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Teaching Students with Disabilities discussion forum for Secondary (Middle and High School) Visual Art Teachers

Students With Disabilities Messages in this topic - RSS

edith sorensen
edith sorensen
Posts: 3


5/23/2023
edith sorensen
edith sorensen
Posts: 3
Think of a student with a disability you have now, or have had in the past. Identify their disability. Describe the way in which their disability affected their learning. Describe at least one or more ways you successfully accommodated or modified instruction for this student. Share your response in the threaded discussion.


I have had many students with various disabilities - which makes this question difficult. If a modification helps one kid, I throw it out to the whole class to see who else it helps. Over the years these different modifications have just become a part of my teaching. So I can't tell you the exact kid that some of this is for, only that these things work. 1. If the people around you are not bothered and it is safe, sit how you want. Sit on the floor, stand, kneel, whatever works- yes now differentiated seating is a buzz word- I've been doing it for almost 2 decades. 2. vocabulary is difficult for some kids- so (when possible) just draw me a picture- yes horizontal means left to right - but so does -------.
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Clayton Burkey
Clayton Burkey
Posts: 3


5/31/2023
Clayton Burkey
Clayton Burkey
Posts: 3
I had a student that was dyslexic and ADD. The student would get very overwhelmed when starting a large project. I found that if I let the student work on a smaller piece of paper she would excel. So I had her produce several small pieces and then we found a way to put them together. This instruction adjustment was relative to the gradual release model considering I have them brainstorm together on a sketchbook page prior to starting the main project.
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Alicia Gifford
Alicia Gifford
Posts: 4


6/1/2023
Alicia Gifford
Alicia Gifford
Posts: 4
I had one student in Access Art that had impulse control problems. He was causing many disruptions and conflicts with other students in class. I decided to make him my "assistant", which kept him busy and out of trouble. He would come in, pass out papers or supplies, then sit and complete work. If he finished early, he got play-doh or modeling clay to keep his hands busy. It worked great.
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Marie Amatulli
Marie Amatulli
Posts: 3


6/6/2023
Marie Amatulli
Marie Amatulli
Posts: 3
As an art teacher, I had a student with Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism spectrum disorder. This student's disability affected their learning in several ways. They faced challenges with social interaction and emotional regulation, which often led to episodes of frustration and distress during art lessons. To accommodate and modify instruction for this student, I implemented two strategies, such as independent work and technological support. The student worked independently in a quiet environment on a computer. This allowed them to focus on their work without feeling overwhelmed. The student used a variety of programs that allowed them to express their creativity in art. By implementing these accommodations and modifications, I witnessed positive changes in the student's experience. They became more engaged, comfortable, and gradually gained confidence in their artistic abilities.
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Katherine Jones
Katherine Jones
Posts: 5


6/8/2023
Katherine Jones
Katherine Jones
Posts: 5
Two students come to mind. The first was unable to see color, and the unit I was teaching was on color theory. I suggested that he look at the color names on crayons, and sat him next to a partner who could help him. I modified his requirements, and allowed him to draw cars and monster trucks, focusing on values ( lights and darks). Later I ordered adaptive glasses for red/green color blindness. Purchasing denied my reimbursement at first, then later agreed that it was for school purposes when I argued its merit. The glasses haven't worked for all my color blind kiddos, but they worked well for this one. The second student was hard of hearing. I sat him close to me, and gave him a buddy. As much as possible I would provide visual examples of the project we were doing. I also checked for understanding frequently.
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Pat Brown
Pat Brown
Posts: 5


6/8/2023
Pat Brown
Pat Brown
Posts: 5
Years ago, I had a male student with a hip condition wherein he walked with an uneven gait. A few years prior I had had a female student with the exact same condition. In both cases, I was always wary of not pressuring them too much as to performing marching band manuevers with a certain style/precision; in both cases they were perennially good natured, performed very well and 'never' presented emotional disturbances/disruptions or other misbehavior. working with each was pleasant and rewarding.
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Laura White
Laura White
Posts: 6


6/13/2023
Laura White
Laura White
Posts: 6
I decided that painting was difficult, so we did printmaking instead and did it more exploratory making a variety of marks with different tools, changing colors and using brayers. They worked with positive and negative space in addition to exploring and sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't. After 2 class sessions, students then were given the option to use the prints, speciality papers, newspapers, magazines, and sheet music to cut from and create a new scene using only their scissors and glue to create a collage. I had an example already made.

Also, they glued their birds on the watercolor paper they painted on using the bleeding technique with a limited color palate.


It turned out awesome!!!!!!!

--
Laura White
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Amy Badovinac
Amy Badovinac
Posts: 3


6/14/2023
Amy Badovinac
Amy Badovinac
Posts: 3
I teach animation, gaming, and simulation, so we deal with a lot of screen time and color modes. Over the last few years the students have increasingly become more aware of and cognizant to visual impairments of fellow students and their end users. Not only are the programing color modes into their games to assist individuals with color blindness but they are also adding programing to help students and/or players deal with flashing lights and colors. It is so great to have students figuring out how to assist their peers and help others.
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Jamie Shoemaker
Jamie Shoemaker
Posts: 3


6/17/2023
Jamie Shoemaker
Jamie Shoemaker
Posts: 3
I have not been in the classroom for a few years, but I do remember having a child in my high school art class that had an IEP, and needed additional time on projects. The student was very smart, and very talented in art, specifically painting and colored pencils, but worked at a very slow pace. The student was behind a lot from the other students. I worked with the student by offering extra time after school (in which I stayed later to accommodate), and also time if they wanted to come in during lunch. They were also able to turn in their project at an additional date.
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Sarah Naciuk
Sarah Naciuk
Posts: 1


6/19/2023
Sarah Naciuk
Sarah Naciuk
Posts: 1
Last year, I had a student that was Autistic. This particular student was brilliant and always produced excellent work. However, they had difficulty communicating and interacting with other students during my lessons. In order to combat this obstacle, I practiced communication strategies with them. Some of these strategies included visual aids, simplified language, and encouraging social interactions. Over time, I did see some improvement.
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Rachel Marshall
Rachel Marshall
Posts: 1


6/21/2023
Rachel Marshall
Rachel Marshall
Posts: 1
This past school year I have several students who all had unique abilities. I was able to implement several techniques for differentiated instructions and each student showed their own versions of success. I could see they were pleased with their work. I always displayed their work right along side my gen ed students' work and I think that helped their level of confidence as well.
edited by Rachel Marshall on 6/21/2023
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Maeanna Callahan
Maeanna Callahan
Posts: 4


6/22/2023
One of my students had severe anxiety, with an extreme aversion to bugs of any kind. Unfortunately, my classroom was located in a small building outside of the school's main building with four doors and two full walls of windows. Bugs are often found dead in the windows or in the corners of the room where there is less foot traffic. This particular student would have to leave often to see the guidance counselor when he was triggered by the sightings. To help him, I vacuumed once per week and regularly checked the bass section (I'm an orchestra teacher) for bugs. I put this student in the bass section for two reasons: 1) the bass part is less demanding so when he leaves my class it doesn't take long for him to get back on track when he is able to come back to class (learning accommodation), and 2) the bass section is the furthest from the main doors where most of the bugs enter the room (preferential seating). I noticed his anxiety most often when he was trying to learn his part during rehearsals, especially if he had missed a couple classes that week. He would frequently stop playing and hug his bass. I created practice tracks to play during rehearsals so that the whole class could rehearse sections together and I was able to walk away from the podium and coach him on his part one-on-one. I also created a "bass only" practice track for him to listen to and practice with at home for the days he wasn't in class.
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Lisa Willman
Lisa Willman
Posts: 4


6/22/2023
Lisa Willman
Lisa Willman
Posts: 4
I had a student in my 2D art class who had a health impairment. She was born without arms. She had a para that was with her all day. Her disability was not limiting to her in my class. She was very proficient in using her toes to complete tasks. She had a special desk made for her. She fit in very well with the other students. Her para and I worked together to differentiate her assignments so that she could be successful. One way that we differentiated her assignments was to offer frequent breaks. Some of the tasks that required very fine motor skills, required assistance from the para-professional. Overall she had a successful experience.
edited by Lisa Willman on 6/22/2023
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melissa taylor-hicks
melissa taylor-hicks
Posts: 2


6/27/2023
Art educators have to recognize that each student is different, each disability has different needs, and students with the same disability may still possess unique needs. There are many ways to ensure that a student with a disability has a successful education in the art classroom. In some cases, we have multiple students that carry a disability (from physical, to other, to artistic etc), therefore instruction for me is always tiered towards individual learning and differentiated instruction. this allows students on all levels to participate and produce work.


In addition, it is imperative that each student actively participates in his or her own work. IN terms of instruction, it is vital that the art teacher provides education that is diverse in instru Disability or not, all students learn in different ways and deserve the opportunity to learn in the is best suited for them. So the use of extended time, guided practice, accommodation, moving furniture and thinking pf space and facilities..


I try to plan an open-ended art lessons in order to allow students to find their own unique solution to any given assignment within meeting the needs and benchmarks. In terms of classroom alterations, tools, art materials, and learning space may need to be altered in order to provide a proficient learning experience. This depends on the make up of the class and personalties and what is needed as far as accomodations and practices


I have rearranged the classroom in order to provide an environment that best provides for the student’s learning style; some examples include raising or lowering tables, providing lap boards, easels, drawing horses and the floor, outside area to reduce noise and having larger handles for pencils and paintbrushes. Most importantly, art is empowering and it provides students with a chance to feel capable. Regardless of a student’s disability, every student deserves the freedom, enthusiasm, and individuality that art education provides.
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Alice Hopson
Alice Hopson
Posts: 1


6/29/2023
Alice Hopson
Alice Hopson
Posts: 1
I had the privilege to teach and help a student that had hearing loss and struggled with hearing. Me being a very soft spoken teacher had to implement some accommodations on my behalf to help assist her and make her more productive and successful in my class, and not single her out at the same time. I always provided visuals posted around the classroom for all students to see. The instructions and assignments were written on the board for everyone. I posted and showed video tutorials during class and classroom demo's as well. I gave out handouts of all the assignments to students and I even posted the assignments on Teams and with directions and instructions for everyone. I assigned peer assistants to assist students with needs and then I took it a step further. The Library had a microphone that I could wear that allowed me to address/teach the class and be heard loud and clear by everyone. My student with the disability was extremely successful in the class and all the other students just loved hearing me teach and talk through the microphone. They thought it was rather fun and cool.
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Kellen Mills
Kellen Mills
Posts: 3


7/9/2023
Kellen Mills
Kellen Mills
Posts: 3
Tyler (not his real name) is on the spectrum and also has dysgraphia. He is a delightful and enthusiastic student and, having successfully completed Art 1 in 6th grade, joined Art 2 for 7th grade. For the concept maps (vocab in graphic format) at the beginning of each unit, using a light table to trace the words and shapes into his sketchbook worked very well. He was able to do all the assignments in Art 1 through chunking and one-on-one assistance to help with measuring and basic skills. We took each project one step at a time with frequent feedback and some modifications.

He loves Mario Brothers and we used that as the basis for Tyler's projects where students selected something to draw from observation in Art 2. For a lesson where students drew a composition and used monochromatic scale to shade in the shapes, Tyler used the light table to trace a black and white line image of Mario and then shaded in blue colored pencil, one value at a time to make 5 shades, with frequent coaching. This was a lead to a more advanced project where students gridded a subject, gridded drawing paper twice the size and followed the grid to make their drawings accurate in proportion and shading. He picked another Mario character for this and I coached him through the gridding process for the image and the paper, holding the ruler while he drew the lines. (All the students practiced on a small "mystery grid" puzzle beforehand and he was able to do that with pretty good success; some lines were out of place but the image was overall intact.) The larger drawing was very challenging for him but he was able to manage by using a simple black and white contour instead of a grayscale image. He finished earlier than his peers, but was thrilled with his results and the whole class clapped for him. He ended up eagerly doing two more while his classmates continued their projects and even developed some independence in his gridding.

Since he does finish early, I encourage him to do extra credit art that can be posted on Artsonia, an online student art website we use and he loves that. For our still life painting project, I used the same strategies of one on one, step by step demonstration and instruction. I also used "I do, you do, we do", painting a separate and similar painting alongside him. I look forward to having him in Art 3 next year!

Finally I'd like to mention that helping the general ed students understand a student's particular foibles is very important. Tyler, being on the spectrum, is very concerned about "the rules", so this was a bit annoying to some students because if someone came in late or said a bad word, he was quick to point out the infraction loudly to me for the whole class to hear. When he was absent one day I took the opportunity to help the class understand this characteristic as on the spectrum and they stopped reacting defensively, eventually becoming his enthusiastic and supportive art fans. I believe one of the great things about the arts is being able to have some students for all three of their middle school years; you can get to know them really well and build on strategies that are supportive and successful. This is also conducive to a classroom culture of respect, inclusion and collaboration.
edited by Kellen Mills on 7/9/2023
edited by Kellen Mills on 7/9/2023
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Stefanie Mielke
Stefanie Mielke
Posts: 3


7/9/2023
Stefanie Mielke
Stefanie Mielke
Posts: 3
Think of a student with a disability you have now or in the past. describe ways in which their disability affected their learning in your class.
I had a student with autism and short term memory loss. She did a great job on her projects, but she had difficulties remembering vocabulary words and due dates. She would struggle with her writing tests. So, I always gave her more time, and she could choose the day to take the test. That helped a lot and she passed every time. I also helped her with due dates.
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Erin Simpson-Krar
Erin Simpson-Krar
Posts: 3


7/11/2023
I had a student for two years in a row in Visual Art 1 and 2-D Studio Art who has dyslexia. He had trouble with any reading or writing in the class. I would read aloud any instructions and make sure to give visual examples as much as possible. For answering questions in class, students could often work in groups. I would give groups small dry erase boards, so they could discuss and have someone record. He could participate in the discussions and other students could record the group's answers. I also used the "reduced assignment" accommodation with him--written answers could be shorter or just cover part of the assignment. I also took verbal answers, but he liked to blend in and do the same thing his peers were doing. He did well in class--especially on the art projects.
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Lisa Lloyd
Lisa Lloyd
Posts: 3


7/11/2023
Lisa Lloyd
Lisa Lloyd
Posts: 3
I can’t bring to mind a specific student with a disability -- I know I’ve had some that were likely ASD but I have not been privy to their IEPs. Each of these kids was different and with each of them, I had a different response. It might have been as simple as moving them to another table away from over-stimulation, going over the instructions for a project with them individually with frequent checks for understanding, perhaps coming up with a variant in media or outcome that worked towards their strengths. It’s a student-by-student thing on a day-by-day basis that covers the kids diagnosed with disabilities as well as the kids that have slipped under the radar and the kids that have simply never had any experience with art and art making materials.
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Joesph Comer
Joesph Comer
Posts: 3


7/20/2023
Joesph Comer
Joesph Comer
Posts: 3
I had this student who I will call happy for the purposes of this forum. He was EBD and visually impaired possibly OHI. He lost one eye in an accident over a summer break a few years in the past.
Happy was so disruptive the other students were finding it difficult to learn. He would roam around the class annoying the other students and in some cases destroying the other student’s work. I called home and learned about the event that took his eye. After a long conversation with his grandma I learned things that I could use.
The first thing I used was to spend the first 5 minutes with him just chatting and talking about the reason I wore glasses. In collage I had a lab partner who splashed HCL (hydrochloric acid) in my eyes. This damaged my left eye and made my vision blurry. He asked several questions. The one he was most interested in was I still mad at my lab partner. I noticed that he was paying close attention to my answer. I explained it was an accident and if I spent time holding a grudge I didn’t have time to enjoy life. After our chat we were on the same footing. He calmed down and asked if he could set by me during the class. His seat was moved to the conference desk adjacent to mine. We would have the daily chat where I snuck in the lesson instructions. His work improved and was quite amazing. His anger was driving his behavior and In my class he was in an anger free zone. The change was remarkable and the other teachers noticed how his behavior was different around me. When they asked how I just said you need to talk to him and really listen. He wants to be seen as a normal kid ad treated fairly.
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