The Creative Process for Making our Autism Travel Social Story Videos

I wanted to provide a small peek behind the creative process for making our autism travel social story videos....

Before we even film at a destination or resort, we do our research to learn about their existing accommodations for families with Autism and other Special Needs.  Is there a Special Needs pass? How does it work? Are there alternate lines? Does the Kid's Club accommodate children with Special Needs, and what are those accommodations? We speak with families who have experienced the accommodations first-hand to hear about how it works - in REAL LIFE. 

When we film at a destination or resort, we have a specific shot list that we follow. These shot lists portray how to use the destination's Special Needs accommodations, as well as communicate tips and tricks for navigating the destination with ease and minimal stress. Our Hosts - Tristan, Sebastian, and Emerson - put on their acting hats, and do a great job showing how to use the destination's accommodations. Many shots are required for one scene, and filming can take all day, but the Hosts are dedicated to making the filming process fun and exciting.

When we've finished filming and we're home, Stage 2 begins. While Jason, our videographer and film editor, works on putting together the individual video drafts, while Nicole, the video producer, works on the accompanying text for the audio voice-overs.

The audio voice-over process is a lot of fun, because our Hosts get involved again! Using the written text, Jason and the Hosts record the audio track for the voice-overs.

Once complete, Jason lays the track onto the video, and we have Autism Travel Social Story Videos!

What is a Travel Social Story Video?

Many people ask: What IS a Travel Social Story Video?

Social Stories were first developed by Carol Gray in 1991. Social Stories describe of a specific situation, event or activity, and are meant to relay information about expected behaviors in that situation. Social Stories can prep a person for something they've never done before by discussing steps or procedures, explaining safety rules, and familiarizing them with the upcoming activity.

There are many daily events that social stories have been written for -- "Going to a Doctor's Appointment," "Going to the Dentist," "Getting a Haircut," "Going to School," and more. Any situation that can be anxiety-producing for someone can be a great topic for a social story.

Traditionally, social stories have been written, using lots of photos or illustrations, don't use a lot of text per page, and list out the steps that the person will encounter in that particular situation.

Teachers, therapists, and parents can read the social story to the person daily for weeks before, to familiarize the person with the upcoming event.

Many kids these days are obsessed with video - so why not make Social Story Videos for people with Autism, anxiety, and other Special Needs? Being able too see and hear the situation can make them even more familiar with the upcoming event. They can model their own behavior after the people in the social story video.

Travel Social Story Videos can model behavior and familiarize a person with events like "Flying on an Airplane," "Going through Airport Security," "Staying in a Hotel," "Going to a Theme Park," and more. These situations can be quite stressful and anxiety-producing for someone with Autism, anxiety and other Special Needs and its extremely important to prep a person for these situations ahead of time.

Going a step further, Spectrum Travel Social Story Videos is filming destination-specific social story videos. Spectrum Travel Social Story Videos, or STSSV, is traveling to destinations like Legoland Florida, Universal Studios Orlando, TradeWinds Island Resort, and Seaworld Orlando to film social stories that address very specific topics such as "Obtaining an Accommodations Pass," "How to use the Accommodations Pass," "Activities at the Resort," "What to Do If I Get Lost," "Where to find a Quiet Space," and more.

Find the lines of Spectrum Travel Social Story Videos:

www.stssv.com

On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvQQTUdvRHZ4cJKaDy24_Lg/videos

Welcome!

Finally, the STSSV website and blog is up and running. We are just getting back from an amazing film trip to Orlando, Florida. We filmed in two destinations on this trip: Universal Studios Orlando and Seaworld Orlando.

Sebastian was the Host for these set of videos and he was fantastic! He was an amazing face for these tours and his excitement for the destinations shone through with every shot.

Filming penguins at Seaworld Orlando

We were able to highlight how to obtain and use the disability passes at each Park. With these videos, we are going to assist both kids and parents with this tricky process. Viewers will be able to familiarize themselves with the process before they even leave for their vacation!

Sebastian even got behind the camera for a few moments to see how we film the videos!

Sebastian, the Director