Launch Buddies: Our Voices, Our Stories

Young adults finding their voices through creative media

Twice a month, a group of young adults with disabilities gathers at the Dream Factory Studio in Bothell, Washington. They write their own scripts, run the cameras and microphones, edit in Descript, and share stories from their own lives. Those videos now teach students in special education classrooms across the country.

Launch Buddies: Our Voices, Our Stories is a free, interactive flipbook that tells their story. It was created by the Launch Buddies and Barb Beck, M.Ed., a special education transition specialist who has walked beside young adults with disabilities since 1992.

What's inside the 55-page flipbook

• Built on My Keys to the Future: how Keys #2, #3 and #4 shape every Buddy's first videos, plus all 14 Keys of the transition curriculum. Purchase My Keys to the Future through SDES at www.sdesworks.com/my-keys.
• Meet the Buddies: seven Buddy pages with their stories, their own words, and links to every one of their videos
• A video library organized by the 14 Keys in My Keys to the Future, so teachers and families can find the right story for every transition skill
• Watch and learn: ten videos you can play right in the book, each with notes on what it has, how it was made, and a Try it challenge
• Our process: a Saturday in the studio, the LAUNCH script formula, and 2 Stars and 1 Wish feedback
• Start your own Self-Advocate Studio: the tools we use, a simple set layout, student roles, and a plan for your first six sessions
• Step-by-step tool guides for Buddies and their coaches, plus teaching strategies and a skill tracker for IEP transition goals

Who this flipbook is for

• Young adults who want to share their own stories and build real media skills
• Special education teachers, transition specialists, and job coaches looking for peer-made video models
• Families, programs, and communities who want to start a studio of their own

Frequently asked questions

Is the flipbook free?

Yes. Read it right here on any device and share it with your team.

Can I play the videos inside the book?

Yes. The videos in the Watch and learn section play right on the page, and every video title in the book links to the video.

Do I need expensive equipment to start a studio?

No. We use MacBook Air laptops, an iPhone on a stand, a teleprompter app, lapel microphones, a ring light, and a flood light, along with Google Classroom, Descript, YouTube, and Facebook. The book shows how to start with what you already have.

Is there more support for facilitators?

Yes. Visit mykeyplans.com/launchbuddies to learn more and find the Launch Buddies Facilitator's Guide.

Support the Launch Buddies

This flipbook is free for everyone. If it helped you, a gift of any size helps our Buddies keep creating, from microphones and lights to captions and editing tools. Give on the Launch Buddies page.

MyKey Consulting Services LLC is not a nonprofit, so contributions are not tax-deductible.

Meet the Buddies online

Every Launch Buddy now has their own page at launchbuddies.org, with their story, their dream, and all of their videos, each labeled with the matching Key and page in My Keys to the Future. Some Buddies also sell their own creations there, and 80 percent of every sale goes straight to the Buddy.

Key terms, explained simply

• Self-advocacy: knowing yourself, knowing what you need, and speaking up for it.
• Video modeling: learning a skill by watching someone do it on video. Peer-made videos show students that people like them can do it too.
• Peer mentoring: experienced Buddies, called Launch Leaders, welcome and coach new Buddies.
• Self-Advocate Studio: a small media studio where young adults with disabilities write, film, and edit their own stories.

Related guides on the MyKey Bookshelf

• Launch Buddies Facilitator's Guide: how to start a self-advocacy video group
• My Keys to the Future: 14-Key IEP transition curriculum
• The MyKey Family Toolkit: 18 free transition tools for families

About the author

Barb Beck, M.Ed., is a special education transition specialist who has walked beside young adults with disabilities and their families since 1992. She is the author of the My Keys to the Future transition curriculum and the founder of MyKey Plans in Bothell, Washington.