Development of a Method: Self-Directed Self-Expression through Digital Storytelling for Students with Behavioral Concerns

Digital storytelling is an accessible and adaptable gateway for self-expression. There has been much research done exploring the benefits of using it within therapeutic and educational contexts, as it offers an alternative, semi-structured opportunity to freely create. Utilizing this form of expressive therapies with children with behavioral concerns can offer control and autonomy in a world where they get more attention for their problematic behaviors. This study was intended to provide a digital platform for children with behavioral concerns to direct their own self-expression through digital storytelling. The children chosen for this intervention attend a therapeutic behavioral day school and the intervention was carried out during school hours. A methodology was constructed offering four different modalities of digital storytelling, within two different thematic interpretations, over an 8-week period. The project did not result in what was planned, however, as the project’s only participant self-directed the intervention using only the piano and no digital material was created. This result echoed the literature in how vital it is to be flexible when working with children and within the expressive arts therapies