Children with special educational needs (SEN) require a different approach to learning to help them cope with the tasks of everyday life.Targeted therapies can help them to learn basic skills such as thought processing, organization, memory, and paying attention.
Benefits
Music and art have several perceived benefits to children. They are sources of entertainment and can lengthen a child’s attention span, help them concentrate, teach them to focus, and improve communication abilities.
By drawing, a child can express his/her feelings and emotions. Where it is not possible for speech to take place, art and music can act as a substitute for words in order to make a point or statement.
Music and art are not only useful as recreation, but also as a means to enhance learning among children with special educational needs. Autism, for instance, is a developmental disability whose symptoms include various degrees of language and communication delays and difficulties in socializing.
Statistics indicate that 1 out of 110 American kids is affected with autism and the rate is increasing at 10-17% per year. Autistic children basically live in their own world and struggle with daily life.
Music therapy, listening to and learning to play instruments and singing, helps them to build self-confidence. Drawing, painting or sketching, also enhances motor skills and coordination. These things all lead to improved social contacts.
Practical Activities to Expose SEN Children to Music and Art
To make use of art and music therapy for kids with special needs, here are some suggestions for activities:
Musical Themed Parties
Musical themed parties are great at encouraging children to learn something new. Sharing fun music prompts children to move and sing, making use of their vocal chords and physical rhythms. If you can, hire professional entertainers who have experience with SEN kids.
Musical Events
Going to concerts, live events and festivals, is another way to introduce music to kids with special educational needs. They will learn about the variety of music that is available and benefit from its therapeutic effects. Author of ‘Musicophilia’ Oliver Sacks, M.D., believes in the power of music and its healing effects on the brain. He documented the positive effects of music in Parkinson’s patients and autistic children.
Art Galleries and Museums
Visiting museums also helps handicapped children in many ways. Works of art encourage visual perception. Exposure to various styles, colors, subjects, is educational to everyone, handicapped or otherwise. Talk to your children, ask them what they like. Tell them to draw what they have just seen.
Art and Music Workshops
Organize, or sign up for, art, music or dance lessons. Dancing is a great option for kids with autism or sensory perception disorder. Expressing themselves through dancing not only creates movement but also body awareness. Social interaction is also enhanced, giving them self-confidence. Whether it is through creating music, moving in a dance, or making art, these activities are all forms of creative expression. Be sure to look for programs and classes that have experienced special-needs instructors.
When visiting museums or other studios, make sure to plan visits in advance, note the layout of the place and take advantage of resources such as maps, narrative guides, tours and the like. Remember, every child is unique, so you might consider headphones for those who have anxiety or who require quiet spaces.
I know you care about investing in CHARACTER as well as INTELLIGENCE. You want to give children more of what really matters. SO DOES CHRIS ZURBUCH!
Chris Zurbuch is not only a phenomenal RUNNER – he runs for a good cause: To help children achieve their goals and become productive citizens in society.
The Nanny Goat Race in Riverside, CA, raises funds for Charity each year. On Saturday May 25th 2013 Chris ran in the 100 mile race to help raise money for EDU DESIGNS, our non profit that creates and distributes media for the education, motivation and character development of children.
A devoted husband to his beautiful wife Messina and proud Dad of three wonderful children, 11, 9 and 18 months, Chris explained why he chose to run the 100 Mile race to fundraise for EDU DESIGNS:
“I feel it is very important for our youth of today to have some sort of Creative arts and Books in all forms which are crucial to shaping Children’s enrichment in their overall education. EDU is a wonderful non-profit organization that does just that for many less fortunate children. Every little bit helps to create a positive culture of growth and learning so these children can have some of the same opportunities as others to utilize their talents specifically in the arts…I have wanted to use my love of running into helping kids gain additional resources whether, food, housing or in this case, education.”
Chris Zurbuch helped CHILDREN by RUNNING for EDU DESIGNS. And you can help too! No running required. You can keep up the good work he started by helping us get our educational materials to children who need it. For a limited time, donate any amount & get a FREE Download of my Art Book, too! Such a deal. The Instant download is normally $9.99, but until May 31st it’s free to everyone who makes a donation of ANY amount. Emmy Award Winning Animation Artist Ruth Elliott’s Art Book increases creativity, spatial reasoning, cognitive development and references the CA Math Standards. Read more here…
Each donation allows us to provide our materials to schools that need them, along with tools for better behavior. Can you help?
“The need for what you’re offering is growing stronger by the day, the schools are in crisis, seemingly everywhere… Bless you guys for what you’re doing.” ~ Justin
Please donate – we need your help to reach children who need the arts and tools for character development.
What is ’emotional connectedness’? And how does it help our brain power?
In Dr. Gabor Mate’s book, SCATTERED (How Attention Deficit Disorder Originates and What you can Do About It), he reveals how children engaged in an activity that includes emotional connectedness display higher levels of activity in the prefrontal cortex of the brain, where self regulation and intellectual ability develop.
This means they will develop better concentration and self control!
In simple terms, when our emotions are engaged and recognized by another, we feel connected and can absorb information faster.
Art has a magical way of helping us relax and feel our emotions.
That’s exactly what happens at my Art Presentations! The children have a wonderful time drawing and participating – and learning! Recently, some teachers came up to me and remarked that they had never seen their students so FOCUSED and ENGAGED.
The ability to ‘focus and become engaged’ in an activity is the opposite of Attentional Deficit Disorder.
Dr. Mate says:
[dropshadowbox align=”none” effect=”lifted-both” width=”auto” height=”” background_color=”#f2f9f9″ border_width=”1″ border_color=”#dddddd” ]“…many children with ADD are capable of focused work in the presence of an adult who is keeping them company and paying attention to them… attachment promotes attention, anxiety undermines it. When the child is not concerned with seeking emotional contact, his prefrontal cortex is freed to allocate attention to the task at hand… The warmth and satisfaction of positive contact with the adult is often just as good as a psychostimulant in supplying the child’s prefrontal cortex with dopamine. Greater security means less anxiety and more focused attention… Where this need is satisfied, ADD problems begin to recede.”[/dropshadowbox]
This is something I have instinctively felt for years, that children need engagement from others in a positive emotional context. Seeing it in action, and getting confirmation from the teachers was tremendous!
It’s nice to know we’ve been on the right track all along.
I want all children to develop better self control and focus, as they increase their intellectual ability. I feel so strongly about it that I created an art book that includes everything I learned in 30 years – and it won’t take you 30 years to learn it! Share it with a teacher or child you know!
Did you know that our non profit helps build character in many ways? Our Art presentations inspire not only the children and their parents but the teachers who are empowered to bring art (and joy) back into the classroom.
Thanks to your support, we are able to do this.
I’m so grateful for any help.
Ruth Elliott
Director, Edu Designs
director@edudesigns.org
Kids NEED Art! When it’s added to their Educational ‘Diet’, EVERYONE WINS!
In the report of the National Council on the Arts 3/30/2012, Dr. James Catterall presented conclusive evidence that “High arts kids considerably outperform Low arts kids” in every area.” His work revealed why students engaged in the arts do better academically, linking art and cognitive development and leading to pro-social behavior later on in life. “Why?” to paraphrase Dr. Catterall,
“Doing art is solving problems, is stimulating, and helps brain function in a variety of ways… It helps spatial reasoning, cognitive development, engagement and motivation…which also adds to social and cultural engagement in school.”
Since the removal of the Arts from low income schools, children in the U.S. have fallen behind in math and critical thinking skills. People say that “children are our future” – yet few know what to do. That’s why EDU DESIGNS is determined to lend a hand in a practical way. Donating EDU DESIGNS Art presentations to schools, plus our character building books, (includingSEE WHAT YOU’RE LOOKING AT, the first Art Textbook to reference the Core Standards) allows Art to once again be back in the classroom where it belongs, inspiring kids to learn and increasing their creativity.
His report clearly confirms earlier findings which reveal:
“More and more emphasis has been placed upon performance in the standards testing process today. Unfortunately this has created an atmosphere of greater stress – on the student as well as the teacher. Ironically, it is a well-known fact that Stress inhibits learning [1]. Fortunately, Art is a stress reliever [2], utilizing the parts of the brain that increase memory and higher thought. [3] With this in mind, ART employs a hands-on approach to logical reasoning, using relevant objects in our environment to connect us to the need for mathematical and spatial understanding. This book is unique in correlating concepts of ART and MATH. By developing creative and critical thinking skills, children gain confidence in their problem-solving skills. [4]“Students with high levels of arts participation out perform “arts-poor” students on virtually every measure. [5]
Music may help children with “behavior problems”, too, acording to Claudia M. Gold, MD, writing in Psychology Today. Quoting Berklee’s Music Therapy Department Chair Dr. Suzanne Hanser, about a program fo music therapy for autism spectrum disorders, she shares:
“There is scientific evidence that music therapy influences children on the autism spectrum in several ways, like enhancing skills in communication, interpersonal relationships, self-regulation, coping strategies, stress management, and focusing attention,” and “… children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders are often overwhelmed by sensory input. It makes perfect sense to me that music would help them to organize their experience and engage with the world around them.”
The ARTS help EVERYONE develop!Learning takes place best when the spatial areas of the brain are awakened, which is why children engaged in art have been shown to improve their math scores by up to 15%! Since research clearly shows that studying art actually increases one’s ability to learn, EDU DESIGNS created the first Art Textbook that references the California Math Standards. Through our experience in Art and expertise in education, we have created a program that develops analytical skills and builds character.
The MISSION of EDU DESIGNS
As our mission declares, “EDU DESIGNS is dedicated to produce and distribute multimedia materials for the education, motivation and character development of children”. Our all volunteer Board of Directors has invested time and energy to create program substance that will inspire children to be positive members of society. When we visit schools, we experience an enthusiastic response from appreciative parents and teachers who applaud our efforts to provide educational materials that teach virtue and integrity.
EDU DESIGNS offers ART and storytelling presentations to schools (limited to Southern California at this time) and donate materials that can be used in the regular or afterschool programs to schools upon request.Since Edu Designs is run entirely by volunteers, 100% of contributions are used to reach students who would otherwise miss out on the programs we present! We acknowledge each donation with a receipt for tax purposes.
The founders of EDU DESIGNS have been active in program development with an emphasis on character, compassion and arts education since 1999. EDU DESIGNS gives children opportunities to engage their analytical skills, develop their creativity, and motivate them to make a positive impact in the world now. We are determined to to bridge the gap during this time of economic hardship for the schools.
As a Registered Trademark of EDU Designs, GoMommyGO® also helps provide tools for parents to aid character development children. Providing illustrated behavior charts and over 90 images free of charge, GoMommyGO® is a resource listed on Autism Now.
Never miss an opportunity to do a good deed! There are many character lessons we inspire children to learn. Each person’s life impacts others, for good or ill. Every child we reach today, will bring a change for the better – and YOU can help make it happen! Please Donate, NOW:
Footnotes:
[1] Researcher Paul MacLean, chief brain researcher at the National Institute for Mental Health. Plus, David Sousa, author of How the Brain Learns: A Classroom Teacher’s Guide and Learning Manual [2] Professor Terry Looker and Dr. Olga Gregson, of the Department of Biological Sciences at MMU. [3] In the 1999 article: Linking Brain Research to Art, Perry & Janet Rettig indicated, (quoting Goleman, 1995), that “students are more likely to recall information when it is embedded in an emotional context. [4] (from the research by The Imagination Project at UCLA, by James S. Catterall, Richard Chapleau and John Iwanaga, July 1999). “…gains for arts-involved youngsters …become more pronounced over time…this pattern also holds for children from low-income and low parent education level homes.” Plus in Nicholas Bezruczko’s Study, “Links Between Children’s Clay Models and School Achievement” (1997), Art trained groups had 15% higher reading and math scores on standardized tests than did students without arts education. [5]• The arts have a measurable impact on students in “high-poverty” and urban settings. • The arts in after-school programs guide disadvantaged youth toward positive behaviors and goals. • Learning through the arts has significant effects on learning in other domains. • Arts experiences enhance “critical thinking” abilities and outcomes. • The arts enable educators to reach students in effective ways. Taken from Champions of Change: The Impact of the Arts on Learning and Gaining the Arts Advantage: Lessons From School Districts That Value Arts Education provide arts education supporters with both evidence of why the arts are critical to teaching and learning…
Both studies were developed with the support of the GE Fund and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Arts Education Partnership, and the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities.