What Does Normal Mean?

The 60 minute documentary film “What Does Normal Mean?” follows seven students with disabilities through an academic year as they attend regular classes with their friends. Three award-winning documentary filmmakers visited elementary, middle, and high schools in urban and rural communities in New Mexico. The film-makers and the producers, two of whom have sons with disabilities, created a film that illustrates how inclusion can succeed and learning environments improve when school administrators, teachers, families, and disabled students and their friends work together. The stars of “What Does Normal Mean?” are students who are blind, have severe dyslexia, cerebral palsy, down syndrome, anacephaly, seizure disorders, a neuromuscular disease, and medical fragility. They are cowboys, artists, track stars, honor roll students, and public speakers. In some ways, the students are extraordinary. But in most ways, they are just like other kids.

© 2006 Ben Daits, Dale Sonnenberg, Matt Sneddon, Producers
Audience: Adolescents/Teens, Parent, Professional