Inclusion in the Art Room

How to create visuals for students with Autism, ADHD and other health impairments

Angela JanickCamelot Therapeutic Day School

A little information about me: I have been teaching since 2002 I worked with mostly high school students during my first

four years of teachingWhen I got laid off, I had a long term sub assignment in a

middle school classroom with kids who have BD. I started to create some visuals to try to help them learn on

a daily basis. I used a lot of Google images!After that assignment, I applied for an Art Teacher position

at Camelot Therapeutic Day School I have always had a special place in my heart for students

with special needs I believe everyone can learn at their own level and ability

Therapeutic Day School I did not have any training working with kids with Autism nor

had I worked at a therapeutic day school. I had some experience from my other jobs working with kids

with special needs and two special ed classes in collegeMy school did not have an art teacher before me who

worked with the students with Autism I had to start from scratch, but I shared an office with the

Autism coordinatorShe told me about PECS

Picture Exchange Communication System

At that time, I started making books with pictures and using the sentence strips to help my students who were familiar or not with PECS to aide them when doing art projects.

Five years later, I still have some of the same kids, of course they are older, but they know exactly what to do when they are given a project strip.

Sometimes, I don’t even have to say anything and they get right to work.

I also work with students who have social emotional disorders and other health impairments.

I find that the visuals help these students as well.

I may not use PECS with them, but I will show you some other examples that I have used later in the presentation.

The information that I am going to share with you is a compiling of things that I have learned over the last five years.

I find the information useful on a daily basisI know that you probably have a student with

Autism or other special needs in your classroom

I hope the information I present will help you help all of your students succeed

Defining visual supports Have you ever made a list for the grocery

store?Have you ever pointed to a picture in

an advertisement or a menu to show someone what you want?

Do you ever read a sign to tell you what line to stand in or what door to exit from?

Do you ever write notes to your family members reminding them to do things?

The terms visual supports, visual strategies, or visual cues are used synonymously.

Basically, visual supports enable a learner to keep track of daily activities and to develop an understanding of time and sequences (Koyama & Wang, 2011; Twachtman-Cullen, 1995).

For individuals with ASD, using visual supports can help them be more successful in what is often a confusing world.

The individual with ASD does not necessarily internally recognize and understand how to use the information provided by visual supports. Many individuals will need to be specifically taught how to use existing visual supports in their environment.

Points to remember:Using the supports will give meaning to the picturesTo help individuals attach meaning to the visual

support, pair its use with spoken language. Match key words and phrases to the object, picture, or action.

Stick with it! Sometimes you will see immediate results but other times it may take weeks or months

Think about modifying the visuals: small changes can make a big difference

Keep the visuals age appropriateUse cartoons for small childrenUse real pictures for older children

Make sure the room is visually consistent and that it is free from clutter Being organized in an art room can be

challenging, but organization will help all of the students!

Label areas for turning in work, accessing materials, etc.

You should have something consistent that the student can look for when they come to art.

The basics……

I have two binders full of pecs that I have made over the last 5 years.

To make a binder:1. Three hole punch

and laminate cardstock pages

2. Get soft Velcro and put 5 pieces on a page

3. Create pecs or picture pages in 1.5 inch squares

4. Cut them out5. Laminate the

squares, cut them out and put prickly Velcro on the back.

Some students need to be reminded of what is next!

I would put Art in the first box and after that will depend on the students schedule.

Steps for a projectIn Boardmaker, the template is called a sentence strip. I don’t have enough spaces for each and every step so I simplify the steps. I put in order the steps/materials the students should be looking to use. Once they have completed a step, the students will remove the picture and put it into the “all done” pocket at the end of the strip.

Resources for the Art Teacher:

Helpful websites for images and lesson ideas:www.speakingofspeech.comwww.boardmakershare.comwww.pintrest.comwww.artsonia.comwww.incredibleart.orgGoogle imageswww.artsconnected.orgwww.deepspacesparkle.com

More Resources….www.squidalicious.com Has all kinds of apps

for the ipad including art appsI pad apps:

Timer TimerFirst Then

Is it a big problem or a little problem?

Use a visual to help students stay on the line while they are cutting

Circles Galore!

Technology SupportsMayer-Johnson Boardmaker

classroom materials such as schedules, worksheets, reading and writing activities, game and song boards, communication boards, books and more. Boardmaker is a software program that uses clip art consisting of picture communication symbols (http://www.mayer-johnson.com/).

Slater Publications Picture-ItPicture-It is software designed for use by both adults and

individual with ASD to adapt the written environment. This product allows the user to visually represent words for ease of reading and increasing comprehension (http://www.slatersoftware.com/pit.html).

Resources:http://www.autisminternetmodules.org/www.speakingofspeech.comwww.boardmakershare.comajanick@camelotforkids.org

The End!!Questions?