Louder Than Words - what our parents and participants say
A participant performing a story to the group. Photo by Camilla Adams.
Last year was a great year for Louder Than Words, our specialist drama group for Disabled young people, with 12 children and young people taking part in weekly sessions during term time.
Developing their performance for Winter Lights
In the autumn term, the group worked with a professional writer to devise their scene for Where The Acorns Grow - our Youth Theatre performance, which formed part of our Winter Lights community event in January 2025.
Louder Than Words collaborated with our 3 other Youth Theatre groups to create Where The Acorns Grow, and their scene opened the show. The piece was performed twice at Winter Lights with Louder Than Words performing to 180 people across these two performances.
Exploring themes from the R&D
“[My child is] Accepted for who he is and feels safe at Louder Than Words.”
Between April and July 2025, the group again worked alongside our 3 other Youth Theatre groups on a period of research and development (R&D), inspired by themes that emerged from R&D in February half term, where artists and young people came together to explore ideas from Winter Lights. Themes included magic, nature, healing and portals to other worlds. At the end of term our 13-16’s Youth Theatre group and Louder Than Words came together for a joint session to share their ideas. Additionally Louder Than Words shared their work in progress with family and friends, and potential new group members, at their last session of the year.
At the end of the summer term we carried out evaluation to find out what our participants, parents and carers value about Louder Than Words. Below is a selection of the feedback.
Some excellent feedback from parents and carers
“[My child is] Accepted for who he is and feels safe at Louder Than Words.”
“It has helped my daughter learn how to be part of a group and make friends which hugely improves her wellbeing.”
“Being part of a group that understands her needs and she can be and express herself without any pressure, fear or judgement.”
“Before starting with Travelling Light she used to be shy in expressing herself in front of people however, we’ve noticed her confidence growing and able to engage with others.”
Increased confidence and self esteem
“He’s come out of his shell, it really shows.”
“Within the 4 months she been part of the group, we've seen a shift in her confidence at school in particular where she dares more sharing her ideas and engaging with other children.” Parent
“Being accepted for who she is shows she is valued in the world.” Parent
“Going to a drama club is helping their confidence and never would I have thought they would perform in front of a group of people.” Parent
“Because her ideas and reflections are taken seriously at every level, she feels empowered to participate more. A positive spiral! And this year, she was significantly more confident in the end of year performance.” Parent
“She can access the sessions independently and loves that. She feels safe to tell me she can do this, which is huge progress. Makes us both happy!” Parent
Reduced isolation and development of new friendships
“This is the first club I have ever felt I fitted in”
For many of our participants, the group helps to reduce isolation and enables them to develop new friendships.
In our evaluation, 100% of Louder Than Words participants said they made friends in the group.
"I have been more confident this year and enjoyed spending time with this group and speaking more loudly." Louder Than Words member
"I love it – my favourite thing about coming here is being with you all." Louder Than Words member
“Mum, I love Travelling Light so much.” (I asked him why and he said) “when I have had a bad day at school, I come to Travelling Light and I feel happy again.” Louder Than Words member
Some participants and a team member during a session. Photo by Camilla Adams.
This autumn and beyond
In their sessions this autumn term, the group continue to explore the themes of magic, nature, healing and portals to other worlds. The group will be developing a new performance piece to share with family and friends in March 2026.
To find out more about Louder Than Words visit For Young Disabled People.
Thank you to all our funders and supporters of Louder Than Words.
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