Please help me with my video project!

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I'm doing a video project to present to my school. My video is about what it's like to live with learning disablites and or autism. There are tons of kids in my school with those types of problems. (It's a school for autism) I have gotten their parents permission to interveiw the kids on camera. My question to you guys is, 1. What questions should I ask? (The kids range in age from 10-12)
2. What song should I have on the parts where I just show text on the screen rather than people talking?
3. One autistic child I will interveiw can do school work like NT childern of his age but he can't speak well at all, how do I get him to answer questions about himself and his challanges?

1. Questions to ask: Do you have friends? Are you alone? What's your favourite colour? Who's your favourite teacher? Do you like sports? Do you listen to music? Do you like to go to the mall? What's your favourite movie? What TV shows do you like? What's your favourite ice cream flavor?

2. Background music is usually of the soft piano type like you hear on the Hallmark Channel shows. Sometimes it's piano music by Chopin or Mozart.

3. If a child is non-verbal, maybe he can just point to diagrams or pictures from a book. Some schools nowadays have electronic pads that people can use to "speak" with.

Sounds like a good project.

1. The questions should be related to the subject of the film - What do you enjoy most at school? What do find most difficult?

2. Choose the music after you know the content of that part of the film. Find music that suits the message. Instrumental only as lyrics will distract from the message.

3. Rehearse this bit. Give advance notice of the questions to the interviewee and let them prepare their answers in advance, in the way they want.

Good luck.

Last edited by neilson_wheels on 06 May 2013, 8:56 am, edited 1 time in total.

I think this has the potential to be a very good project. For questions, I would agree with what has already been said, but also have other suggestions.

Ask about sensory signals. For example, are there noises that really bother you which you have to deal with often? Are there certain patterns that you can’t look at? Why do these things cause problems for you? Most people don’t stop to think what it means to have sensory problems.

When asking about social situations, go a little in depth. For instance, once you have asked these people if they have friends, if they respond yes, you can also ask questions like, how old are they and often do you hang out with them? Also ask questions along the lines of how much they like being by themselves, too. Don’t forget to ask why they like to be alone. The majority of NT’s are more social than those of us who have these disabilities and don’t immediately think about how we like to be given space sometimes.

Also, try to find a positive aspect about the person’s disabilities too, like their knowledge on certain subject matters. If one of the people you talk to likes to do artwork, have him or her show you some of their pieces. This could be especially helpful if there seems to be a common theme in their artwork, like wolves or dragons, because it would again stress the disorder while showing the talent that has arisen from it.

I have a few ideas for the autistic child who has trouble speaking too. Try to find his comfort zone. Is there someone he would be more willing to talk to than you? If so, maybe you could give that person your questions and he or she could ask them for you. Try talking with his family to find out if there is anything he is interested in that you can use to start your conversation. If he is at all artistic, perhaps you could ask him to make a piece that expresses how he feels in the classroom environment. Be creative in thinking of some way to show that, despite this boy’s trouble talking, he really is a perfectly intelligent young man.

If you want to get good ideas of how to approach people with other disorders, I would suggest also posting a thread like this on the forum for people with disorders other than Autism and Asperger’s.

I hope this helps. Good luck with your movie.

Last edited by RubyWings91 on 06 May 2013, 2:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I would also suggest having For each question asked a selection of multiple choice answers as a backup .
I often find that when asked a question about something I have no interest in I tend to go blank and have no idea what to say.
Ask the questions first , Then only if they seem to be having difficulty go to the backup. If I am having a hard time with something
I can lose interest in the whole situation very quickly and want to be out of there.

I would also say the place you do the video is of great importance also . Any pos destactions could kill any chance you have before
You even start . Think of everything . The place needs to be isolated , If they hear a noise or someone interrupts you could lose them
If there is a led light on the camera that can bee seen by them cover it up with tape as things like this could have far more interest to some
than anything you could say .

If you really want them to open up to you though I would suggest you find out their main interest from a parent or someone and start
With a first question about that subject . Then throw the odd question in about it throughout the interview to keep their level of interest
up. Even if you have no interest in their answers they can always be edited out . It could take a lot longer but you are more likely to get
the answers you are looking for .

I spent the greater part of my childhood schools like that



Maybe ask them why they think they were placed in such a school. How it helps them and how they think it compares to being in a regular school system with regular kids.



I'd have to let that one simmer in my brain for a while.



I'd think you'd have to practice with him, so that he'll know ahead of time what you're going to ask and has had time to rehearse his answers. You might have to do a few takes and edit them.

Best of luck to you in this noble endeavor

It should be instrumental.

I wouldn't use soft piano, since it relates quickly with romantic scenes.

To represent stimming, you can use repetitive instrumental music. Examples:

Phillip Glass
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJXZYlUwR2w[/youtube]

Penguin Cafe Orchestra
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6df-1tvYsg[/youtube]

To represent complexity, Bach
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kpqm1hxgH-w[/youtube]

To represent isolation, guitar soft music. There's hundreds of them
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vm9_ywA4uNw[/youtube]

Julian Kent is bot melancholic and repetitive.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9AtLda4w40[/youtube]