Composing Poetry and a Writer’s Identity: Positive Social Updrafts in a Community of Writers

Abstract

Creative writing is a bridge for me in several important ways. It is a bridge of communication between myself and other people across the communication canyon of my autism. It is a bridge between my disability and my ability as a writer. It is a bridge between my isolation on the island of silence and the bustling and talkative city that the other students inhabit in their communi- cative world. It is a bridge between my imagination and the understanding of the rest of the world. It is a bridge to self-esteem as I am able to travel mentally to other people and influence their lives. ~Scott’s1 written reflec- tion, produced during his senior year in high school