Tenth International Conference on Health, Wellness & Society

Abstract

Individuals with learning disabilities have difficulties undertaking activities of daily living, and this could have an impact on their social inclusion. This study aimed to identify the benefits of individuals with learning disabilities taking part in a filmmaking group, where peer-peer support was used to help individuals learn a specific activity of daily living skill. The objective was to establish if the filmmaking group had any effect on the individual’s activities of daily living. A pilot study was conducted at a learning disabilities center. Our participants, three females and one male, all aged between thirty and forty years with learning disabilities took part in the study. Sessions were split into three stages: pre-production, production, and post-production. During the pre-production stage, the participants wrote a script together. In the production stage, the participants operated the camera, acted in the film, and each participant taught the rest of the participants a skill that they had difficult with. In the post-production stage, the participants helped edit the film. All four participants’ specific functional performance of a daily living task improved in accuracy and efficiency after taking part in the filmmaking project. The results were collated from interviews with the participants and the questionnaires completed by staff members. All four participants improved their self-confidence, team working skills, and communication. Filmmaking could be used as an activity which could help individuals with learning disabilities learn specific activities of daily living skills. Taking part in the project could also improve individual’s self-confidence and wellbeing.