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April 14, 2009
I recently
gave the keynote address, sponsored by Caldwell College, at the 8th Annual New Jersey Art Therapy Association Conference earlier
this month. I spoke on the subject of how art therapy is helping one child diagnosed with autism. Art therapy is being used
in combination with other creative arts therapies; a variety of special education practices; and two leading intervention
models for children diagnosed with autism. Below is the PowerPoint part of my keynote address. ( Note: I have full permission
and encouragement from my client's parents to tell his story in words and pictures)
In addition to giving explanations
to accompany each slide I also presented short video clips that evaluates Dani's improvement in verbal communication in art
therapy sessions over a period of several years.
You can see some of Dani's videos on the Children's Corner: Art
Therapy for Children Professonal Facebook Page.
August 15, 2009
Dani (my special client) and I have our
first session together after summer vacation last night, August 14, 2009. During the session Dani told his first independent
story about one of his drawings, without any continuous prompting. Both his mother and I were thrilled. She asked for a copy
of this part of the session that was taped to send to relatives and asked that I share it with you too. It is now posted on
the Children's Corner: Art Therapy for Children's Professional Facebook Page.
I share these videos with you because
my work with Dani is unique in that it has been consistent over a number of years. Our work together may lend itself to
a qualitative research article in the future that Dani's mother has agreed to co-author. Currently, there are no definitive
answers for the treatment of children diagnosed with autism... but it appears that art therapy may be one of the treatments
of choice for some of these children
August 15, 2009
I recently purchased a text written by art therapist.
Nicole Martin ( the first of its kind) that I highly recommend.
Art as an Early Intervention Tool for Children with
Autism
Author: Nicole Martin
Publisher Jessica Kingsley Publishers
ISBN # 978-1-84905-807-0
September 3,
2009
I first discovered these books last winter. They compliment my work as an art therapist.
Scribbles: A
Really Giant Drawing and Coloring Book
Squiggles: A Really Giant Drawing and Painting Book
Doodles: A Really
Giant Coloring and Doodling Book
Doodle All Year
All the books are created by Taro Gomi
September
9, 2009
Teaching children diagnosed with autism about feelings begins with images of facial expressions in photographs.
The next step is to use photographs of children's faces expressing different feelings. Photograh the children's own faces
and start with the basics: happy, sad, angry, and afraid.
Once the children can identify the basic feeling states
in both photgraphs and drawings, I recommend the follow text to expand the children's understanding of feelings and to develop
higher thinking skills. Although this text is specifically written for children with autism any child can benefit from this
text. Note: the authors are British so you may have to" Americanize" some of the examples used in the lessons to faciliate
familiar experiences drawn from early childhood.
Teaching Children with Autism to Mind-Read
A Practical Guide
Authored
by Patricia Howlin, Simon Baron-Cohen, and Jullie Hadwin
Published by John Wiley & Sons
ISBN 0-471-976223-7
Informed
consent has been obtained for all artwork and images found on this page
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