Abstract
Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often experience difficulties in identifying their emotions and the emotional states of others, additionally, they also often experience challenges in verbal communication. Together, these characteristics can lead to compromised social and emotional well being and mental health issues. However, children with ASD often have relative strengths in visual processing, and such strengths have been integral to the success of visual supports and video-based interventions for a range of socially significant skills for children with ASD. This preference for visual processing may also rep-resent opportunities for children with ASD in identifying and expressing their emotions. There is a limited but promising body of literature that suggests visual Art therapy can be beneficial for individuals with ASD and provide opportuni-ties for them to develop flexibility, self-esteem, and social communicative behaviour [1]. This presentation reports a study exploring the potential of Art making to assist children with ASD to better communicate their feelings and emotions. Providing an outlet for self-expression may reduce the challenges people with Autism face and in doing so, improve the quality of life for them as well as their families. A qualitative descriptive case study was chosen for this study within the theoretical framework of Art as therapy. Two boys, aged seven and ten years, participated in five and six visual Art as therapy sessions (re-spectively). The sessions developed participants’ skills in Art making and ex-pressing emotion as rapport was built over the study period. A variety of rich data were collected during the study which included: questionnaires, interviews, video-recordings, observation notes and participant Art works. This presentation showcases the Art works of the participating boys, featuring a variety of mediums to communicate their thoughts, feelings, and emotions. A description of the visual Art as therapy experiences and the impacts upon students’ communication, social interaction, and self-esteem are discussed.
Highlights
This paper reports the findings of a Bachelor of Education Honours thesis conducted in one Australian University and completed in 2016
The aim of the research was to tell in-depth stories of the lives of two children living with Autism and the ways in which their Art making impacted on the communication of their feelings and emotions
The intention of this research was to tell in-depth stories of the lives of two children living with Autism and how Art making impacted on their communication of feelings and emotions
Summary
This paper reports the findings of a Bachelor of Education Honours thesis conducted in one Australian University and completed in 2016. The inspiration for this research is presented, along with a brief review of pertinent literature, an outline of the methodological approach taken, and the parameters for the ethical collection of data. As data, including detailed observations of eleven Art making sessions, and many dozens of photos of participant Art works, were so extensive, it is not possible to present these in their entirety here. Data from five selected sessions, those with the most powerful observations of participants and their associated Art works, are presented and discussed here. These data and the broader findings of the research are subsequently reflected upon and discussed
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