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ENCOURAGING FUNCTIONAL COMMUNICATION AND SELF-EXPRESSION THROUGH ART WITH STUDENTS OF SPECIAL NEEDS A NARRATIVE CAPSTONE PROJECT FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA

BY MISTY LOUISE LACKEY

TABLE OF CONTENTS I.

Author Biography

II.

Intentions of a Visually Authentic Narrative

III.

Process-Based Art Strategies

IV.

Functional Communication and Self-Expression

V.

Sensory Sensitivity: Crucial Aspects To Communication

VI.

Strategies And Suggestions For The Art Classroom

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

I received my Bachelor of Arts degree from Kent State University (2002) which began my journey as an artist and art educator. The experience in the class rooms encouraged me to continue my education as an art instructor for Special Education Art. As an artist, art educator, and founder of an art program for a private school located in Georgia, serving children with special needs, art has been about the process rather than the product. My ten years of teaching experience has intensified my passion to educate children with special needs and highlight their abilities, rather than their disabilities through art. Art for me has the power to increase and strengthen developmental skills as well as bridge communication. In addition, I am zealous about reaching out to the community while sharing and creating art for a cause which promotes awareness for children with varied disabilities.

Graduating with a Masters in Art Education from the University of Florida has provided me with resources and strategies to benefit my students’ in art education. My research study has extended my knowledge about student enhancement of functional communication, selfexpression, making choices, and using visual materials. These strategies have guided me to further exploration of new art topics, projects and tools which I plan to utilize in my art classroom.

INTENTIONS OF A VISUALLY AUTHENTIC NARRATIVE This narrative story takes place over six weeks and provides a glimpse into a single student’s functional communication, self-expression, and developmental skills as they are encouraged through art in a classroom setting.

May, is a thirteen year old female diagnosed with autism, and also challenged with speech and language deficits which are secondary due to her autism. For May, and children like her art is important to their development, but it is particularly valuable to children with special needs for numerous reasons. Throughout my 5 weeks of observations art production involved various sensory experiences which were often positive and pleasurable. In addition, you will read in this narrative how the tactile and sensory process of art provided opportunities for expressing emotions and ideas, which is often difficult for students such as May to do through speech or written words. Finally, the confidence and overall well-being of May is enhanced through the successful manipulation of the art materials and project.

My intention in this narrative is to provide a window into teaching art to children with disabilities. Before moving forward, it is imperative to know this is an observation into the art process of one student with special needs. Through art education, students’ can receive instruction that is based on their existing strengths, goals, interests, weaknesses, and objectives.

As May’s art instructor, it has been an honor to collect data and capture the visual images of her projects in this story. May was encouraged by art which prompted her to use functional communication and express identity by painting emotions, ideas and self-portraits through her eyes.

“May…May is …so much more” –May

“Students with disabilities have a right and an insight that should allow them to re-map, re-create and re-write the world in which they learn�

(Dolmage, 2008, p. 23).

PROCESS-BASED ART STRATEGIES Process-based art education is the utilization of visual subject matter which fosters decision making. This strategy includes presenting examples of original works of art, teacher produced art samples or student examples and is part of the step by step instruction that stimulates ideas, inspires the art making process and encourages functional communication through choice of art materials.

Visual Subject Matter A process-based art strategy was used for guiding May’s art making. I approached art as a process, and patiently instructed with a step-by-step technique and included visual subject matter and focused on decision making strategies for enhanced direction. I provided May, with a visual containing 4 faces depicting the emotions of happy, sad, tired and mad. Additionally, I provided May with a choice of paint colors and brushes as well as a small canvas. After asking May to indicate how she was feeling, May focused on the visual and pointed to the happy face in response to my question. At this point, she verbally requested paint indicating that she wanted to paint.

May began to paint a detailed happy face modeling the visual example. It became evident in the findings that using a visual example as part of the motivation for my art lessons is an effective tool to guide my special needs student in her art making. Through this strategy functional communication is enhanced through the engagement of the art making as well.

Decision Making Process Another valued component of process-based art focuses on the decision making process of exploring techniques, tools and materials. I provided May with a choice of materials including a variety of paint colors, markers and brush sizes as well as paper and canvas. I placed them in a line in front of her work space. I then encouraged her to make a selection of material to use for her emotions project. May chose to utilize brown paint, a small paint brush and canvas to begin her project.

May was not satisfied with the painting of the head on her canvas and then selected a piece of paper to replace the canvas. Through the practice of making a choice about which art materials to use, May explored her personal choices for art making materials which resulted in a successful and satisfying experience.

“Process-based art instruction focuses on the experience and on exploration of techniques, tools, materials and results in an art experience that is the student’s choice�

(Bongiorno, 2010, p. 18).

FUNCTIONAL COMMUNICATION AND SELF-EXPRESSION The many facets of learning used during process-based art can encourage self-expression and gives opportunities for the enhancement of functional communication for special needs students with little or no voice. Through art making, students may gain a voice while engaged in the content process which reinforces and initiates their functional communication.

Functional Communication Encouraging special needs students to communicate while promoting their self-expression is another valued factor of process-based art. May loves to dance and twirl like a ballerina. I used a Degas painting for a particular project so she could identify and tap into subject matter. A visual image of a Degas ballerina was provided for inspiration. Informing May about what she was going to do first assists with the process. For example I exclaimed: “May is going to paint a ballerina like May.” As May moves through the process, I will continue verbally with the next step “The ballerina needs a body”. Questions encourage functional communication as in tandem with the art process. What color of paint does May want for her body? May immediately grabbed the brown paint from several choices placed in front of her. Her action was redirected because I want her to tell me the color she wants. As I placed the brown paint back with the other choices, I asked her “What color of paint do you want?” May replied with functional communication, “I want brown paint, please”. –MAY

Self-Expression Demonstrates that the many facets of learning used during processbased art can encourage self-expression and gives opportunities for the enhancement of functional communication. I prepared materials for a mixed media lesson which included placing liquid glue in a small bowl, small torn pieces of tissue paper, paint brushes and a visual of Matisse’s Fish Bowl at May’s work space. Additionally, the canvas she had started a week ago for this project was placed on her table. May chose a paint brush, swirled it in the glue bowl with a repetitive calming motion and began to glue the tissue pieces to her canvas.

The findings demonstrate that the many facets of learning used during process-based art can encourage selfexpression and gives opportunities for the enhancement of functional communication for special needs students with little or no voice.

“I want a brush”! –MAY

SENSORY SENSITIVITY: CRUCIAL ASPECTS TO COMMUNICATION The art room environment is a source of extended stimuli (i.e. sound, touch, colorful images and excessive light) for the student, the art educator has an opportunity to gain additional insights into Sensory Processing Disorder that otherwise may be overlooked. Challenges of making the art room a pleasurable surrounding for all students will require extended research and applied strategies.

Classroom Environment This is a significantly important aspect of May’s art production. Students’ responses to the excessive light, touch, sound, and colorful images instituted in the art room can compel additional understanding of SPD issues and support research on this disorder. Art class is not the environment where you want to suddenly find out about a student’s tactile defensive or sensory sensitivity. A student’s skills, needs and sensory input should be acknowledged. It only takes a few minutes to discuss the students prioritized needs with their Special Education Instructor or parent. It has been personal experience within the special education art class room, that the noise level, lighting and tactile materials play a role in the process of art.

Sound & Light Many students, like May are sensitive to noise. May has a set of head phones which provide a noise barrier. Often the fluorescent lighting in class rooms effect the student’s concentration. A modification which has proven successful for me has been to pin and drape fabric under the ceiling lights to diffuse the fluorescent glow. Another option may consist of floor lamps or diffused bulbs.

“Light refraction, i.e. shine, is a visual equivalent of noise reverberation and is a major source of visual overload” (Grandin, 2013, p. 88).

Tactile and Texture Art is about doing and requires touching tools and materials to produce a product. Exploring these challenges first hand in the art room can lead to insights that otherwise could go undetected or unfounded. As I began a new art lesson, I selected clay, paint, paint brushes and markers as well as large sheets of paper for the materials to be used. I categorized this day as a sensory-exploratory day. May explored her choices and requested clay.

After ten minutes of tactile experimentation with the clay, she dismissed it and returned to her preferred art making tool, the paintbrush. At this point and for the rest of the art class she found success in swirling paint onto paper in slow, methodical circles. Findings indicate that given opportunities to explore a variety of tactile materials, students may show a definite preference for one tool over another. This choice may be guided by resulting sensory experiences such as motion, calming, pressure, pleasure or reduction or enhancement of stimuli.

STRATEGIES AND SUGGESTIONS FOR THE ART CLASSROOM Here are some suggestions from my research to assist in the process of art making and selection of art materials:  Preparation is key to a good art lesson, project or activity. EX: Having step-by-step visual instruction and alternative lessons is beneficial to the student with special needs. Plan for progress never perfection.  Establish one overall goal for each student which goes beyond the goal of completing art and facilitates additional skills with special needs students. EX: encouraging functional communication  Modify art supplies to accommodate the student’s capabilities. EX: The class is engaged in the tactile of clay materials except a student who may have tactile hypersensitivities unknown however, present due to the rejection of the clay. A modification would be placing a piece of saran wrap over the clay to slowly initiate touch with another tool (e.g. paint brush, or preferred object; toy car). Never force the tactile experience by making the student touch an undesired material. Accommodate and choose a different medium if the first modification does not apply.

 Offer positive reinforcement on a continual basis.  Use art projects to inspire artistic expression and explore student self- awareness. Often identification with subject matter encourages exploration and self-expression. EX: May identified with the visual image of Degas’s dancer because she loves to dance. She became aware of her body through her art making (e.g. requested brown paint for skin tone, painted braids for the hair and requested specific paint colors to reflect the beads in her hair).  Create tools which gauge emotion and provide an understanding of feelings. EX: I provided May with a visual of four separate emotion faces which were designed by myself so they looked like her. This visual tool has enhanced and understanding of her emotions and through art making she can express herself.  List and discuss steps by providing the student with step-by-step directions (e.g. first, next and then). Complete each step before going into the next directive. Visuals of subject matter encourage direction and inspiration as well. EX: May was given a visual of emotion faces. She was asked to first touch the one she was feeling. Next, she was directed to paint her face which prompted her to then want brown paint. These steps can continue pertaining to the lesson.  Underplay the product because it is within the process where the developmental skills are built and strengthened. EX: May was given clay and after she rolled it out she picked up a pencil and began to draw a tree in the clay. This was not the intended lesson for the project. However, this is part of the process which enhanced the following skills; decision making, self-expression, functional communication (e.g. she then requested paint after her clay exploration) and sensory stimulation. The product resulted in something different for the planned lesson. However, it was extraordinary and beyond the intended product.  Flexibility is extremely essential in the art classroom and accepting the idea that a mess may be made is key. EX: Nothing is set in stone. Be open to constant change and detours while encouraging developmental skills as the process of art unfolds.  Different not less is acknowledging that every student is not the same may be the first step for the art educator when planning a learning experience for the diverse thinker.

Thank You May, for making the world a more beautiful place.

To your mother, with gratitude and appreciation for supporting my study.

It was an honor.

“Beautiful…May, beautiful”. -May