The Importance Of Art Education For Kids With Pds
Teaching a class that includes students with physical disabilities or impairments is an obvious difficulty for a teacher of any subject. Think for a minute, though, about the specific difficulties that arise for art teachers who have to modify almost every aspect of their lesson plans and their classrooms for these students. These are difficulties that no teacher should have personal opposition to addressing, but they are problem areas, nonetheless. There is an excellent article written by Zederayko and Ward that talks about the problems that art teachers come across. Even more so, the article talks about the fact that art is one of the only educational subjects that has the "capacity to engage all students, regardless of physical, emotional, or developmental abilities." For this reason, it is essential that all students are able to participate in art class.
It is more than possible that an art teacher may have students in their classes that cannot even hold a pencil or a paintbrush, making necessary the usage of aids who will "do" the students' artwork for them. This obviously does not allow the students to actively participate along with their peers. This article says that when students with physical disabilities are forced to allow an aid to do their artwork for them (or to write their essays or do their long division) they begin to feel passive and depressed, more focused on their failures than on looking forward to new challenges. Teachers need to understand that by making the necessary changes and adaptations to their lessons and classrooms, they are providing disabled students with their right to both develop and express themselves fully. Here is an interesting fact: art is one of the subjects of which access is REQUIRED for disabled students in IDEA (which also includes a requirement of access to consumer/ homemaking/ industrial/ vocational education and music).
For this reason, teachers are thus required to come up with strategies and techniques to deal with individual problems in class; these stragies include adaptations to both lessons and the physical environment of classrooms. Zederayko and Ward give some suggestions, including lowering or raising tables for students in wheelchairs, providing lap-boards for students who cannot reach tables, putting larger handles on tools (such as on crayons), simplifying directions, etc. They also stress that art teachers should disregard trying to find the "appropriate" activity that will include the whole class, but should instead consider what skills are needed in each activity. In addition, the article discusses in more detail one tool that the authors developed for one student in particular who was physically disabled. They first created a wristband for a student who could not hold a pencil, and then using this new creation and observing how it did NOT function properly on a second student, they created a new drawing tool (of which they include the "ingredients," directions, and prices in their article) so that the student could draw by himself without the help of his aid. The article describes his joy and newfound feeling of accomplishment, caused by a device that was made for less than $4.
This article is an inspirational read, telling its readers about the value of a little experimentation and creativity and how simple tools can affect a student's outlook on his or her own creativity and future successes. It encourages all teachers to make the necessary changes in order to include students who have physical disabilities, and give them the opportunities to actively participate in their education.
References
Zederayko, Michelle Wiebe and Kelly Ward. Art Class: What to Do When Students Can't Hold a Pencil. Art Education. Teaching Art as if the World Mattered, VO : 52. NO : 4, Teaching Art as if the World Mattered. Jul., 1999. PP : 18-22. http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0004-3125%28199907%2952%3A4%3C18%3AACWTDW%3E2.0.CO%3B2-7.
Copyright 1999 National Art Education Association
It is more than possible that an art teacher may have students in their classes that cannot even hold a pencil or a paintbrush, making necessary the usage of aids who will "do" the students' artwork for them. This obviously does not allow the students to actively participate along with their peers. This article says that when students with physical disabilities are forced to allow an aid to do their artwork for them (or to write their essays or do their long division) they begin to feel passive and depressed, more focused on their failures than on looking forward to new challenges. Teachers need to understand that by making the necessary changes and adaptations to their lessons and classrooms, they are providing disabled students with their right to both develop and express themselves fully. Here is an interesting fact: art is one of the subjects of which access is REQUIRED for disabled students in IDEA (which also includes a requirement of access to consumer/ homemaking/ industrial/ vocational education and music).
For this reason, teachers are thus required to come up with strategies and techniques to deal with individual problems in class; these stragies include adaptations to both lessons and the physical environment of classrooms. Zederayko and Ward give some suggestions, including lowering or raising tables for students in wheelchairs, providing lap-boards for students who cannot reach tables, putting larger handles on tools (such as on crayons), simplifying directions, etc. They also stress that art teachers should disregard trying to find the "appropriate" activity that will include the whole class, but should instead consider what skills are needed in each activity. In addition, the article discusses in more detail one tool that the authors developed for one student in particular who was physically disabled. They first created a wristband for a student who could not hold a pencil, and then using this new creation and observing how it did NOT function properly on a second student, they created a new drawing tool (of which they include the "ingredients," directions, and prices in their article) so that the student could draw by himself without the help of his aid. The article describes his joy and newfound feeling of accomplishment, caused by a device that was made for less than $4.
This article is an inspirational read, telling its readers about the value of a little experimentation and creativity and how simple tools can affect a student's outlook on his or her own creativity and future successes. It encourages all teachers to make the necessary changes in order to include students who have physical disabilities, and give them the opportunities to actively participate in their education.
References
Zederayko, Michelle Wiebe and Kelly Ward. Art Class: What to Do When Students Can't Hold a Pencil. Art Education. Teaching Art as if the World Mattered, VO : 52. NO : 4, Teaching Art as if the World Mattered. Jul., 1999. PP : 18-22. http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0004-3125%28199907%2952%3A4%3C18%3AACWTDW%3E2.0.CO%3B2-7.
Copyright 1999 National Art Education Association
Adaptive Art Tools for Students With Physical Disabilities
written by: Barbara Smith • edited by: Elizabeth Stannard Gromisch
Students with physical disabilities such as cerebral palsy may have spasticity that interferes with manipulating art materials such as markers and paintbrushes. The following are examples of adaptive equipment that helps students with spasticity improve motor control to perform art activities.
How Does Spasticity Interfere With Making Art?
Spasticity is a term that describes high muscle tone or tension felt when joints such as elbows or wrists are moved. Spasticity impacts motor control, especially the control required to grasp and manipulate small objects. Students will often find that they have better control in one of their hands-enabling them to use markers, paint brushes, ink stamps and other art tools. Adapting activities and use of adaptive equipment may improve control in that hand to use art tools while stabilizing materials with the other hand.
Using Adapted Art Tools
It is easier for student with spasticity to use extra large sized markers, paint brushes, rollers, chalk and glue sticks. These tools can also be enlarged and made more comfortable by taping foam around them. Paintbrushes with thin handles may be inserted inside a piece of foam grip (sold through therapy catalogs). One example of adaptive equipment that helps students with spasticity to sponge paint is made out of a laundry bottle by following these steps:
Students with physical disabilities such as cerebral palsy may have spasticity that interferes with manipulating art materials such as markers and paintbrushes. The following are examples of adaptive equipment that helps students with spasticity improve motor control to perform art activities.
How Does Spasticity Interfere With Making Art?
Spasticity is a term that describes high muscle tone or tension felt when joints such as elbows or wrists are moved. Spasticity impacts motor control, especially the control required to grasp and manipulate small objects. Students will often find that they have better control in one of their hands-enabling them to use markers, paint brushes, ink stamps and other art tools. Adapting activities and use of adaptive equipment may improve control in that hand to use art tools while stabilizing materials with the other hand.
Using Adapted Art Tools
It is easier for student with spasticity to use extra large sized markers, paint brushes, rollers, chalk and glue sticks. These tools can also be enlarged and made more comfortable by taping foam around them. Paintbrushes with thin handles may be inserted inside a piece of foam grip (sold through therapy catalogs). One example of adaptive equipment that helps students with spasticity to sponge paint is made out of a laundry bottle by following these steps:
- The handle and two flaps are cut out of the bottle (shown in photo: Step one)
- A long tab is cut on one of the flaps (shown in photo: Step two)
- Cut a small horizontal slit on the other flap
- Cut two slits inside the sponge
- Insert the tab through the slits in the sponge and then push into the horizontal slit in the other flap to secure the sponge in place (shown in photo: Step three)
Handle Shape Is Cut Out of a Laundry Detergent Bottle
Stabilizing Art MaterialsArt paper can be stabilized by taping it to a table or wall surface. Three dimensional objects such as oatmeal containers can be stabilized to decorate by placing something heavy inside of them. Flat wooden or metal surfaces to be painted can by stabilized with a C- clamp.
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The following adapted stencil (shown to the right) can help students color or paint simple shapes. The handle and two sides (to create flaps) of a laundry bottle are again cut out of a laundry bottle. Then a shape such as a heart or star is cut out of one or both of the flaps to create the stencil.
Set-Up of Art MaterialsPaper and other art surfaces can be positioned horizontally on the table, vertically on the wall or angled on a table easel in order to help the student achieve optimal motor control. Students may benefit from adaptive seating and set-up such as using a tray that fits on a wheelchair or table adapted to fit around the chair in order to more easily reach work materials. Arm troughs that stabilize the forearm may help to decrease tremors.
The Importance of ArtUse of art materials teaches young students about the sensory qualities of objects and develops visual perceptual skills to discriminate the lines and shapes that form pictures, letters and numbers.
Perhaps nobody demonstrated the importance of art more than the Irish painter and writer, Christy Brown. Born in 1932, he had a severe form of cerebral palsy that impacted motor coordination-leaving him completely dependent on others. However, once it was discovered that he could control chalk with his left foot, he was given the opportunity to communicate and create art. His story is told in the book and movie titled “My Left Foot.”
Christy Brown didn't have occupational therapy services. However, his story demonstrates how modern-day use of adaptive equipment that helps students with spasticity improve motor to perform art activities can be extremely important so that students can express themselves through art.