his friends began passing away. “I thought, ‘The energy I need is not around here anymore.’ I needed to move!’” Funds from his Medicaid waiver made it possible for his caseworkers to find his current light-filled apartment in another neighborhood—which he says has made all the difference. “When God placed me in this area, I felt more upgraded.”

In some ways, Kelvin Carter’s life has been a series of upgrades, made possible largely through the Medicaid waiver which allows him to live outside of an institution. Environment matters to all of us, whether that means living in places free of crime, near the people we care about, or filled with the furniture we’ve picked out ourselves with our collections of favorite hats near at hand in a neat stack. Maybe, in some ways, that’s what finding home is all about: a series of upgrades.

There’s more that he wants to do: He says he’s been lobbying for a storm door so that he could let more light in his entryway. There’s a recliner he’s had his eye on for weeks—and somewhere, who knows where, in the future, there’s that houndstooth suit that matches his hat. But for now, he’s going to go back upstairs, put on another hat, his blue hat and walk out into the sun. When people ask him why he’s wearing a bright blue hat, he’ll say, “Don’t you see how good that blue sky looks up there? God gave me a blue sky today!” 

Photos by Jessica Whitley