"There's definitely not enough resources for disabled young people. There's an idea that disabled young people don't have sex or have a relationship." This observation comes from a young disabled person speaking in one of a series of films that address questions every young person wants answered but is too shy to ask.
Created by Early Support – a Department for Education-funded project that aims to improve the delivery of services for disabled children, young people and their families - the films portray young disabled people giving advice about sex and relationships, drugs and alcohol, getting work experience and how to say "I love you".
Early Support information co-ordinator Eileen Strevens says the idea for the films came from its working group of young people, after the DfE called on the project to create resources for young people. "Written resources or workshops were the sorts of things we thought they would want, but once we consulted with the group they told us the last thing they wanted was paper information," says Strevens. "They wanted peer-to-peer information via other young disabled people."
Strevens and her team set out to meet the request by commissioning a film company, Youth Friendly, which specialises in working with young people. It was tasked with finding young disabled people who would be happy to appear in the films, and present the results in a format that would help all young people.
Youth Friendly director Nidge Dyer and his crew worked with two groups of young people to make the seven films. Three were shot in a single day with members of the Council for Disabled Children's Epic group - which stands for equality, participation, influence and change. This group of 16 young disabled people aged 14 to 25 advises the DfE on forthcoming reforms to special educational needs and disability (SEND) provision.
Seven members chose to appear in the films, which were made during a meeting at the DfE. One of the Epic members shares his experiences of drugs and alcohol in a film. "My primary source of advice has really been through my parents," he says. "Because I'm visually impaired, alcohol could be particularly dangerous for me."
Dyer's team also travelled to Lancashire to work with a group of 25 16-to 19-year-old students from the Tor View Community Special School. At this school, the whole sixth form is enrolled into a drama group where they can choose whether they want to act, write or produce. The group regularly performs at a local theatre. "It's a great way of channelling learning," says Dyer. "Often they put a drama on about an issue and the kids engage far more because it's a piece that their friends and family will see. The school sees it as helping the young people prepare for independent living."
The Tor View group represents a wide range of SEND needs. Dyer says it was important to build trust within the group before they began filming. "We went to Tor View two or three times ahead of filming just to talk about it and prepare," he says. "The most important thing was that the young people got used to me and comfortable around the cameras."
The group worked on ideas for the films together – with some coming up with ideas themselves, and others choosing from options suggested by the film crew. In the film entitled Ways to Say "I Love You", the group uses a variety of sign language, acting and communication devices to get the message across. The young people suggest giving the person you love a box of chocolates, "bumping" fists and doing a dance.
The Tor View young people were so pleased with the results of the film that they have incorporated the final edits into a drama piece, which they performed in a local theatre. Dyer says parents have also responded positively, saying the advice given was more valuable because it came from young people rather than adults.
Strevens says the Epic group and the Early Support working group were delighted with the outcomes. "On our Early Support Facebook page, some of the films have had 400 views," she says. Dyer also plans to use the films as a training tool for free courses Early Support provides for parents and local authority staff. Early Support director Kim Bevan also hopes to attract extra funding to create more films "and cover all the subject areas that young people have told us they want addressed".
