mentally challenged kids : dialog?

Randall_Oelerich

Randall_Oelerich

Veteran
I am working on a short script that will center around two mentally challenged kids, maybe aged 8-10. Any tips for how to construct the dialog, behaviors? Any films/scripts to study that might have such material to study? Research would be good too, first hand, I will see if there is a place in my town where I might volunteer to help for a few days to observe.
 
How severely mentally challenged? My guess is that they'd talk pretty much like kids of their mental age, however young that is. E.g. a 9-yr-old with a mental age of 5 talks, thinks and acts a lot like a very large 5-yr-old, the main exception being any problems associated with being 'different' to the other 9-yr-olds.

Is this just a spec script, or are you planning on actually making it and so looking at the production practicalities? It would require some kick-ass kid actors, in fact ideally some mentally challenged kid actors (yes, I've seen some).

I like your volunteering idea - I'd suggest being very open about why you're there, the kids won't care and the adults will probably be very supportive once they realise you're not exploiting the kids. I think a few days of being around such kids would give you some great dramatic ideas too...
 
This would be for a short film I would make, just a 5-10 minute short for experience, also a nice change from my first two shorts which were both supernatural thrillers; I like the idea of doing something that is just drama. Nine year old kids give or take a year or so, maybe one kid older than the other. Interesting idea about casting kids that actually are mentally challenged, and would also give me an in into a special ed place for volunteering and observing.
 
You need to figure out what kind of mental challenges these kids have. There are a multitude of different conditions and syndromes each manifesting itself in a different way. There are very obvious ones that one would notice right away, and there are those more subtle that you would only notice after spending more then a few moments with the child.

What are you hoping to portray?

Also, casting mentally challenged kids, while a good idea, can require a lot of patience. Especially if you have never had first hand experience living or working with a child of that nature.
 
Volunteering is a good idea. Just contact your local community organization that works with mentally challenged kids. Where I'm from (Toronto, Canada), it's Variety Village.

You can also just tell then what you're doing. I've found disability organizations very supportive of projects that are looking to accurately depict members of their community - particularly if you're going to use them as actors in your film. I would highly recommend this, as there are some very high-functioning individuals out there who can do a terrific job. They can also, like RJ Mitte of Breaking Bad, play varying levels of their particular disorder.

http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2008-02-20-breaking-bad-mitte_N.htm

By the way, I tried to Google organizations in your area and could only find this Wikipedia reference: Lake Wobegon is a fictional town in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Is there another Lake Wobegon?
 
I am in Duluth MN (way up in northern MN on Lake Superior).
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Lake Wobegon, as you discovered, is the fictional town in Minnesota spoken of in the weekly radio show, very popular, called A Prairie Home Companion, hosted by Garrison Keillor; hilarious monologues about the people of Lake Wobegon.

Me Myself & I said:
...By the way, I tried to Google organizations in your area and could only find this Wikipedia reference: Lake Wobegon is a fictional town in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Is there another Lake Wobegon?
Click to expand...
 
Here's a place you might try

http://www.campconfidence.com/

"A year-round outdoor recreational and education center for persons
of all ages with developmental disabilities"

I'm not sure how far East Gull Lake is from you, but it seems an idea location
to volunteer or even shoot.

Hope this helps.

Peter
 
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