How do art educators and special educators working with special needs students know what qualities exist in each medium that could set off a student or help them to control their own behavior? How does the educator determine what medium will be the most beneficial for each of their students? Many art educators would state that they know these things through experience in working with the materials and students, through trial and error, and by seeing how different populations respond to and work with these materials. Many art educators work on an intuitive level to make their choices, and some make choices based on what is available to them for use. This study explores a specific art media, digital video, to better inform special educators and art educators who are working with special needs students the beneficial aspects, drawbacks and educational strengths of digital video production for students with emotional, behavioral and learning disabilities. Through a preliminary survey to determine the inherent qualities of this media and a case study to provide an in-depth look at this media, this study explores how art educators/special educators make decisions about when, why and how to use digital video with special populations. (Contains 1 table.)