Feature Stories
Art for All Students: Including Students Experiencing Autism
By Rahila Weed, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Art Education
University of Central Missouri
Warrensburg, Missouri
In a more traditional educational model, students with special needs receive art instruction to fulfill therapeutic goals and compensate for disabilities. Douglas Blandy (1989) argues that this approach denies students with disabilities more meaningful art experiences--- experiences that art teachers identify as most important. Think about why you create art. Should students experiencing autism be allowed to make art for the same reasons?
I'd like to share a story about John, a boy diagnosed with a mild form of autism. One day, John and I were at a summer drawing class at a local recreation center. The instructor that day began the art lesson by introducing the concept of a map. The instructor then directed each student to create a detailed map of a real or imaginary place of his or her choice.
John immediately created a map illustrating the story of "Dragon Ocean and Dragon Island". As soon as he finished, John got the attention of the boy next to him. John then began to tell the story behind his map to the other boy. As John spoke, he looked up several times to make sure he had the other boy's complete attention. The artwork became John's means for communicating his ideas to others. John's interactions were awkward, but he was using his storytelling and his artwork to communicate his ideas, nonetheless.
John was allowed to fully participate in the art-making activity, and his map became a connection to others. The objectives for John were the same as the objectives for all of the other students in the classroom: experience the world aesthetically, make choices, create personally meaningful symbols, communicate, and perceive and respond with pleasure or displeasure to the environment (Blandy, 1989).
The mainstreaming of students with special needs is often a source of concern for art teachers. Some teachers fear that they will not know how to relate to the student. Others worry that preparing for the student will require a lot of extra time and energy. An art teacher can successfully include a student with autism (or any other special need) by allowing that student to create work with idiosyncratic meaning. To do this, the teacher must approach the student in a reflective manner. The teacher must also enter into a dialogue with the student.
Vivian Paley (1990) writes, "A style of teaching is best illuminated by those who do not meet the teacher's expectations" (p. 11). A teacher can learn a lot about teaching all students by paying attention to what teaching strategies work with a special needs student. A student with special needs can provide a teacher with invaluable opportunities to enhance and refine his or her teaching skills and resources. A teacher's special interest in a student with autism should not be to single out that student, but to understand his or her unique compulsion to create. Understanding this motivation can help teacher become more supportive of that student's needs as an artist.
References
Blandy, D. 1989. Ecological and normalizing approaches to disabled students in art education. Art Education, 42(3), 7-11.
Paley, V. G. 1990. The boy who would be a helicopter. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
A Taste of the New: Diversifying Your Art Menu
By Lynda C. Kerr, Ed.D.
Are you an artwork omnivore? Do you enjoy sharing a Contemporary installation with your students as much as showing them a sumptuous Renaissance portrait? Does a striking logo design fascinate you as much as a nonobjective sculpture? Art textbooks provide a rich smorgasbord of artworks, and with a bit of extra research, you can give your students a little something for "dessert"-- a taste of what contemporary artists are doing right now.
A vast array of visual experiences is important to the advancement of students' perceptive abilities. In his book The Arts and the Creation of Mind, Elliot Eisner points out that the knowledge to which students are exposed will determine the kind of thinking they develop. When students learn to think critically about a wide range of visual expressions, their senses become more refined. Their ability to experience the world "is made more complex and subtle". Eisner reminds us that one of the major aims of arts education is to develop the child's ability to perceive variations of expressive form (Eisner, 2002, pp. 19-24).
Art magazines are excellent resources for art teachers. Page through issues of ARTnews or Art in America and place sticky notes on pieces you like. You may even wish to color code artworks that reinforce your favorite art history or studio lessons. Some magazine features may inspire new lesson plans. Keep an eye peeled for unusual art venues or non-traditional materials. Use the Internet to locate artists' Web sites. Ideas for studio lessons, installations, performance art, or art happenings are plentiful in the pages of art magazines.
Public television's Art 21 is another excellent source for Contemporary artists and artworks. In this series, artists discuss their processes, thoughts, and materials. Previous seasons are available on DVD.
Magazines such as Print, Communication Arts, and How can help expand the learning menu to include graphic design. Students can sharpen their visual acuity by analyzing logos, print ads, billboards, and CD covers. Discussions about fashion can inspire students to think about design in their everyday lives. Magazine articles on how environmental concerns are creating a demand for new forms of design can provide "food for thought". Design magazines can help students understand that everything human-made looks the way it does because of a designer's conscious decisions.
Elliot Eisner writes, "The sources of learning when working in the arts are multiple." When we show students the wide world of art and design, we motivate and engage them. We stir their imaginations and inspire possibilities for careers. It's another way of nourishing them visually, creatively, and cognitively.