A New Documentary Film on the Inclusion of Children with Emotional and Behavioral Disabilities
Click here to ask for more information about this project:
Website
http://www.includingsamuel.com/home.aspx
Topics
Health: Disease/treatment
Human Development: Children, Education, Social Exclusion, Youth
Human Rights: Civil Rights, Disability, Social Exclusion
Politics: Civil Society, Codes of Conduct, Ethics & Value Systems
Project Geography
US: National
International: North America
Identity Niches
African, African American, Asian, Asian American, Caucasian, Children, Disability Culture, Gay/Lesbian/Bi/Transgender, Indigenous, Islamic, Jewish, Latino, Native American, Pacific Islander, Religious, Student, Women, Youth/Teen
Budget
Raised to date: $100,000.00
Estimate to complete: $418,375.00
Total Estimated Budget: $518,375.00
The budget numbers above are accurate as of 12/16/2009
Status
Research & Development
Media Type
Video
Project End Use
Other: Film and television
Key Personnel
Dan Habib
Director, producer, and cinematographer
Dan Habib is the director, producer and cinematographer of the documentary, Including Samuel. The film won the 2007 Positive Images in Media award from TASH, an international group committed to the full inclusion of people with disabilities.
The film was named "Best Documentary" at the 2007 Somewhat North of Boston Film Festival and has been featured on NPR's "All Things Considered", and in the Washington Post and the Boston Globe. Exceptional Parent Magazine said "Including Samuel is a must-see film."
Including Samuel was broadcast nationwide on PBS affiliates in the fall of 2009.
Habib is Filmmaker-in-Residence at the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire. Before joining UNH in April of 2008, Habib was the photography editor of the Concord Monitor since 1995. In 2006 and 2008 he was named the national Photography Editor for papers under 100,000 circulation.
Between his stints at the Monitor, Habib freelanced and created a multi-media documentary project entitled "Teen Sexuality in a Culture of Confusion" (www.danhabib.com). His freelance work, including extensive documentary work in China, has appeared in numerous publications, including Time, Newsweek, Yankee, Life, Boston Magazine, Mother Jones and the New York Times.
Mary C. Schuh, Ph.D.
Associate Director of the Institute on Disability
Dr. Mary Schuh is the Associate Director of the Institute on Disability and Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Education at the University of New Hampshire. She is a leader in the development of educational systems change and the advancement of family and consumer advocacy regionally and nationally. She has presented on the topics of inclusion and education internationally, and has authored and co-authored numerous publications on effective inclusion in schools and communities.
Rikk Degres
Film Editor
Rikk Desgres is a veteran editor and has handled post production duties for over eighteen Florentine Films documentaries and productions including the Emmy award-winning film, Baseball by Ken Burns, and the Academy Award nominated Wild by Law.
Rikk founded Pinehurt Pictures & Sound, a full-service post-production house, located in scenic Northampton, MA.
Outreach/Engagement Plan(s)
Research, filming, the production of a trailer to support outreach, and additional funding will be conducted in 2010. Additional filming, editing, post-production, and the creation of an outreach infrastructure (including the launch of an extensive website) will take place in 2011, with the film ready for release in October 2011. These advance outreach efforts during the year previous to the film's release will help to bring in additional partners and engage individuals prior to the release.
The release will be accompanied by a state and national/international outreach and engagement campaign, the expansion of the website, and a schedule of state and national screening events. These efforts will build on the existing infrastructure created for Including Samuel, which includes a database of engaged individuals and partners, e-newsletter, Facebook site, and additional resources such as an Educational Guide, postcards, an online viewers' toolkit, new social media content (MySpace, Twitter, etc.), and build-outs from the IOD website. In addition, new partnerships will be forged and existing partnerships strengthened with groups like the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI) at the national and state level and the National Association of School Psychologists.
The goals of the project are to:
-increase understanding of the challenges and benefits of including kids with emotional challenges in regular classrooms;
-strengthen the capacity among educators, students, and communities for successfully responding to the challenges these youth present;
-explore potential approaches to school-wide systems of discipline, support, and engagement; and
-foster a broader dialogue about the benefits of including all in our schools and communities.
The Inclusive Communities Project has shown a capacity for helping to inspire the discourse and debate that fuels positive change. Through dissemination of the DVD, public screenings, television broadcasts, conferences, extensive press coverage and the website, Including Samuel has become a major national and international catalyst for the full social and educational inclusion of people with disabilities in schools, communities and universities. Project staff have built an extensive network of partners and collaborators in New Hampshire and across the country to support these efforts.
The same successful outreach and dissemination model will be used for this new documentary project. With the production, distribution and broadcast of this new documentary, and an accompanying website, educational guide and outreach initiative, this film will increase awareness of and improve responses to one of the major challenges in our educational system today: the successful inclusion of children with significant emotional and behavioral disabilities.
Funders
| Name | Amount | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| The New Hampshire Charitable Foundation | $50,000.00 | 07/01/2009 | |
| New Hampshire Department of Education | $50,000.00 | 04/01/2009 |
Location
56 Old Suncook Road
Suite 2
Concord, NH, 03301
Short Synopsis
The film examines impact that behavior issues have on the quality of education in schools, and how to disseminate information on current best-practice approaches to these issues.
Description/Treatment
Summary:
During the past two years, Dan Habib, creator of the nationally-acclaimed film, Including Samuel, has traveled throughout the country screening Including Samuel at public schools, universities, national conferences, and independent theatres. At each event, Habib, Project Director of the Inclusive Communities Project at the Institute on Disability (IOD) at the University of New Hampshire, has led discussions on the benefits and challenges of inclusion. Without fail, one question always comes up: What about the kids with emotional disorders and behavior problems? Can we really include them too?
The tendency in many schools is to adopt a traditional "get-tough" approach to managing problem behavior (Skiba & Peterson, 1999, 2000). The assumption is that responding to repeated problem behavior with increasingly severe consequences will teach students that their unruly behaviors are unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Eventually, it is assumed (hoped) that the student will "get it" and stop the displays of irresponsible behaviors. Unfortunately, evidence indicates that students with the most severe problem behavior are the least likely to be responsive to these consequences, and the intensity and frequency of their behavior is likely to get worse instead of better (Sugai, Horner, 2006).
Habib and his team have begun filming a complex and compelling documentary exploring how schools are using cutting-edge programs such as School-Wide Positive Behavior Support (SWPBS) to successfully include students with emotional and behavioral disabilitites, and improve the school climate for ALL kids.
This new film will delve deeply into the lives and education of young people with behavioral challenges caused by emotional disabilities, such as bi-polar and post-traumatic stress as well as autism and other neurological disorders. The film will feature student voices and the voices of their family members, peers and educators to examine key questions:
-What types of supports and services enable kids with behavioral challenges to succeed?
-What does a school that is a model for the inclusion of kids with emotional disabilities look like?
-What type of training and support do teachers and administrators need so that they feel equipped to include kids with serious behavioral challenges?
-How are behavioral problems linked to communication and learning disabilities?
With the production, distribution and broadcast of this new documentary, and an accompanying website, educational guide and outreach initiative, this film will increase awareness of and improve responses to one of the major challenges in our educational system today: the successful inclusion of children with significant emotional and behavioral disabilities.
Click here to ask for more information about this project: