Topic Proposal

Teaching Atypical and Special Needs Students in Art

Emily Brewer

All people are not created equal, but all have the right to be treated equally and with love
and respect. Everyone should have the opportunity to succeed in school. People may look down
on others because they only see what that cannot do. Teachers see the potential in every student
and praise them for what they can do. Of course we do to pay attention to what students struggle
with because we want them to grow in and strengthen those areas.
I would like to learn more about strategies and techniques that I could incorporate into
my curriculum to help students with learning, mental and physical disabilities to better succeed. I
want them to feel free to express their art in a way that gives them more independence but also to
include them in with what the mainstream students are doing. I plan to read their IEPs and
investigate ways to help students with their fine and gross motor skills along with their language
goals when in my class. I want to collaborate with their home teachers and learn as much as I can
about each students specific disability(s) and abilities to better understand their needs.
For low functioning students and students with behavior disorders, I want to look into
coping and communication techniques through art play. I want to be able to give them an
appropriate outlet to express their feelings and thoughts through directed material manipulation
and exploration. I believe they can learn new communication skills through art and I want to be
prepared to give them that opportunity.
This is the area where my heart is. I am eager to learn more about bringing special
education and art education closer together. I want to introduce art therapy methods into the
public school setting and incorporate art into students IEPs. I want to make sure that I am doing
everything I can for all of my students to be excited to learn, to be successful, and to be proud of
themselves.

Betts, D. J. (2005). The art of art therapy: Drawing individuals out in creative ways. Advocate: Magazine
of the Autism Society of America, 26-27
This article talks about how art therapy helps, providing a familiar setting routine, increasing
communication skills, developing a sense of self, and facilitation sensory integration for individuals on
the autism spectrum.
Guay, D. M. (1994). Students with Disabilities in the Art Classroom: How prepared are we? STUDIES in
Art Education. A Journal of Issues and Research; 36 (1) 44-56
This was a study to see how certified art teachers perceived their preparedness for teaching students with
disabilities in mainstreamed, integrated art classrooms. It seems most felt unprepared to teach integrated
classrooms.
Dorff, J. (2012). The Importance of Collaboration in Art Classrooms or Success of Students with Special
Needs. In The Intersection of Arts Education and Special Education: Exemplary Programs and
Approaches (pp.10-18)
This paper talks about KSUs Art Education undergraduate program collaborating with intervention
specialists in the specialists classroom. This experience provided the students to plan and teach art
lessons to students with varying abilities. This was to help improve teach preparedness.
Carroll, K. L. (2007). Shaping Learning Experiences for Students with Special Needs. Better Practice in
Visual Arts Education: Building Effective Teaching through Educational Research. Baltimore, MD:
Maryland State Dept. of Education; (pp. 61-64)
Carroll speaks about how the inclusion of all children in mainstream activities requires advance planning,
collaboration with other professionals and learning new strategies.
Banks, S., Davis, P., Howard, V., & McLaughlin, T. (1993). The Effects of Directed Art
Activities on the behavior of young children with disabilities: A multi-element baseline analysis.
Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, 10 (4), 235-240
This article talks about the effects of directed art activities on the behavior of two preschoolers and one
kindergartener with disabilities in a rural classroom. The behaviors that were measured were aggression,
eye contact, and social initiationThe results indicated that the directed art activity had a larger effect
than the control condition on the social behavior of two of the children.