Kathy: Having Students Speak for Themselves

There is one session from the CEC 2010 Convention & Expo that has so inspired me: “Project My Voice” is about helping young adult students make a video about themselves. It gives them the opportunity to show what they can do, what they like and what they dream of doing in the future. 

I love how it was presented.  The speaker has a sister who has special needs.  She started by telling us about her sister.  Then she showed us the video of her sister.  I was amazed at what I learned about this special person that words could not capture. 

One scene is of the young woman playing cards, but you soon realize that she looks at the cards before dealing them and gives all the best cards to one special player.  Think about what skills that requires!  I had underestimated this young woman. 

I loved the sense of humor that came out in the video.  I could hear the words “this student has a sense of humor” but seeing it made it come alive.  The student also picks the music that plays along with the images, again giving me a glimpse into this special person.
 
I see these videos as being useful in IEPs.  I can see them being used when a student transitions into a new program.  I wish I had one of these videos for each of the students I have worked with this year. 

I hope to make a video of my special-needs daughter who is looking for a job.  I always think when she fills out yet another application that I wish the prospective employer could get to know her.  To know her is to love her…or at least understand her better and not underestimate what she can do.

I found the press release on line, check it out for yourself:

http://www.niu.edu/PubAffairs/RELEASEs/2007/june/myvoice.shtml

Comments

[Tiffany]

This is an awesome idea! It helps our students to have a visual perspective of how the process of finding employment works. In our area, our high school special education students have the opportunity to find jobs and participate in the workforce with supervision. The students gain valuable real world experience.

[Taneiki Smokes]

I want to find more ways to get students self advocate. It is essential that after a certain age special needs students must express their needs. The ideas are great but must be used by both teachers.

[Matt]

What a great idea! This could also be a great 'ice breaker' activity for the beginning of the year. Thanks for the idea!

[Judith Howell]

This is a wonderful tool! Creative, and interactive while being simple and easy to achieve. It's so true that special needs children are most commonly some of the most kind, simple-minded children out there--and this project, 'Project My Voice' is just what they needed to better present that.

Thank you so much for sharing,

- Judith

[Drew Lynsey, saving for college]

I loved the idea - when a student has a chance to make a video of themselves, they get to be creative and yet challenged to show their strong good sides. Watching yourself on a video as you are talking about your achievements can actually bring up your self-esteem a lot.

[Hazel]

This was refreshing for me to read because I immediately realize what an effective tool a video of my special needs students could be for my school and community. There is so much value in using it for the IEPs, job searches and transitioning to new programs. I am reminded that as a special educator, I am responsible for advocating for your students about their needs and how others in the environment could help make them feel more included. I would raise awareness by using the videos at school events and community activities. Implicit in these efforts also, are the ethical considerations that I must be aware of. Communicating with parents and seeking their approval and permission, outlining to them how they could support me in advocating for my students and their children, prior to any attempts to produce the video would be an absolute imperative.

[Claudia]

Michelle, I have my eight graders do a photo story or video of their middle school years and I play it at the eighth grade graduation. I think the idea is nice but as a reflection, not a show of whom a child is. Besides, can you really know a child from a short tape? Here is an example: my students are videotaped every year for the Alternative state assessment. In the classroom an objective is mastered with zero mistakes but in front of the camera, the objective is failed every time. Does that show the child's true abilities?

Callie - you are right in that it is hard for a teacher to know exactly who the child is by reading the IEP. That is why we have to take so much time in writing the document. If a state auditor reviews a child's IEP, he SHOULD know exactly what that child can and cannot do and know what services should and should not be provided. I keep this in my head as I write every IEP. If we start relying more on the video and less on the IEP, how will the state understand what is going on on this legal document? I do think the video is of value but not in the IEP process. As you said, it then is more of a liability if the video is misplaced or viewed by the wrong eyes.

This is just my opinion.

[Michelle Sanchez]

Hi Kathy,

This is amazing. I wish I could have seen the video you were talking about. I bet it was inspiring. As educators, it is important that we learn to develop a relationship with our students with disabilities. To be able to understand their background and learn about the things they like and don' like, and know about their dreams is a key to engaging them in the classroom. I am a special educator in a high school and I have always thought of asking my students to create a video about themselves but I have never really put an effort to have them do it. I think this would be a great opportunity for them to show themselves as they truly are so we may learn to love them for who they are. After all, our love for children is was motivates us and keeps us passionate about our work. Next year will be the senior year for many of my students with disabilities and I think that I will offer this opportunity for them so that they may evaluate themselves and ponder about their future after high school. Thank you for this idea. Your blog is truly inspiring!

[Callie Gerndt]

I think creating a video of a child showing their abilities and unique qualities they possess is an awesome idea. I don't feel like I know my students just by reading the IEP's before I get new students. Seeing a real video of the student would be must more beneficial. Although, you'd have to take more caution in protecting the student and their confidentiality.

[Claudia]

I like this idea a lot but would this take away from the way we write IEP's? If we have a video to fall back on, would we put the effort we should be putting in to writing a well thought out IEP that reflects a child? Our states would not have access to these videos online, would they? Currently, my state accesses IEP's online. They can look at the IEP and know a child and his strengths and weaknesses just by reading the document. That is one of the reasons we have to be so detailed on these forms. Because the IEP is so limited in the amount of space provided to give information on a student, we are able to write summaries on a child's present levels in a word document then attach it to the IEP online. I can see teachers referring to the video in the present level section of the IEP which makes it even less informative for someone who doesn't have access to the video. As I stated in the beginning of this blog, I think a video of a child is very useful but I do not see the IEP as the place for it. Maybe in a child’s cum file or in a work samples file but not the IEP. We have to remember, the IEP is a legal document. The video would not be allowed to have other students on it because of confidentiality. I think it would become a problem. I also think that students should be taught to communicate in a functional way. They aren't going to make a video of themselves every time they need to communicate with someone. They should be learning how to communicate in a natural environment. I teach students with intellectual disabilities and communication is a huge part of our day. I have found that the students learn best in the most natural environments. My students do not typically generalize a skill from the classroom to the community unless it has been taught in an as authentic as possible way.
As lovely as it sounds for a student to make a video of themselves, I think we have to keep the focus on what is really going to make the child successful.

[Amy Wolf, Chicago IL]

I agree that this is an excellent idea. I think it would incredible to have in the IEP meeting - especially if the student is new to the school. It would be even more amazing if it could become a collaborative effort amongst teachers in various subject areas using this as an assignment for their students - an interdisciplinary approach to making videos could be very interesting and the student 'buy in' would be huge!

Thanks for this posting, it has given me great ideas to be more creative in taping into students' personalities and finding ways to let their life stories shine.

[Sherrie]

Hi Becky: I actually did this for a parent this year, I video taped the student while in school for the doctor. The medication he was on was causing him to be more ADHD, and the doctor wanted to see what he did during the day. It was awesome. Sherrie

[Becky Cherne]

Kathy,

There is nothing that says you cannot make a video of your daughter's attributes. I really believe seeing is believing. Maybe you could preface the video with a short blurb about: If you really want to see my daughter and what she can do watch this. She is lucky to have a mom who is so caring.

This year I worked with a special education teacher who really inspired me. She would come and talk to me about the accomplishments that "our" students were making. I am certainly going to suggest that we take periodic videos of our students. I work in a low-income school and we are somewhat transient. This would be a great addition to send along with paperwork. Each year we lose so much ground in the first 6 weeks just trying to decide what it is our students can do.

Thank you so much for sharing this with us all.

Becky Cherne