This book describes the use of drawing in therapy. Stimulus drawings (SDs) and techniques were developed in the 1960s for use with deaf children at a time when manual communication was forbidden in their schools. During the 1970s, the drawings were expanded for use with learning-disabled children, adult stroke-patients, and others with…

This guide provides recommendations and guidelines to expressive arts therapists and educators who work in school settings as therapists, supervisors, supervisees, or graduate school expressive arts interns. There are eight chapters: (1) Expressive Arts Therapies in School Settings (definitions, learning objectives, confidentiality, ethical…

Uses an example of a counseling session to illustrate the use of drawing as a counseling technique for nonverbal children. Suggests that drawing provides a less threatening atmosphere that allows children to communicate with a counselor and express feelings they may not want to face. (JAC)

Explains how art, a nonverbal form of communication, can ease separation anxiety in young children, allowing them to express issues that are important to them. Gives practical tips for teachers to set up an open art area in the classroom and suggested activities include group puzzles and quilts, homemade books, collage art, and puppets. (ET)

This guidebook is designed to help parents, teachers, day care professionals, nannies, and others in the childcare arena recognize signs of distress in children's drawings. The handbook is intended for those with little or no knowledge of art therapy. Information the book provides is a compilation of indicators that commonly appear in the drawings…

This article introduces an adaptive art technique that has been successfully used with special needs students in integrated settings in Switzerland. The technique, "Paint Talk," encourages spontaneous painting motivated by the student's need to communicate. Guidelines for setting up the "Paint Talk" studio, interpreting…

Helping young children to cope with stress plays a vital role in today's classroom. It is normal for children to experience stress, which comes from pressures such as family, friends, and school. Some of the indicators of stress in young children are behavioral changes (e.g., mood swings, changes in sleep patterns, and incontinence) and physical…

This composite of occupational information about the job of art therapist describes the job functions in terms of rehabilitation for mental patients, the retarded, and criminals. Copies of art work created by the mentally ill are included. Background information about mental illness and the historical development of the job are presented. As an…

Compares and contrasts discipline-based art education with Viktor Lowenfeld's creative self-expression approach, using growth, medical, and molding metaphors. Maintains that these two approaches are similar because the views of the child, the teacher's role, and the relationship between them has not changed. (KM)

Presents three studies of children's ability to create and detect expressions of emotion in drawings. Compared to younger children, older children used more strategies, experimented with line and color, and were more likely to explore themes of death, aging, and illness. Includes sample drawings and statistical tables. (MJP)

Discusses connections between art therapy and art education and the use of community resources to enrich the content of a collaborative course. In this course, jointly sponsored by a university and an art museum, participants drew on various artistic disciplines and multisensory approaches to develop treatment plans for special needs children.…

A case study is presented of a 19-year-old deaf and legally blind boy who transcends his handicapping condition in using felt-tipped markers and tempera paints to produce graphic landscapes of urban life. Discussed are his choice of subjects, manner of working, the impact of art therapy, and therapeutic issues. (JDD)

Art therapy and group discussion aimed at self-exploration and interpersonal learning formed the core of a group treatment model for 13 mentally retarded, emotionally impaired adolescents. Students were divided into two groups according to levels of functioning. Group structure and issues processed by group members are described in detail. (JW)

Investigates the drawing and copying skills of nine autistic and eight mentally retarded children matched for mental age. Results indicate a similarity of performance for the drawing tasks and significant differences concerning the copying. Discusses the specific functions performed better by the autistic children and provides illustrative…

Recognition of the handicapped child's isolation from the environment is the basis for creative art therapy across handicapping conditions (physical disabilities, mental retardation, emotional disturbance, deafness, Blindness, speech impairment, cerebral palsy). Detachment may be overcome by self expression through drawings, paintings, and…