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Adaptive Art and Art Therapy: Reporter: Group4

Adaptive art and art therapy can both help students with disabilities engage meaningfully in art. Adaptive art focuses on adapting tools, materials, and techniques so students can access artmaking independently. Art therapy uses art as healing and aims to address students' social, emotional, cognitive, and physical challenges. Both fields can assist students in overcoming challenges to engage in art. Educators need training in these approaches to support students' success and independence in art.

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Vince Aprelle Masalta
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37 views

Adaptive Art and Art Therapy: Reporter: Group4

Adaptive art and art therapy can both help students with disabilities engage meaningfully in art. Adaptive art focuses on adapting tools, materials, and techniques so students can access artmaking independently. Art therapy uses art as healing and aims to address students' social, emotional, cognitive, and physical challenges. Both fields can assist students in overcoming challenges to engage in art. Educators need training in these approaches to support students' success and independence in art.

Uploaded by

Vince Aprelle Masalta
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Adaptive Art and Art Therapy

REPORTER: GROUP4
Artmaking can be one of the most meaningful activities in
which a student with (and without)disabilities can be
independently engaged. Many art educators have been
minimally trained to work with a wide range of students with
cognitive, physical, social or emotional challenges.
 These challenges can impede the students’ ability to work with
various media, art tools and techniques for personal exploration and
completion of art tasks. Conversely, many special educators
understand the challenges that their students face in the other
academics, but may also lack training in the use of adaptive art
strategies for their students’ success in artmaking, either in the art
class or in their own classrooms. This page is designed to help
educators learn and implement adaptive art strategies for their
students with disabilities.
There are two fields of study that are helpful for the educator
to consider when looking toward artmaking with their
students with disabilities, art therapy and adaptive art. Both
fields-in different ways- have the potential to assist students
with various challenges to engage in art as a meaningful
lifetime activity.
Art Therapy

 According to the American Art Therapy Association,Art Therapy is a field that


believes that art is healing and life enhancing for individuals and groups in
various settings from private practice, hospitals, residential treatment centers to
schools, as well as many other settings. Art Therapists are credentialed
( registered and board certified) through the Art Therapy Credentials Board
( ATCB) and may practice in schools in conjunction with IEP teams, and as
School Art Therapists may hold teaching licensure depending upon the
Department of Public Instruction (DPI) of the specific state.
 Art therapists in the schools work with students dealing with social,
emotional, cognitive and physical challenges that affect their ability to
engage with home, school and community. Increasingly, students of
all ages are coming to school with issues related to family or personal
crisis, as well as trauma that manifest with behaviors (unusual
quietness, acting out, verbal or physical outbursts, etc.) that interfere
with the student’s ability to function in school.
 Oftentimes, students may not have the cognitive and verbal skills due to the issues to
adequately be able to express themselves to persons who could support them.
Educators, parents and guardians many times are the recipients of art images that
may be considered unusual for particular students, and may seek out the support of
other school staff such as school counselors or school psychologists to determine
whether an image is an indication of issues to explore. Ideally, an art therapist or
school art therapist should be consulted regarding the imagery due to the specialized
training and subsequent therapy interventions to maximize the student’s treatment.
Many school art therapists specialize in working with specific student populations
relating to emotional, social and cognitive issues.
Adaptive Art

 Adaptive Art is a field that focuses primarily on the students’ access to artmaking
that due to their challenges have difficulty using art to express themselves.
Adaptive Art Specialists are trained to adapt the tools that students need to paint,
draw or sculpt. This may include retrofitting handles on paintbrushes, building up
drawing tools for a wider grasp and seeking the most appropriate adapted scissors
for a unique contracture hand grip. They are also trained to adapt the media for
students who may not be able to use traditional media due to oral issues and
olfactory or other sensory sensitivity.
 Finally, the adaptive art specialist adapts the traditional art techniques to account
for challenges in manipulating the specific tasks required for artmaking such as
linoleum printing or silk screening. Many art and special educators are not aware
of various adapted art tools, media and techniques that would increase their
students’ independence in artmaking. Too often, it is determined that students
with physical challenges ONLY benefit from hand over hand intervention for the
student to engage in artmaking. This encourages the student to rely on other
persons for their artwork, and diminishes the desire to independently create, as
the students no longer are given an opportunity to TRY by themselves.
 Students with sensory issues may need to have their materials adapted for the
maximum engagement with the specific or exploratory art task. Students with
visual impairments may gain a great deal of enjoyment from experiencing an art
piece even AFTER it is created by choosing tactile materials to adhere to a poster
paper-first, they choose the materials that are the most meaningful for them, glue
them onto the mural with a strong glue, and then the final piece is hung accessible
for the students to “see” well after the art is finished. Some students with sensory
issues also use assistive technology supports such as visual strategies and voice
output communication aids (VOCAs) to enhance their artmaking experience.
 Art and special educators need to be aware of these supports in the classrooms
that should be included in the strategies for success in the art class for students
with disabilities. Speech and Language Pathologists can help educators create
communication opportunities for students that are specific to the needs of
students in artmaking. Digitally assisted artmaking is another strategy to consider
for students with other specific art making challenges. Techniques such as
linoleum printing challenge all students, but students with spasticity or strength
issues can benefit from the use of alternative cutting surfaces, pull type linoleum
cutters instead of traditional push cutters, and lighter weight foam rollers instead
of heavy brayers.
 All students with disabilities have the potential to express themselves through art.
It is our responsibility to create the opportunities for our students to
independently as possible access artmaking. Through adapting art tools, media
and techniques, students will have these opportunities!

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