What Down Syndrome Has to Offer Art Education

Dedication This project is dedicated to my biggest supporters Tia, Dharma, Callie and Cathy as well as Margret Ann and the 92%! Thanks for your support and this work will be

our legacy in the Down syndrome community.

Clint Justin Robinson

University of Florida

Art Education University of Florida Department of Visual Art

How is Down syndrome connected to Art Education?

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This began my lifelong journey with Special needs.

Working as an Adaptive Art teacher introduced me to a range of disabilities or as I like to call it “abilities”. One of these was called Down syndrome. Before teaching I had heard the term and have a cousin with Down syndrome but I never gave the diagnosis, the terminology or the physical characteristics any special attention. I had a cousin and some students with Down syndrome; I worked and interacted with them as I do anyone else. In fact most individuals with Down syndrome were extra fun to work with. Always cheery and happy they were always welcoming to my art lessons and the time we spent together.

Family

In 2007 we were expecting our second child and my wife Tia came home from work early one day very upset. During her last prenatal visit she opted to have the Maternal Serum Screening. Her physician called to tell her the baby tested positive for Down syndrome and we had a 1 in 21 chance of having a baby with Down syndrome.

Tia was visibly upset and unsure of what Down syndrome meant. I assured her that everything would be okay and I felt if we had a child with Down syndrome we were lucky considering all of the other possibilities.

“The day Callie was born and the moment I saw her I was in LOVE!”

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Birthday The day Callie was born and the moment I saw her I was in LOVE. I could see immediately that she had Down syndrome by the shape of her eyes and was relieved that we finally knew the answer. Once we got her home we joined the Down Syndrome Association of Atlanta and became active members in our community of Down syndrome families, online forums and educators to anyone that would listen. Changes Before the birth of Callie I had to switch jobs and began teaching regular art classes in a local high school, missing my time as an Adaptive Art teacher. I sought to create an Adaptive Art program in my current district and am still trying. I decided to get a Masters degree in art education and discovered a means to marry the ideas of art education and Down syndrome through this project.


What Down Syndrome Has to Offer Art Education

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Education We immediately started to educate ourselves on the facts, stories, support and services available for parents of children born with Down syndrome. We found an unbelievable community and a wealth of resources that offered support, education and a general acceptance of Down syndrome. As a family we went to an ultrasound specialists that looked for physical markers of Down syndrome and none were detected. We again as a family elected to forego the Amniocentesis to avoid any danger to Callie or Tia (our baby now had a name). We continued to educate ourselves on Down syndrome and started to connect with the Down syndrome community. We started introducing our older daughter “Dharma” to what it meant to have a little sister with Down syndrome and we excitedly waited the arrival of Callie!

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Beginning

In 2000 I finished my degree in Art Education and was qualified to teach. Finding a job as an art teacher can be difficult but Fulton County Schools interviewed me at a teacher’s job fair in Hammond Louisiana. I was told that if I presented my resume’ at the Fulton County Schools job fair I would indeed have a job.

At the Fulton County Schools job fair I was offered two teaching positions. One in an elementary school and one teaching Adaptive Art as an intenerate art teacher for the South side of Fulton County. After interviewing with the other Adaptive Art teachers in the county I accepted the position of teaching Adaptive Art.

Connections

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Findings

I started my research on Special needs and art education by looking through online resources, periodicals and journals. Available is a plethora of information on teaching art to special needs students. Experts have written numerous resources and conducted extensive studies on how best to serve the special needs population. However, there is a tendency in the literature to focus on the more common disabilities such as Learning Disabled (LD), Autism, and Orthopedically Impaired (OI) students. Lacking is a focus on the less common disabilities such as Down syndrome.

I made it my goal at this realization to create a reference for educators, parents and advocates with examples and suggestions for modifying curriculum specifically to the strengths of learners with Down syndrome. During this study I also found an important characteristic associated with Down syndrome individuals that is given insufficient attention. This characteristic is the ability of individuals with Down syndrome to interpret emotional cues from other individual and respond in an affectionate manner. I have labeled this as Acute Emotional Perception (A.E.P.).

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own knowledge and insights about teaching individuals with Down syndrome, my experiences as a father to Callie (who has Down syndrome), an advocate for Down syndrome, and offers strategies and lesson adaptations and discrimination for successfully using art education to give students with Down syndrome a voice.

© Clint Justin Robinson


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Evidence Current Academic Publications provides a lack of support for the idea of A.E.P. In contrast ideas surrounding the Emotional Understandings of individuals with Down syndrome are conflicting. Some researchers claim individuals with Down syndrome have a delayed or lack the ability to interpret emotions. Other researchers claim individuals with Down syndrome can perform similarly when compared to learners labeled “typical”. Misunderstanding comes in when you compare how the studies are performed to the specific learning characteristics of individuals with Down syndrome. Published research on Emotional recognition in children with Down syndrome limits the possible outcomes by only studying younger children and arranging the studies in clinical settings. It is widely accepted that individuals with Down syndrome respond better in familiar environments and with other individuals they have a close connection or relationship with. Definition of A.E.P. "What Down Syndrome Has to Offer Art Education" is a study of the current information available about teaching visual arts to learners with Down syndrome? My study examines the literature on this topic, shares my

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Course of Study

In 2011 I started course work through the University of Florida’s online Master of Art Education program with no idea of where my studies would lead me. I had no expectations that I would focus my course work on a specific topic. Instead I assumed I would learn how to reshape what I am currently doing as a High School Art educator. What I discovered several weeks in was quite the opposite of my assumptions. Reshaping current teaching methods became necessary but the idea of wanting to incorporate special needs into my studies was the focus.

I decided a focus on special needs art education would be my direction. What I did not expect was the lack of resources specifically aimed at Down syndrome within Art education.

A.E.P. – Acute Emotional Perception

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Special needs researcher Alice Wexler provided a similar experience. In her latest study she worked with three young adult students with Down syndrome in an art enrichment program. Ms. Wexler stated that after the students became familiar with the staff, they began to expressively respond to the art and the staff.

Down syndrome researcher Sue Buckley supported my claims and provided links to new studies that suggest certain disabilities may compensate for shortcoming by heightened abilities in other areas like emotional perception (social skills).

Why?

I asked the experts and myself why is there a lack of information on specific learning strategies for learners with Down syndrome and why are there contradictions on the abilities of learners with Down syndrome? Answers can be found in the frequency of children born with Down syndrome compared to the frequency of children born with other disabilities such as Autism.

Awareness

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individuals with Down syndrome through their strengths and abilities changing the focus from what they can’t do. People First “People first” is a campaign to promote changing the focus of a disabled person from that of his disability to that of his human nature. When speaking or writing in a “people first” manner it is imperative to put the individual, his name, his occupation or talent BEFORE his disability. Ex. Artist with Down syndrome not Down syndrome artist.


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92% One statistic that I learned from this research is the number of Down syndrome births every year. Compared to other disabilities Down syndrome is one that can be tested prenatally through Maternal Serum Screening (M.S.S.). Although the tests are not 100% accurate mothers are given the opportunity to terminate their pregnancies after a positive reading on the M.S.S. Due to this 92% of pregnancies with a positive M.S.S. screening terminate before birth. This surreal statistic defines why the frequencies of Down syndrome births are so low compared to other disabilities. Ability Contrary to misconceptions about Down syndrome, individuals with Down syndrome can lead active-‐ meaningful lives. This has been realized in recent years due to the acceptance of individuals with disabilities, the inclusion and social acceptance of differences promoted in most western cultures. Advocacy and ongoing development in research, education, and potential of individuals with Down syndrome is also leading to opportunities for life long learning. Schools and programs have been created and re-‐designed to develop

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Professional Support

Due to the discrepancies in published studies and published learning characteristics of learners with Down syndrome I sought proof of A.E.P. elsewhere. I sought the ad-‐hoc stories, ideas and considerations of my claims from individuals considered experts in the field of Special needs art education, Down syndrome and parent-‐advocates. In our conversations I presented my findings and my idea of A.E.P., it was unanimously agreed that one, my claims of A.E.P. were justified and two, further study on emotional recognition in individuals with Down syndrome needs attention.

Parent advocate Linda Thompson was my first contact and she discussed her son Erik’s ability to appropriately respond to her emotional state when needed. “He knows where I’m at all the time” (L.Thompson).

Important Down Syndrome Information

Lesson Suggestions and Adaptations

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What to look for?

Learners with Down syndrome have certain strengths that we as educators can use to their benefit. Exploiting their uncanny ability to understand emotions and naturally being very expressive is the first characteristic to look for in an art lesson. Lessons geared towards detailed copying or specific outcomes should be avoided. Favorable are lessons that allows for personal interpretation, physical interaction (manipulation), motor skill development and the ability to be broken into small segments.

Gross Motor Skills – those skills that make a person mobile and able to sit, stand, walk and jump.

Patricia Winders suggests the following considerations when working with individuals with Down syndrome to develop Gross motor skills.

Hypotonia – is a condition where the muscle tone (strength) is lower influencing the amount of motor control an individual with Down syndrome has.

Environment – Simple things like desk height and angle can influence the student’s success by counteracting the affect of Hypotonia.

Strength – repetition can counteract the affects of Hypotonia, attention to physical health and the avoidance of over exhaustion.

Motivation – appropriate non-‐food rewards should be considered due to a lower metabolism.

Quality – Learning experiences should be relevant to the student’s abilities and aid in development.

Strategy – Finding a way to encourage student growth and development through variation, repetition and motivation.

Why so many tulips, because of the poem “welcome to Holland” which has led the tulip to become a symbol of Down syndrome. You can find the poem here http://welcometoholland.net/


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Abstract Ceramic Sculpture/ Scraffito

Ceramics and Scraffito are both great exercises that focus on tactile qualities while building both gross and fine motor skills. Ceramics requires the students to physically manipulate clay into an object. In this instance we are not asking the students to make a specific item like a teapot rather we want them to explore the medium and practice the technique both of which will aid in developing the gross and fine motor skills. When we introduce the idea of Scraffito into the project, we are further increasing the student’s exposure to tactile experiences and giving them an opportunity to choose what tools they want to use and how to manipulate these tools to create texture. These practices will encourage higher order and choice based decision-‐making. In this lesson I address the following characteristics.

1. Physical motion, manipulation of the clay (gross motor). 2. Manipulating the clay tools for Scraffito (Fine motor). 3. Expression / Emotion (through choice based decision making). 4. Higher thinking Skills (Choice based decision making).

Resources:

http://tnurl.eu/LT http://tnurl.eu/27

SGRAFFITO


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STARRY NIGHT


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Starry Night is one of the most beloved and recognized paintings within modern art. Van Gogh created this masterpiece focusing on the shimmering affect of the stars on a clear night. In this lesson the students are given time to explore and study the painting Starry Night followed by the creation of their own interpretation of a starry night. In this lesson we can bring in the emotional understandings and have them focus on a calm cool night, or a hot summer night, or any other “feeling descriptors” we can relate to a clear night sky. Students then can have the opportunity to choose how they want to interpret or create their own starry night. Focusing on a common theme allows the students the opportunity to experiment and work on both fine and gross motor skills. Gross motor skills can be practiced by simply sitting at the table in order to complete the work as well as major arm movements to make the signature Van Gogh brush marks. Fine Motor skills can be practiced by manipulating the writing and painting utensils the students choose to use in making their marks. In each scenario we see the students are given choices and asked to apply their knowledge of emotions, art and Van Gogh to make an original painting. In this lesson I address the following characteristics.

1. Physical motion, sitting at table, major body movement (gross motor).

2. Mark making, manipulating (Fine motor). 3. Collaboration with others (Social skills). 4. Expression and Emotion (Moving lights around). 5. Higher thinking Skills (Planning movements).

Resources:

http://tnurl.eu/h4


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In this lesson I address the students identity allowing them an opportunity to express what they consider important in their lives. They can explore what makes them, unique. In this exercise the students can draw and outline of themselves, trace their silhouette or use a printout of themselves to create a basic drawing or frame in which they will find and paste or draw images that represent their idea of self. In the event that cutting and drawing are too complicated the images can be torn and pasted into the silhouette. This lesson is more of a fine motor skill but introduces abstract ideas like “self” into the curriculum. In this lesson I address the following characteristics:

1. Physical motion, sitting at table, major part movement (gross motor).

2. Mark Making, manipulation/tearing and gluing (fine motor). 3. Expression / abstract connections between self and objects. 4. Higher order thinking skills (representations of self). 5. Choice in how to make frame. Drawing.

Resources:

http://tnurl.eu/W-

Collage/Self-‐Portrait


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In this lesson we discuss the work of Andy Warhol and how he would copy a portrait multiple times changing the color each time to represent certain characteristics of the person. Students will use a printout of their own portrait and trace it with white school glue creating a frame or border around their facial features. Students will then be instructed to choose colors for each portrait (minimum of four portraits) and paint inside the glue borderlines. Each portrait could represent a different feeling or emotion and become an expression of how they feel during different moments of their lives. In this lesson we address the fine motor skills by tracing the glue and deeper more personal meaning associated with colors and emotions. In this lesson I have addressed the following characteristics:

1. Physical motion, sitting at table, major part movement (gross motor).

2. Glue tracing and painting in the lines. (Fine motor). 3. Discussion of emotion/color relationships with teachers (Social skills).

4. Expression and Emotion (color association). 5. Higher thinking Skills (assigning colors to emotions).

Resources:

http://tnurl.eu/dp

Pop Art Prints


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Light Painting is a relatively new idea even though it has existed throughout the history of photography. In simplified terms the camera catches light that is moving by holding the shutter open for an extended period of time. This records an abstract looking light trail. In this lesson we are getting the student moving around, working on those gross motor skills. By moving the lights around in a random fashion or even in a specific motion (an example would be in the shape of a letter) having the students create a light trail or light painting. Other students or the teacher could take the picture to record the motion and create the artwork. In this lesson I address the following characteristics.

1. Physical motion (gross motor). 2. Taking pictures and manipulating the camera (Fine motor). 3. Collaboration with others (Social skills). 4. Expression and Emotion (Moving lights around). 5. Higher thinking Skills (Planning movements).

Resources:

http://tnurl.eu/v5

LIGHT PAINTING

http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/lessons/high/light_paint.html


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FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS

It is my goal through this project to bring awareness to the potential of individuals with Down syndrome as well as the lack of support for the Down syndrome community within research and published literature on the specifics of Down syndrome learning. I challenge other educators and researchers to explore the possibilities of developing curriculum for other specific learning groups commonly mislabeled as “special needs”. Arts education is growing, personalizing instruction for special populations is a logical progression for us to explore.


Resources: National Down syndrome Society -‐ http://www.ndss.org/ National Down syndrome Congress -‐ http://ndsccenter.org/ Very Special Arts -‐ http://www.kennedy-‐center.org/education/vsa/ National Association of Down Syndrome -‐ http://www.nads.org/ Erik Behnke -‐ brownbearproducts.biz/ Judith Scott -‐ http://hidden-‐worlds.com/judithscott/ Dick Blick Adaptive Art Materials -‐ http://www.dickblick.com/categories/specialneeds/ ZotArt -‐ http://www.zotartz.com/ ClintJustinRobinson Research -‐ https://sites.google.com/site/robinsonindependentresearch/ Blog -‐ http://downsyndromeandart.blogspot.com/ Art – clintjustinrobinson.com Pinboards -‐ http://pinterest.com/robinsoncj/down-‐syndrome/

Acute Emotional Perception "What Down Syndrome Has to Offer Art Education" is a study of the current information available about teaching visual arts to learners with Down syndrome? My study examines the literature on this topic, shares my own knowledge and insights about teaching individuals with Down syndrome, my experiences as a father to Callie (who has Down syndrome), an advocate for Down syndrome, and offers strategies and lesson adaptations and discrimination for successfully using art education to give students with Down syndrome a voice.

© Clint Justin Robinson

92% The percentage of children that possibly have Down syndrome and never get a chance to make art!

People First “People first”, is a campaign that stresses the importance of the individual before his disability. When writing or speaking of people with disabilities their name and or specialty should always come before their disability. Examples would be: Callie an Artists with Down syndrome NOT Callie a Down syndrome artist or John a public speaker with special needs NOT John a special needs public speaker. Importance should be placed on the human nature, the positive, and the abilities present within an individual. This approach aids in avoiding the negative connotations associated with disability labels.

Simple Strategies For the art classroom.

1. Environment (supports needs of Hypotonia) elevated/ angled work surface.

2. Visuals (aides in language development) examples, materials that transform when used.

3. Steps (Break down the lesson into manageable steps) builds focus and attention.

4. Reinforcement (appropriate) low metabolism leads to excess weight, reward with words and actions instead of food.

5. Subject (appropriate) should relate to student interest to facilitate success.

Documents

What Down Syndrome Has to Offer Art Education