Art Lessons

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-09-2004
Art Lessons
7
Mon, 09-05-2005 - 10:04pm
Hi! My name is Karen and I am an elementary art school teacher, grades K-5. I was wondering if anyone knew of any good resources to find art lessons that would benefit children with autism? I teach at a school with about 6 or 7 autistic children, and have decided to add an adaptive art class to my schedule. Any help would be greatly appreciated.:)
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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
In reply to: khallion
Mon, 09-05-2005 - 11:15pm

Have you looked up anything on art therapy? I remember once hearing about it with autistic kids but know little more.

What I would do is perhaps see if your district has any training in autism that you can attend. Then meet with those children's casemanagers and other important people (OT's, SLP's, etc) and get a handle on the children's individual needs and strengths. Then set up your class around that.

In general, autistic kids need structure and do better with visuals. So real concrete type activities and a class that is structured the same every time is great. Can any of these kids be mainstreamed into the regular art class with some modifications and the help of an aide? Many do well with good role models and this would be a great inclusion opportunity for them.

Actually, I think it would be awesome if you could include them. Say one or 2 children per typical class with an aide. Have the case manager help you or make for you a visual schedule of the routine and any other modifications they may need. It likely would be hard for them to schedule an extra art class per week around individual therapies and thier current schedule but inclusion is always a thing they should be striving for at every opportunity.

But I would definitely approach them about this and brain storm. I know they would love it and it is a great idea.

Renee

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iVillage Member
Registered: 05-09-2004
In reply to: khallion
Tue, 09-06-2005 - 7:11am
I have had training with working with autistic kids, and the students who are coming to the adaptive art classes already come to their "regular" mainstream art classes with an aide, but adaptive art will be art geared soley toward them. They will now come to art twice a week, once with their mainstream class, and once with only a small group of special needs kids. I am just looking for art projects that might work well specifically with these kids. I have researched art therapy on the web but couldn't find any specific lesson plans. :)
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iVillage Member
Registered: 06-25-2003
In reply to: khallion
Tue, 09-06-2005 - 10:11am

OK I'm not a teacher, or an artist, but I have two kids on the spectrum and I am thinking of what might work for them.

In general, I would stay clear of sticky -no fingerpaints or clay. Many Auies *hate* to get their hands dirty, wet, stained or sticky. Non-latex disposable gloves may help to avert this problem for older kids, but may freak younger kids out.

For younger kids; I would explore colours and patterns: such as counterchange. I would also explore abstracts, block printing (preferably wood blocks, which are less likely to get paint on hands) and alternate ways of looking at things; maybe have them invent and make imaginary animals or monsters or design a dinosaur. Do you have access to any computers? Computer art would be a great thing for Auties, many of whom have great vision, but poor motor skills for implementation.

For older kids, I would probably include some information on famous artists, and exlore the styles of people who expressed themselves differently; such as the fauvists, impressionists, surrealists, (Magritte always struck me a a possible Aspie/Autie -all those missing faces!) cubists etc.; and maybe set up lessons where they draw something very simple (a bottle, soccer ball, teddy bear etc) in one of those styles. Auties very often see the world differently, and they may identify with some of these styles better than realism.

I would do more advanced colour exploration with older kids; going into into tone and shade: e.g. Let's see how many different "purples" we can make, using red, blue, black and white and draw a picture in which everything is a different colour purple; Grass, sky, cars etc. It encourages 'out-of the box' thinking. If a kid is particularly resistant, I wouldn't push it, but let him or her paint the world in their own colours.

I would work with light too, light the same or similar object from different angles (above, the side, below, behind) and have them draw it. This will help them to see how things can look different in a different light -a lesson which can be caried through to life. With this particular lesson, I would use a simple statuette of a person or animal, and discuss our different feelings/impressions about that person/animal depending on how it was lit.

Get ideas from other teachers who work with these kids, such as the OTs, PTs or SpecEd teachers. Maybe you can run some ideas past them and see what sticks.

Good luck. I wish we had someone like you in our school.

-Paula

-Paula

visit my blog at www.onesickmother.com
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
In reply to: khallion
Tue, 09-06-2005 - 2:02pm

Hi Karen - yes!

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-09-2004
In reply to: khallion
Tue, 09-06-2005 - 4:17pm
fantastic...I'm actually going to print your response out to help with planning...thank you!
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iVillage Member
Registered: 05-09-2004
In reply to: khallion
Tue, 09-06-2005 - 4:19pm
yay! I'm going to go explore that site right now! Thank you so much! I might be back throughout the year with more questions. :D
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iVillage Member
Registered: 10-24-2003
In reply to: khallion
Wed, 09-07-2005 - 2:17pm

Mayer-Johnson has a book that may help you. http://www.mayer-johnson.com/


Pat

Happiness is a conscious choice, not an automatic response. --