Mildred Delcarmen
all messages by user
7/28/2019
Topic:
Students with Disabilities
Mildred Delcarmen
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Several years ago I had a 2nd grade student in my art class with a severe OI. This OI impacted the students physical, and speech abilities. He was in a wheelchair and had limited movement of his body. He was not able to stand up on his own. Holding his head up for long periods of time was difficult. He had a paraprofessional who helped him move around (with his wheelchair) and translating for me what he was saying. His speech was difficult to understand. He could not grasp art tools and needed help.
At first the paraprofessional would ask him what colors to use, but she would technically create the artwork. I ordered adaptive scissor that he could press down on and she would just hold the paper for him. He was cutting paper "on his own"! I created morve adaptive tools using velcro to help him hold a paintbrush or other drawing/painting tools. By moving his hand and arm he was able to create marks on his paper. His paper was also taped to the table so that it would not move around while he was working. We would used stencils and had him stamp with a stamp brush and the velcro to create his art work.
Demonstrations are commonly used in art to teach all students so that they can see the process of creation before they begin their artwork. So demonstration with visuals is another strategy that was used. Despite this student's impairments, he was able to create his own abstract pieces of art. This created of sense of accomplishment for him which raised his self-esteem. |