Category: Film/Media

These posts have some link to films or media, either as inspiration for the blog, or as a source of study material.

The Transformative Power of AI in Supporting Children with Additional Needs

by The Additional Needs Blogfather, posted in All Blog Posts, Children's/Youth Workers, Film/Media, Parents/Carers

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly evolving, and its applications are extending into diverse fields, offering innovative solutions to complex challenges. One area where AI holds immense promise is in supporting children with additional needs. From personalised learning experiences to enhanced communication and therapy, AI-powered tools are opening new avenues for development, independence, and inclusion for these children. Note: As this article is about AI, I used AI (Google Gemini) to help create it!

A Creative Way To Use AI To Enhance Communication

by The Additional Needs Blogfather, posted in All Blog Posts, Children's/Youth Workers, Film/Media, Parents/Carers

I've been exploring how to use AI to reimagine some photos of James into cartoon style images, so that I can put them together into a communication booklet for him to use to share what he would like to do.

The Unbreakable Boy – A Review And Questions

by The Additional Needs Blogfather, posted in All Blog Posts, Children's/Youth Workers, Film/Media, Parents/Carers

'The Unbreakable Boy' is a new film from Liongate, the people that brought us the film 'Wonder'. It follows the story of Austin (sometimes nicknamed Auz-man in the movie) and his family, as they journey and learn life together. This review asks some key questions along the way, for anyone journeying with a child with additional needs.

Jesus Loves Me, This I Know…

by The Additional Needs Blogfather, posted in Children's/Youth Workers, Film/Media, Parents/Carers

As we listened to the broadcast itself, James didn’t particularly respond to his voice on the radio, but as it cut to a beautiful sung version of the song James looked up, a joyful smile spread across his face. I smiled back, and a tear welled in my eye.

How Our Time On Songs Of Praise Gave Learnings For Us All

by The Additional Needs Blogfather, posted in All Blog Posts, Children's/Youth Workers, Film/Media, Parents/Carers

I hope that our segment highlighted the challenges, but also the joys, of our story, and echoed the stories of families like ours across the country.

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer: A Story of Additional Needs Inclusion

by The Additional Needs Blogfather, posted in All Blog Posts, Children's/Youth Workers, Film/Media, Parents/Carers

How can you use the story and song of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer to help the children and young people you journey with to change from bullying, marginalising, and isolating their peers with additional needs to understanding, loving, and accepting them?

How Some Disney Pixar Films Can Teach Children That Disability Is ‘Bad’

by The Additional Needs Blogfather, posted in All Blog Posts, Children's/Youth Workers, Film/Media, Parents/Carers

Do Disney/Pixar movies help our children to develop a balanced and inclusive view of disability, or can they instead teach children that there is something ‘wrong’ with disabled people, including their disabled peers?

Standing With Ukraine But Not In This: Ukraine’s Disabled Young People

by The Additional Needs Blogfather, posted in All Blog Posts, Children's/Youth Workers, Film/Media, Parents/Carers

Once again the news is filled with horror; once again awful scenes from Ukraine fill our TV screens; but this time it's not the war with Russia that makes us shudder, it's footage of the special needs institutions, places of utter despair and heart-wrenching abuse and misery, that breaks our hearts.We've seen it before; the … Continue reading Standing With Ukraine But Not In This: Ukraine’s Disabled Young People

CODA – A Review And Study Plan

by The Additional Needs Blogfather, posted in All Blog Posts, Children's/Youth Workers, Film/Media

Film Title: CODAYear of Release: 2021Directed by: Sian HederCertificate: 12ARunning time: 1 hours, 51 minutes CODA movie poster BBFC certification insight: “CODA is a drama in which a young woman, who is the only hearing person in her deaf fishing family, is torn between duty to them and pursuing her dreams of becoming a singer. There is infrequent strong language ('f**k'), … Continue reading CODA – A Review And Study Plan

Encanto: What Does Luisa’s Song Teach Us About Mental Health?

by The Additional Needs Blogfather, posted in All Blog Posts, Film/Media, Sensory/Senses

(A guest post from my good friend Lydia Gibson...)I’m sure many, like me, can really relate to the character Luisa in Encanto. Her song has been going round and round in my head for days now (mostly because my 9-year-old is obsessed with the film at the moment!) I have been really struck by the … Continue reading Encanto: What Does Luisa’s Song Teach Us About Mental Health?