Why Arts for Children with ASD

Why Arts for Children with ASD.

Parents might question the need for their children on the ASD spectrum to be involved in the arts program. When their children struggle with academic and social skills there is so much to take care of, the arts programs are often considered only when the child shows some visual or musical talent. Who needs “arts and crafts”? We all do. Why? Simply because it makes us human. From the beginning of time, our ancestors marked their stories in caves, made simple toys and musical instruments, and danced to celebrate life’s events. This helped with self-expression, communication, and a sense of belonging in the group. The arts have always been part of our history and innate in all humans. We need to include all children and invite them to the Arts.  We want them to rise above their limitations and especially labels of ASD in order to shine, show their true unique selves through arts, and to be themselves as whole persons.


How does it work?
When children and people explore and engage with arts, they “forget” their limitations — they become fully present. Let’s imagine kids painting together in a group. They have one set of paints, some brushes, water containers, paper, each other, and facilitators. In order to create their paintings, they need to share the paints and water containers. To do this, they have to communicate; at least to gesture to each other to pass the paints. Also they need to take turns with the water containers to rinse their brushes.  The result: even though they make a mess and get dirty, they share, talk and create a positive experience for themselves and each other. This image becomes their mark.
John, our 13 year old with limited speech will mix paints to create wonderful colours. When asked about his art, he will say “John” and proudly sign his artwork, it is his mark, his “cave painting”.

The art materials are themselves nurturing and they give the kids an opportunity to explore and manipulate media, and to use their senses to engage. The children can experience a multitude of sensory stimulation, through textures, sounds and visual experiences. The group offers a social and natural opportunity where things happen in the present moment: paints have to be shared, conflicts resolved with the support of the facilitator. In this nonjudgmental atmosphere, art pieces are honoured and respected. This offers tangible opportunities for reflection and self-observing…. “Look what I have accomplished!” There is no hard agenda, no rigid steps to follow; opportunity for artistic expression, spontaneity, and showcasing uniqueness is created. All these experiences help to nurture the soul; they help a child with ASD to grow and expand in their humanity; to be special beyond their disability.

Sometimes “miracles” happen. These occur unexpectedly and beyond therapists/facilitator’s goals for the sessions. For example, just this June, the art session was held outside to celebrate the first days of summer. The kids had crayons and markers and were only invited to draw what they see in a summer day outside. Adam looked at his white paper and said he will trace the shadows of the leaves that he sees, on it. He took the black crayon and made tracings of the leaves and then said: “let me decipher what’s the message in these scribes”. He looked and showed the facilitator the word “summer”. They kept drawing and the facilitator suggested (as an extension of their idea) tracing their shadows.  One of our very talented kids, Mary, made a spectacular impressionistic painting of herself that is visually extraordinary as she added her visual expression to the tracing of her self-portrait. 


We had a boy with Asperger’s, Mark who came to Movement and Dance. When we put on contemporary dance music, he became a free, wonderful dancer. He danced with such a style and grace that the other kids and facilitators wanted to follow and we did. This paved a path to a popular game we now play, Follow the leader, while dancing. Our original boy was so talented it became his way to connect and build confidence. His self-esteem strengthened so much as a result of the dance and drama that he was able to make friends in his regular school.


A seven year old boy Kevin, with limited speech, who has done yoga with us for two years has become such a skilled yogi that he was able to share his skills at his school’s yoga class. Everyone was so impressed that this boy who would not normally take lead was able to show off his yoga poses, which became a bridge for social connections and confidence building as he felt proud and skilled opposite to the kids who were just learning.

A 5 year old boy, Alex who had been with us for more than a year acted as a big brother to the younger kids in his kindergarten group. He rarely talked to the other kids at the beginning. With time, he gained confidence and he helped the other kids to become part of the group. He would always say “No [child’s name] don’t do that”. He started to interact with the other kids more. He showed care for the other kids when he took initiative to clean and put away a little boy’s snacks into his lunch bag.  His mother told us that every week he is so excited to go to the arts program,  that he would actually wake up his parents to help him prepare, and to drive him. 


During music time, the kids made their own musical instrument using household items. While playing with their instruments, one 5 year old boy picked up a stick and started conducting. He told a 7 year old boy to look at what he’s doing. The 7 year old boy started to make sounds by tapping a water-filled jar with a plastic chopstick. He followed the beat of the conductor and they played for few minutes. Not only were they interacting, but they were making music together. 


In the story time we read the story: Monster and the Tree about respecting environment using an example of the tree.  The kids seemed very touched by the impact on the tree when the monster tried to destroy it.  They could empathise with the tree without needing a long explanation as it was well demonstrated in the story. Yet in an entertaining way, they all acted out the story taking turns to be a tree and a monster who at the very last moment realized that the tree could vanish and started taking care of it and water and nurture it.  The group had so much fun retelling the story, watching each other and make it come alive.  The boys seemed to intuitively know what to do and to act it out dramatically.  Seeing them, one would know how satisfied and happy they were, laughing, working together and being so present in their acting roles.


It is good if arts program offers many choices to children beyond visual arts, music and movement; the culinary arts, horticulture, photography and yoga can be interesting alternatives that will work just as well and may appeal to a broader group of kids.  The variety and atmosphere is crucial.  The team work in the group makes the arts come alive, support of trained facilitators is essential to building strong social skills, model interactions and helping the kids. Much needed sensory stimulation is naturally offered through the visual arts, music, cooking, dancing and yoga. 
At the arts program, which is less structured than a school’s or other specialized programs, the kids feel a sense of belonging, they have a place to unload their stress, to express who they are; to feel, and to be truly themselves. All arts experiences are considered to be special and precious and everyone gets a turn. In this nonjudgmental setting, the children are not expected to “perform” and get “school marks”, their impressions and expressions are all accepted. They also do not need to have artistic talent; they can simply play and be creative. Let’s give our children the Arts and see where their growth takes them.

 This Article was written by Katryne Cunnanan and Margaret Guzowski.  Katryne is a coordinator of the Therapeutic Arts Program (TAP) in Mississauga, ON.  Margaret is a director owner of TAP.  For more information please visit: www.therapeuticartsprogram.blogspot.com.  The names of the children were changed and parental permission given to use their artworks in order to protect the clients’ privacies.