How does art therapy help children who are learning disabled and/or emotionally disturbed?
One of the 5 year olds with whom I used to work always called Art Therapy “Art Thirsty” – and, indeed, the children who have bounded, trudged, raced, stomped, or eased their way into my office every school day for nearly 25 years have been thirsty, thirsty for opportunities to express themselves. Art therapy has offered the creative and amazingly resilient 6- to 12-year olds who attend Paul Robeson School a chance to communicate their worries, their questions, and their hopes in symbolic form and, in the process, to gain a sense of accomplishment and confidence. The array of art work that they have produced provides a durable record of challenges faced, problems solved, and goals met. Creating it – and working to understand what it may be able to teach them about themselves – has helped the children to feel more competent – not only in their art-making, but in other areas of their lives. Children often come to their first art therapy session expecting to fail. They are afraid that they
