​Learning by Being Themselves: How the Arts Benefits Disabled Children

​Learning by Being Themselves:
​How the Arts Benefits Disabled Children

Submitted by Lillian Brooks

The arts have a lot to offer children with disabilities. Art is a medium for teaching life skills and abilities that can help kids with disabilities learn and develop mentally. It’s also an effective way to develop motor skills and refine tactile sensitivity by working with shapes and different materials, doing crafts, playing music and painting. Kids build problem-solving abilities through self-expression and grow self-confidence through the act of creation. Art can also prepare children who are disabled for school by imparting math and literacy skills and acclimating them to teamwork and collaborating with others. Here are a few ideas for getting started.

Match the activity to the child

There’s a wide range of activities to choose from across the broad spectrum of artistic endeavor. The best way to make the most of it is to pair your child with an activity that dovetails with his age, abilities, strengths and mode of learning. If your kid tends to be a visual learner, there are many opportunities for them to develop via the visual arts, while a child who’s strongest suit is auditory learning may blossom by engaging in music. Other children learn best from moving around and taking part in dance and the dramatic arts.

Join in the fun

All children flourish in an environment of encouragement and affirmation. Making time to get involved in a child’s artistic expressiveness provides the emotional support they need to make the most of the experience. And getting personally involved will help your child feel pride in his work, so make time to participate and let him show you how he uses his mind and hands to create things that are uniquely his own. Better yet, it’s a great way to bond with your child. Revitalize an old skill like sewing by looking up tutorials and projects for beginners online, or pick up a brand new hobby like painting by taking classes at your local art museum or community center.

Art at home

Inspiration can arise at any time, so make a space for your child to express his creativity at home. Consider setting up an art room where he can express himself freely and try different things without worrying about making a mess. Provide a range of supplies to encourage experimentation. Paint brushes, pencils, crayons, clay, and lots of paper of different sizes open a whole new world of inquiry and inventiveness for your child.  Utilize wipeable surfaces and large spaces with chalkboard paint, which transforms entire walls into a creative resource.

Musical expression

Children learn about rhythm and different kinds of sounds and how it all works together through music. It also helps kids develop phonological recognition through repetition and playing songs that are fun to learn. It’s a highly useful activity considering the close connection between learning music and literacy. It’s also a good way to impart mathematical skills and improving memory, capabilities that learning to play a woodwind instrument such as a flute, clarinet, saxophone, or oboe can instill.
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One of the most empowering features of art for children with disabilities is the opportunity it provides to earn praise for being themselves and the uniqueness of what they create rather than worrying about adhering to a pre-established norm. It’s a comfortable and stimulating way to learn and develop. In fact, at school, the art room may be the only place a child with a disability feels truly at home, in a setting where individuality is what really matters. A child with special needs who feels empowered, loved and supported in school is best-suited to learning and developing important skills. That’s why a creative environment is so effective at helping children with disabilities grow up confidently and eager to try new things.
 
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