This is a method of indirect instruction, an important component of art education, as noted in Mary E. Thompson's chapter on "Art for Students with Special Needs." Having a rebus charts with pictures illustrating the steps of the project also helps students follow directions, and for students with attention deficit issues, these students can refer to the chart to reorient themselves if they lose focus on the project.
Teachers should strive to minimize self-consciousness. For children in a wheelchair, the classroom should be physically accessible, not simply with wheelchair ramps, but also with a wide, clear path to the art center. Some art tools may need to be used in different ways, depending on the children's physical limitations. The teacher should have a wide range of adaptive art tools, like fat bingo markers, chunky crayons, large markers, double-handed ambidextrous scissors and glue sticks, which may prove less frustrating than a bottle of glue. Children should be encouraged to be physically exploratory, and so long as the children are willing to stretch their physical capacities to perform the process correctly initially, if some children prefer to use their mouth to hold a paintbrush, for example, to explore the uses of their body, this can actually be effective to develop muscles in the child's mouth, as can using blow painting with a straw.
Physically engaging tasks, like standing at an easel, working hard clay, making a large mural...
Avoiding making children wait for a turn and provide the children with their own materials when establishing a classroom environment of creativity minimizes the frustrations the students must invariably cope with outside of the art room.
When the students are more comfortable with one another, the teacher should encourage children to engage in more group projects, like making a puppet for a class puppet theater. This also provides experience for the child to practice speaking to one another and to the class. A puppet may be a less intimidating mouthpiece for the child than speaking in his or her own voice. Eventually, the children should be encourage to talk about their art in their own words, perhaps presenting the artwork they are most proud of to the class, at the end of the semester or at the end of every month.
Works Cited
Thompson, Mary E. (1997). "Art for Students with Special Needs." Chapter 13 from An Introduction to Early Childhood Special Education. Edited by Linda L. Dunlap MA: Allyn & Bacon.
