Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional Movie Making as a Workaround for 2E?

I'm hoping the wonderful hive mind here can help me brainstorm. My DD - about to turn 12 - has just about every possible LD. She is in her 4th year at a special Ed school and this year (6th grade) is also doing our district's one day per week TAG program. I was happy about this opportunity because it would both give her time with gifted peers - and away from special Ed peers - and would help to show where the holes in her AT program are. And yes, it has most definitely done that. So now I need help figuring out the next stage of our AT journey.

As part of the TAG program DD has to do a year long project on a topic of her choice. Since DH (an art professor) is on sabbatical we coordinated it so that her topic would dovetail nicely with the trip we were planning as part of the sabbatical. It worked beautifully. Because DD was able to gain first hand experience researching her topic the TAG teacher suggested she keep a video diary of the sites she saw on the trip in case there would be a way to include it in her final project. This also worked beautifully. Kudos to the TAG teacher for the suggestion.

So while watching DD make a diary entry it dawned on me that THIS is exactly what she needs as part of her AT program. Due to the dyslexia and dysgraphia it will be very difficult for her to write traditional term papers. She has been doing PowerPoint presentations for a few years but I think wants - and is ready - to try something a bit more sophisticated. She knows how to record her entries and as part of an IEP review I am asking that her AT program be restructured so she can learn the rest - downloading the videos, merging them, editing, creating a final project, etc. (Under her current IEP all AT was listed under accommodations rather than goals and objectives so the OT's working with her at TAG are refusing to help her with AT solutions. Don't even get me started on that...)

She has also gotten into her head that she would like to go to film school - which I think is a great goal. She is *constantly* writing scripts and coming up with ideas for movies.

So what I need to know - has anyone gone this route with their 2E kiddos? Have any of your dyslexic/dysgraphic kids done movies in lieu of written projects? What do I have to make sure to include in the IEP? From a technical perspective what do I need to have included in goals and objectives so DD develops the needed skills to complete these projects independently?

Since her birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks does anyone have any recommendations for basic movie making equipment? She has a cell phone, an iPad and a basic digital camera. Tangible items, software or apps to recommend?

Does this sound like a crazy idea? Or could it really be a good solution for tapping her intellect and creativity while working around her deficits?

I like this idea.

As far as how you write it into the IEP, if it's just "let her use AT as an alternate means of demonstrating mastery of the standards", then it's an accommodation. An IEP goal/objective would use specialized instruction to teach her to use the AT proficiently and independently, in order to make effective progress in the curriculum frameworks. Some possible objectives, more or less in increasing order of complexity:
-working with DD, identify AT hardware and software that is appropriate to her needs.
-with support, acquire proficiency in basic functions of the identified AT.
-demonstrate independent proficiency in basic functions of the AT.
-with support, expose DD to advanced functions of the AT.
-with support, acquire proficiency in advanced functions of the AT.
-independently demonstrate proficiency in advanced functions of the AT.

(You might consider naming some of these basic and advanced functions, and some of the specific types of AT that you want introduced, in the goals/objectives, such as, "demonstrate proficiency in AT, including but not restricted to tools for creating, editing, and publishing audiovisual presentations that document mastery of the standards".)

I think the current educational trend is to encourage multi-media projects for all kids. My 8th graders have done quite a few videos for different classes throughout middle school. Sometimes videos are specifically assigned but more often the students have a choice among traditional essays, posterboards, videos, webpages, etc. There are still times when traditional essays are required for county/state minimum literacy standards accountability purposes so it is likely that your DD will have to write at least sometimes but it would be reasonable to request accommodations to minimize those times.

Making the school provide specific training on creating videos may be the trickier issue. They may not have anyone trained to do that plus there are so many software options on the different platforms. As far as I can tell, no technical instructions are provided to students in general. It is presumed they know how to operate their electronic devices (cell phones, tablets, video cameras) although kids do help each other. I suspect most kids are more savvy than their teachers on the technical stuff.

aeh has given you great advice re how to incorporate video AT into an IEP. We didn't do that with our ds, but during middle school and high school, all students had options in terms of how to put together term "papers" that included choosing video, power-point, speech etc. All three of my kids (including my current 7th grader) know how to create movies, add sound and graphics etc - they learned it by self-teaching and from working with their classroom peers. I couldn't tell you what apps or software they use - there's so much out there.

The only birthday recommendation I have.. and it's more about fun than school work (and I have no idea what software it is or how much it costs), but if you can find or afford it - there are iPad apps that allow you to film with a green screen... totally cool and fun... but you'd also want to create a green screen and get her a green suit

I hope your dd gets to pursue her dreams of becoming a film maker!

Best wishes,

polarbear

Thanks all. I'm taking notes for my IEP meeting tomorrow.

It's good to know making movies is a pretty standard approach allowed even for many NT kids. She's not in a position to self teach or rely too heavily on classroom peers so will definitely need direct instruction. We have an AT specialist on the team and AT has been central to her program for years. That's why I was so shocked when the OT's at the in district TAG program refused to use their time with her to work on AT solutions and work arounds for in class TAG work. She has instead been left on her own to figure out on the fly how to approach each day's assignments. Total. Epic. Fail. So we need everything that has been done as "accommodations" for the past 3 years rewritten as goals and objectives or they are not "allowed" to work with her on work arounds at TAG. And we need goals and objectives for the movie making process moving forward.

Since I am utterly inept at anything technical does anyone have any specific wording I should be looking for? I like "demonstrate proficiency in AT, including but not restricted to tools for creating, editing, and publishing audiovisual presentations that document mastery of the standards" but is it specific enough? Do we need to state specific equipment, programs, apps, tools etc in order and make it measurable? Ideas for how I get them to give her direct instruction on things like adding sounds and graphics?

It seems that district and AT specialist are willing but based on TAG OT's refusal to do what was needed just because it was needed - and frankly exactly WHY the district added OT on TAG days - I'm now concerned with being very specific. And I'm totally out of my depth.

Any input from some of you more tech savvy folks would be appreciated. And don't be afraid to talk down to me. I'm in need of even the most basic info.

Thanks!

ps I ordered her a book on basic movie production, something like "10 steps to creating a movie". I guess I will hold off on any equipment or software until we see how this goes. Maybe she will be able to give me an idea of what she wants/needs in a few months.

Thanks spaghetti. To be clear - district is just as frustrated as I am. DD is the first OOD sped Ed kid to be placed in the TAG program and they are pulling out all the stops to allow her to be successful. She had an open hour before the start of the TAG day and no service provider in the building was available so they actually contracted for an OT to come in especially to work with her on OT workarounds based on what she needed to complete that day's TAG assignments. Instead OT kept working with her in handwriting and typing. DD finally put her foot down and said "No, I need to figure out AT work arounds for TAG." (I was SO proud of her!) She asked OT to speak with TAG teachers about that day's work. It worked for one day. The next week OT came in and said she talked to her boss and she was not allowed to work on anything but handwriting and typing because of the way the IEP was written. District is as frustrated as DD and I.

It has taken 3 months to get this meeting scheduled because of how many people are involved. I'm hoping to get all the wording right since outside OT folks are being so persnickety.

I mean seriously - you have a profoundly LD kid who is is hardworking, focused and eager to learn but some "professionals" get so caught up in minutia they literally block her from getting the help she needs. And district - who is paying extra for her to get this OT help - is apparently powerless to address it if we don't redraft the IEP just right.

I've made clear that if the OT can't or won't provide the needed AT support we need to bring in a different service provider. Who know how long it will take to figure that part out.

Ugh...

Pemberley, you posted a little about it over in the other thread, but I was wondering how you thought the IEP meeting went? It sounds like your DD did a fabulous job of self-advocating; I'm just wondering if it met with any success.

The meeting did not go as I expected. At all...

DD was incredible - one of my proudest days as a parent. During the meeting my consultant passed me a note "DD is AMAZING!" So it was great that she took a seat at the table and had her voice heard. In terms of AT though... well... I don't know what to make of it.

I learned a few things. I'm not sure if it's true all over but at least in our area AT and OT used to be one and the same but have now become totally separate entities. Apparently there is no way to write a specific AT goal. The AT specialist is a consultant not a service provider so can't be required to provide anything measurable. I was flabbergasted. She simply wanted to train the TAG teachers to make them familiar with DD's AT. Didn't plan to incorporate direct instruction at all. Big red flag.

Fortunately the currently assigned OT working with DD at special Ed school is older so from the era when AT was part of OT. She proposed writing Executive Functioning goals that would require the OT to develop a strategy for how DD was to complete each project. This would include discussing the project, brainstorming how to approach it and working with DD to learn and become independent on the technology associated with completing it. Frankly I didn't understand it or see how this would obligate the reluctant OT at TAG to work on AT but everyone in the room was convinced it was the correct solution. I'm hoping once the proposed goals and objectives are written it will make sense to me.

I tried to propose the language aeh gave me above and was told it wouldn't work. I asked about specifically naming types of AT and was told it couldn't or shouldn't be done that way. I asked how this was going to be measurable. I asked how this is going to be enforcible - couldn't a reluctant OT tell DD to make a poster with construction paper and cotton balls rather than a movie or video presentation? All came back to OT's proposal was the only solution.

As for spec Ed school they expressed frustration that if they were going to be expected to support what DD needed for TAG they would have to take that time away from other parts of her program. Odd how they view her learning these skills as existing in a vacuum. As if it wouldn't benefit her daily classroom work too. Lots of "educating" the staff on DD's needs - not what I expected to do in a meeting during her 4th year at this school. They view their role as "pre teaching" but we had to clarify that she does not need help intellectually or academically with the work in TAG - their pre teaching needs to address the technical side and focus on developing a strategy for using her AT. The analogy of the other TAG students walking in with a pencil and notebook and being prepared while DD had to figure exactly what to access on her iPad came up a few times.

So despite being unbelievably proud of how DD conducted herself I left the meeting totally frustrated and feeling we had accomplished nothing tangible. We did remove her handwriting goals so TAG OT wIll have to work on something else but I haven't yet seen a proposed IEP goal or objectives so clearly the new approach is not likely to be implemented on Monday, DD's next TAG day.

On the bright side the day after the meeting DD's OT time was spent pretesting her on various AT so it does look like the goals will somehow be measurable. And then yesterday OT and classroom teacher found a way to get the first of DD's video diary entries onto her iPad so she can try to do something with them at TAG on Monday. Also we refocused school's need to provide appropriate enrichment. They had basically "dumbed down" her program in response to her being out one day per week for TAG. The day after the meeting DD was informed she would now be doing independent research projects rather than the low level worksheets that had been introduced this year. This should allow her intellectual stimulation AND practice with her AT so definitely a positive development.

So yes we have definitely identified holes in her AT program and they are bigger than I had ever suspected. Thank goodness the OT assigned to spec Ed school this year is a good one with the appropriate skills (and interest) to help address the problem. I really have no idea where exactly this will lead...