Hands-On Art Camp for Children with Autism

Over the past week I've been helping with the Hands-On Art Camp for Children with Autism.  DMA educator Amanda Blake and autism specialist Dr. Stacy Calloway taught the camp, and various helpers joined us throughout the week.  There were eight kids in the camp, and many of them benefitted from having one-on-one help in the galleries and while making art.

Amanda Blake leads discussion about Japanese screens depicting the Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup.

Helping with this camp taught me a lot about working with kids with autism.  Each day started out with everyone sitting on a carpet and going over the schedule for the day.  The teachers always had small cards with a picture of a quiet face on them to hand to students if they needed a reminder to be better listeners.  Activities were clearly divided into separate time slots in case students needed to compartmentalize their work.  And while it was difficult to plan this, the teachers tried to make sure we weren't in the galleries when they were very busy and loud, as many people with autism have sensitivity to noise.  The studio also had a quiet space with blocks, squishy balls for fidgety hands, and a quilt to help absorb sound.

The DMA FAST cluster has been focusing on Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in their teaching, and I think many of the lessons I learned during this camp could be applied to camps and teaching for all children.  Implementing clear order and structure to any lesson and having non-disruptive ways to keep kids on track would work with any group.  (Maybe I should do another post about UDL, as I think it will be in the front of my brain when I work on any educational material.)

Amanda teaches students about Jasper John's Device while campers try out the hands-on copy of the piece.

The most rewarding part of helping with this program was watching each child's personality come out.  One incredibly sweet kid thrived when given a task and completing it.  He was the first student to learn the words to their art songs, the first one to sit down on the green carpet for quiet time, and the first kid to raise a quiet hand to answer a question during gallery visits.  Because he was so well behaved and so high functioning - and therefore did not require one-on-one help like some of the other kids - I tried to make sure to give him a high five and let him know how proud we were that he was setting such a good example.  Another child had a few problems with his medication, but once I got him to stop panicking when he felt like he was getting hyper we channelled his energy into making an incredibly complex collage.  He was super happy with the project, and during parent presentations on the last day he told everyone that it was his favorite artwork that he made.

Campers paint canvases while jamming out to Pharrell Williams's Happy.

The most challenging part of helping with this camp was determining how best to help each student.  As they were at camp to learn and participate in the group, it was a priority to keep them on task and socializing with their fellow campers.  However, there were many times when the kids reacted strongly against noises (particularly when we were learning songs in the echo-y galleries), had problems keeping quiet bodies and voices while having group conversations, and were agitated knowing that their parents were staying in the museum while camp was going on.  Since I didn't know their individual needs and limits, I had difficulty determining when a kid was just antsy and when he or she needed some time away to cope with the situation.  By the end of camp I had a better idea of how to keep each kid engaged, which came in handy during the final presentation for the parents.

A camper and I examine an African mask to find cowry shells.

One of the aspects that surprised me the most was realizing how much support it takes to make a program like this successful.  Amanda and the education staff clearly put a lot of time and resources into developing programs for kids with autism, and much of what they do is innovative and experimental.  This takes a lot of energy and doesn't always guarantee that the first time the program runs it will go smoothly.  It also takes support from the museum leadership - the education director, the director of the museum, and the board - to continue allocating funds for these programs.  But the network of support extends further.  In the community, Dr. Stacy and students from occupational therapy programs in the area help develop the lesson plans and teach interns like me through example.  And that families continue to participate in camps and events is really a testament to the impact of all of these efforts.

I could not be happier about the time I spent assisting with this camp.  This was an ideal environment for learning from two talented educators how best to work with kids with autism, and seeing the kids' energetic and enthusiastic responses to seeing and making art reaffirmed my love for art education.

Sometimes the rewards are overwhelming!

As my supervisor and I have made our way through the Zale Lipshy Building, a hospital with a focus on neuroscience, we have found beautiful textiles from around the world: Indonesia, Japan, China, Africa, America. As we have walked from patient room to patient room and office to office cataloguing, measuring, and photographing each one, we have been especially careful not to disturb anyone who was sleeping, newly post operative or staff members who were very busy. Even so, many people ask us questions, and we've had the opportunity to educate them about the art. (There have also been some heart wrenching but heart warming conversations about the medical situations patients and their families are experiencing.)

A bit of background: Margaret McDermott decided that she wanted the hospital to have a more homey feel, so she sent a representative to the South Pacific and many other areas to gather these exquisite pieces. She then donated them, along with the mounting preparations and plexiglass cases. There are embroidered panels, batik skirts, ceremonial cloths, woven matts, printed patterns, and more. Some of them include bits of shell or bead or reflective metals. Most have no title or known creator but are marked on the back with the country of origin and a category, such as "shawl." We have found a few with a name embroidered onto the edge of the cloth.

When the database is complete, the art curator (my supervisor) intends to create booklets and wall texts for the almost 5000 works of art throughout the huge complex of buildings. (I counted on the map at least 48, but I know there are also some located "off campus.")

One other quick story: One day we were in a building with mostly paintings and prints. One geometric with no recognizable signature was listed as unknown, but I told my supervisor that I believed it was a Jesus Rafael Soto. After having read about him in a couple of library books and attended his one-man show at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston this summer, I felt sure that it was. About a week later, Courtney decided we should go back and take another look. I pulled up a closeup of his signature on my phone, we compared, and decided that the comparison proved undeniably that it was indeed a Soto! Because of me, the database has one more bit of accuracy. It made my day!

Autism Awareness Family Celebration

On Saturday the Dallas Museum of Art held an Autism Awareness Family Celebration.  All of the activities focused on feelings, emotions, and expressing yourself; these included drawing faces that showed different emotions, a space to play with hula hoops and streamers, music and dancing in the theater, and a quiet space with tents and pillows for the times when less sensory information was needed.  

Music therapists sing "Don't Worry, Be Happy" while the families throw scarves in the air

DMA educator Amanda Blake started the Autism Awareness Family Celebrations four years ago, when no other museums in the US had programs like this.  After the first event, she received positive feedback from the families - and was given support by DMA security, leadership, and the board of directors - so the events have continued.  The email list for this event reaches over 900 families, but attendance is capped at 250 people to make sure that the event is not too overwhelming for its participants.  It's interesting to think about measuring the success of an event like this on something besides attendance numbers, as having very high turn out would make the quality of the experiences suffer.  Instead Amanda talks with families to get anecdotal evidence of the effectiveness of the program.

Award-winning storyteller Ann Marie performs an interactive version of Br'er Rabbit

Before coming to the DMA, I had babysat for a family that included a boy with autism.  It was very challenging figuring out how to plan activities for the kids, as I was never sure when an environment would be too overwhelming for him or when people would react negatively to his behavior.  I can imagine how much it meant to the families that attended the AAFC to be in a space where they were with other people experiencing struggles and joys similar to theirs.  

Moving Forward

It really is hard to believe that this summer is halfway over! After just spending a blissfully relaxing week at the Emerald Coast in Florida, I am back at work in the UNT Art Gallery office working on the UNT Art Path.

I spent the month of June going through files, sifting through old research, and conducting new research.   For a few of the more contemporary pieces, I had the opportunity to contact and interview the artists. Although I am all for visitors creating personal interpretations of artworks, I must say, getting to speak with the artists about their intentions has been really cool. After spending an hour on the phone with Barett DeBusk, CVAD alum and creator of the giant rock-swing piece located outside the Art Building (see below for image with correct, official title) I learned that the piece was a Voertman Competition winner in 1976 and was placed in it’s current/permanent position illegally (aka without approval).

Barett DeBusk, Caged and Confused, 1976

This week, I am starting to write the copy for the new and improved Art Path brochure. This text will be modified and used for permanent signage/ID labels for many of the pieces included in the Art Path.

Through this research I have learned that I really enjoy writing and contributing to labels and gallery didactics. It feels like I can wear my art historian and art education hats at the same time. In these next few weeks, I plan to submit my first draft for the brochure and narrow down my copy for the signage/labels.

More updates to come later!

-Katy