Lights, Camera, Action
by Barbara Toney
In 1991, Project CHOICES commissioned Director/Producer Jacky Comforty and Writer/Producer Lisa Comforty of Comforty Media Concepts to produce a 30-minute video addressing the concept of inclusive education. This original project has now expanded to represent a total of seven programs called the Inclusion Series. The Inclusion Series was developed in an effort to promote an accurate view of educating children and youth with disabilities in inclusive environments in schools and communities. These videos educate school administrators, educators, parents, and civic groups about the benefits of inclusive education and provide suggestions for implementing successful support systems for children and youth with disabilities.

The videotapes are unique because they offer a realistic look at children with disabilities. Using a documentary format, these video tapes capture genuine interactions between children with disabilities and their peers, teachers, and parents. There is no narrator acting as a filter telling the viewers how to interpret what they are seeing. And yet, these tapes do not avoid controversial topics or uncomfortable visuals.

Because the Series was not scripted, it does not function as a promotion of or advertisement for inclusion. Rather, its aim is to take a closer look at issues surrounding inclusion. The videos function as a springboard for discussion and give the viewers a glimpse of the lives of children in inclusive environments, generating inspiration and enthusiasm. An understanding of diversity and unique interviewing skills has provided Comforty Media Concepts the ability to create artistically effective means of addressing complex issues while allowing the viewers to become interested and informed. The Inclusion Series is currently distributed to school systems in all fifty states and to other countries including Canada, Sweden, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, Israel, and England.

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