Children with autism - learn to draw
Translation: Maria Gorenskaya
Editors: Elena Korznikova, Yulianna Izotova, Marina Lelyukhina
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The number of children diagnosed with autism is growing in the United States. Autism is a pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) affecting important areas development - social communication, interpersonal relationships and games using imagination.
Autism is also called autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Some autistic children are mutic, others have undeveloped or specialized speech. Many of them are hypersensitive to sensory information such as sounds, visual images, and tactile sensations. When teaching art to children with autism, you need to focus on the fact that every child has the potential to be creative, and art classes are very important for brain development.
Outstanding Abilities
Despite the severity of the impairments, it is very important to emphasize the exceptional abilities of some children with autism. For example, the portrait of the father (right) was drawn by Jessica Park and featured in Claire Claiborne Park's book (Leaving Nirvana, 2001, published by Back Bay Books), which chronicles the development of her daughter with autism.
Very few children with autism are able to demonstrate well-developed visual-spatial skills and visual memory during creativity. They can reproduce their favorite objects - buildings or animals - spontaneously, with many details, from different points, taking into account perspective. Children with autism also show repetitive behavior, creating many identical drawings. This is worth supporting as they find the activity enjoyable and interesting.
Individual needs
Creative lessons should take into account the individual needs and capabilities of each child with autism. The art teacher should encourage the child to be creative, in which the child himself is the initiator so that he shows his visual interest and favorite type of creativity. Children with autism need to be given visual cues, such as pictures of their favorite objects. Many children enjoy drawing using paper and pencils or pens because it requires a low sensory processing threshold. Children with autism may subsequently transition to plastic materials such as clay or relief writing such as tempera.
Creative lessons aimed at activities that do not arouse the child’s interest can cause inappropriate behavior in him. This may be due to the fact that processing of new sensory information overwhelms it. Parents should communicate their children's preferences so that what they learn can be encouraged.
The ideal work option would be one-on-one work between student and teacher with the help of an assistant. The duration of such an art class should be about 30 minutes, since children's attention span can be short.
A child with autism can be introduced to a new environment creative process, using a step-by-step teaching procedure in which the teacher, using modeling or physical cues, guides the child to perform the desired behavior (behavior shaping).
Only when mastery of the desired behavior has been achieved can the teacher move on to a new or slightly more complex task.
The teacher can give a hint to a child with autism - offer him crayons, or give a verbal hint by saying, “Draw.” It is recommended that a child with autism be rewarded frequently and over a long period of time. The teacher can say “Great job” and offer the child new leaf paper when the child completes the drawing.
Class device
It is best if each child has his own materials to work with. Children with autism can communicate their needs through nonverbal communication, such as using a teacher's hand to get something. The teacher can encourage the child to use language during the artistic process. The teacher can ask the child, “What color is this pencil?” And if the child answers correctly, praise him. If the child does not answer, then the teacher can give the hint “Say - red pencil”, and then, after the correct answer, praise.
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The use of story drawing in correctional work with autistic children
It is known that the possibilities of using drawing in psychological practice correctional work with children who have emotional disturbances are very broad. However, traditional techniques of projective psychodiagnostics and psychotherapeutic work in line with art therapy are more often used. The main tasks that are solved are establishing and developing contact with the child, increasing his mental tone and, accordingly, activity, facilitating the externalization of his internal experiences, reducing affective tension, anxiety and fears, etc. A prerequisite is such an organization of the interaction situation in which the child begins to draw himself, while self-expression can occur in color, in the intensity of lines that are not formalized into some kind of image. The therapist can encourage the child to draw and interpret what is depicted, but he himself does not actively interfere in this process.
We will try to determine what are the fundamental differences in the use of drawings in the presented system of psychological correctional assistance for children with autism, aimed at the consistent formation of mechanisms of affective regulation of behavior and overcoming developmental distortions.
Drawing plots together with a child presupposes that, at least in the initial stages, an adult draws for him. At the same time, he takes the initiative and, simultaneously with drawing, emotionally comments on what is depicted, setting the meaning common to the participants in this interaction. Although, of course, any attempts of the child to join this process are supported.
In essence, the adult pronounces, depicts, and thereby structures events in the child’s life and impressions that are significant to him. That is why plot drawing in its content is analogous to the formation story game and is combined with it (or in some cases, which will be discussed below, can replace it).
Just as in a game, a real detailed plot in a drawing is formed gradually, its complexity and filling proceeds from individual, point-by-point impressions to a coherent “serial” story - a story and an increasingly detailed dialogue with the child.
Let us formulate some general requirements that should be observed when organizing the process of joint drawing with a child suffering from autism.
- Fundamentally important for us in the context of general correctional work is the image of specific objects, people, characters familiar to the child, and not just expressive color spots and lines. The sketchiness and inaccuracy of the drawing should be compensated by some bright, important detail that ensures the recognition of what is depicted (for example, a cap like a child’s, the color of the car that dad drives, etc.). If a child himself tries to smear paint or leave some kind of mark with a pencil or felt-tip pen, we also try to give meaning to what happened, and if this does not cause his displeasure, then add some detail to his drawing, thanks to which an understandable and an interesting image for him.
- What is depicted must be meaningful, attractive to the child, associated with some pleasant experiences he has experienced (for example, Christmas tree with lights; the sea in which he swam in the summer, a birthday cake with candles; favorite swing in the yard; popular characters from the television program he prefers to watch, etc.). The content of these impressions can be gleaned, first of all, from regular conversations with parents and from one’s own observations of what the child responded positively to during the lesson. Thus, joint drawing can even begin with the depiction of a television screensaver on paper, the appearance of which usually attracts his attention and causes obvious pleasure.
- Complicating the drawing follows the path of an adult developing an emotional commentary on what is being depicted while simultaneously drawing on additional details (they can also be added to the old drawing). For example, around the TV screensaver we draw a TV, and then next to it is a table with our favorite cookies, and the girl herself, who eats cookies and watches TV. Of course, this should be done gradually, when the child begins to approach the drawing or look at it more often; an adult, at the same time, should look for the most accessible form of introducing details, for example, their rhythmic organization (We can find examples of the rhythmic organization of a drawing in the best illustrations of books for children early age, for example, in the books of the artist Yu. Vasnetsov - images of waves, stars in the sky, a smooth “fence” of fir trees - a forest, vegetable beds, neatly arranged food supplies on shelves, etc.).
- It is very important to add details in doses, details that, on the one hand, help make the image more complete, accurate and meaningful, and on the other hand, set the prospect for the development of events related to the depicted phenomenon, object or character. You should try to do this almost immediately, even when it is clear that the child has difficulty maintaining attention on one impression. For example, the evening sky - the lights came on in the house, it rained - there was a puddle, a car drove by - splashes flew, etc. Thus, plot drawing consists of two main components - detailing the images depicted (by filling them with emotionally significant details) and the development of events over time. This is how the plot itself gradually builds up. In its most developed form, the resulting story may look like a series of sequential drawings.
- It is important to find in each case the optimal proportion of the two main and, in principle, alternative areas of work indicated above: detailing the content of the drawing and developing the plot (or adding details and giving dynamics to events). It changes depending on which variant of autistic development the state of the child with whom we establish and then complicate the interaction is closer to. In each case, the setting of the primary task is determined by the most characteristic problems interaction of a child (with a certain form of autism) with the environment, and in the methods of its implementation we use the features of his autostimulation, the greatest susceptibility to dynamic or static impressions.
Thus, both directions can be used for different purposes in cases of working with children with different levels of autism and, accordingly, have their own specifics. We will dwell on this below, considering in more detail the features of the development of plot drawing in correctional classes with autistic children of different groups.
“Technical” requirements that are especially relevant when interacting with children with the most profound forms of autism:
This makes it possible to comment on what was drawn again (tell and show the drawn story to the parents in the presence of the child at the end or after the lesson), remember about the drawing at the next lesson and, perhaps, make some addition or signature to it, and if There are already quite a lot of details in it - try to continue developing the plot on a new sheet of paper. Often we use a large sheet or, even better, a roll of paper, on which we can sequentially draw fragments of one plot in several lessons (thereby unfolding a story in pictures that has a beginning, intermediate events and an end).
Children with autism in drawing
At the beginning of drawing lessons, children discover the material. They can pick up paints with their hands and even put them in their mouths. They need to go through this, but if we don’t offer them anything further, then they will repeat the same “drawing” all the time, that is, they will simply mix different colors on a sheet of paper, which will eventually merge into one color spot. And this can continue for many years.
How to help your child progress further in drawing and artistic creativity? We decided to start from specific real things. I’ll give you this example: we have a garden in the Center. We spent a lot of time there to look at the grass, touch and feel it, and then try to draw it from memory.
We also teach children some technical techniques. First, we teach them to draw a line with a brush, rather than just paint over a piece of paper. We know that they will paint over the sheet, but they won’t be able to do anything else. Working on the principle of “from specific things to their image,” we are convinced that children’s drawings are gradually changing. The most striking example is attempts to draw flowers in a vase. The most difficult thing to draw is a vase, and here they, of course, need help. The teacher took advantage of this moment to teach the children to color only the drawing and not to go beyond its contours. We are talking about training. Then, when the child works independently, he can create an image of the object himself. The most amazing thing begins when the image of a person appears. Very often everything begins and ends with a drawing of a tadpole man.
We also use different ways working with photographs. This allows children to gain insight into their own body. For example, we used our own photographs of the guys. We put these photographs behind glass, and the children drew directly on this glass, outlining the contours of their faces. At the same time, they could change something in it, for example, add green hair or glue on themselves a mustache made of plasticine, or braids made of pile. This work allows you to develop your imagination using real appearance. We also used photographs cut out from magazines. The children traced the contours of the face, nose, and hair on the photograph in order to then draw their own drawing. Alternating between working with concrete things (that they can touch, that they can see) and with a graphic image is very important for them, because it helps them transfer the image of their body onto paper.
We also worked with a sitter. This is very interesting because the children had to portray the person who posed for them. He took different poses and himself pointed out errors in the image. For example, he said: “Look carefully, I’m not like that,” “Look carefully at my elbow,” or “Look how you drew it.” The sitter did not offer ready-made solutions, but with his questions he forced the guys to think about whether they portrayed him correctly. This work lasted a whole year, and the children’s success in depicting people was obvious. Almost all the children and all the teenagers who participated in this work can now completely draw a person, without forgetting anything - not the eyes, not the nose, not the mouth, not the facial expression. Working with concrete things promotes children's integration and allows them to look at the world around them differently. The peculiarity of such children is that they cannot form a complete picture of the world or only remember what interests them. But with the help of this work, children begin to make generalizations.
Of particular interest are the drawings that children make from memory. It usually takes about six months before we notice progress in drawing a tree or a bouquet of flowers, but at the same time children remember what they did in the previous lesson and do not have to start over every time, as if they had not drawn anything a week ago .
It was very difficult for the guys to work with the sculptor. One teenager at first only rolled clay balls. The sculptor did not know what to do with him, but one day he invited the boy to sculpt a little man. He helped him, and together they made a little man. The sculptor did this to tell himself: “I did not leave this child unattended, I suggested that he do something so that he would not sit alone somewhere in the corner and would not be bored.” Of course, it was more interesting for him to work with those children who could already create something on their own. And the sculptor was very surprised when a week later this boy sculpted a little man on his own, and then he began working almost exclusively with this teenager. You need to constantly offer something to your child, even when you don’t believe that something will work out, even when there is a child in front of you who just repeats the same gestures. You need to take advantage of this once again to provoke him, push him, and one day he will surprise you.
Working from memory can be carried out for a long time. For example, one time we went to the sea for 10 days. The guys took sand in their hands, sea water, they took out shells, sand, and pebbles from there. When we returned to Paris, we invited them to work with the pebbles and shells they had brought. Someone made a collage, someone drew a picture and glued pieces of pebbles and shells there. The work related to memories of the sea lasted approximately two months. We also used the photographs we took there. First, we asked them to redraw what they saw in the photographs, and gradually we managed to get them to draw from memory. That is, they really learned some things.
It should be noted that we try, whenever possible, to involve professionals in this work, because educators cannot know everything. And then, the look of a professional artist has additional support. Very often he finds some little thing that will help the child stop endlessly repeating the same gestures and learn something new.
This year we are using reproductions in our art classes. famous artists. You can find catalogs of different museums on the Internet, and children can choose the painting they like. This year a lot of copies of Van Gogh and Matisse paintings were made. Matisse is a very interesting artist because he painted the human body a lot. The children worked a lot with Matisse's painting "Nude in Blue", in which the legs are separated from the body.
Antoine's works turned out to be closest to the original. His ability to see and remember what he sees has helped him do such a job. He is 16 years old, he is truly autistic, and he has some intellectual abilities. But he has absolutely no emotional reactions; he behaves like a little robot. If he wants, for example, to go to another corner of the room, he will simply walk past you and not even notice. You need to constantly work with him and ensure that he comes into contact, so that he takes into account those who are around him, otherwise he will never come out of his autistic “shell”.
This is how we work with drawing, painting and sculpture. The same operating principle is used here as in music classes. We work with artists, real professionals. This helps us a lot because autistic children cannot draw like a normal child, copying what he saw. This is not to say that our children are not talented, but they simply have no idea how to draw. Some of them are very gifted. I think that it is Antoine who has the ability to paint. There are artists with autism, but there are very few of them. The vast majority of autistic people, if not taught, will simply color over a piece of paper.
How can we help them imagine rather than copy?
It's quite difficult. Ordinary child he himself can come up with a plot for his drawing, using what he has already seen - on a TV show, at home, on the street, etc. People with autism cannot do this. Their image of a person develops as their idea of themselves develops. This is where the idea of drawing therapy comes from: offering them other models of themselves that will help them understand that they are just like everyone else. It is for this purpose – I have already talked about this – that we use their photographs behind glass. We now have full-length pictures of the children hanging on the walls of the Center for Teenagers, which they made themselves in the following way: one child lay down on a large sheet of paper, and the others traced the contours of his body with a pencil, and then painted everything together.
Sometimes we work with paintings where the entire body is not depicted. And the child, who chose this particular picture to copy, added the missing parts - he drew the head and legs. It's very interesting because sometimes it becomes a question of how they perceive themselves, because their first drawings often don't have arms or legs. But after a while, they begin to clearly imagine what a man or woman looks like, and depict the entire body. In France, painting plays a very important role in working with people with autism. There are even entire galleries where paintings by people with autism are displayed. Painting is also a way of social integration. If you want to know my opinion, some of my guys' drawings are even better than those displayed in galleries. But maybe I'm not objective in my opinion.
Do you paint only portraits or landscapes too?
Yes, we paint landscapes too. But for this we mainly go out into nature, into real nature.
How do you choose colors for paintings?
The child can choose the material with which he will work (paint, pastel or pencil), paper size, color, when he is ready for such a choice. First, we offer the child the entire palette of colors. But when we understand that the child performs the same actions - chooses the same colors and depicts the same thing - we change the proposed palette. For example, we offer him only one color. The color and size of the paper also matter: you can draw on yellow or red paper. Sometimes we change the environment in which classes take place, that is, we give children the opportunity to sit in the hall the way they want. But in some classes we offer them to draw only on the floor, sometimes on the wall, and sometimes on the table. There are many opportunities to diversify the environment and materials for work. But sometimes we don’t give him this choice, but only offer him a black pencil to work with. Children have to realize their ideas with the means they have.
The Center's psychologist participates in art workshop classes once a month, and these classes themselves take place once a week. But every Monday evening, the psychologist talks for half an hour with the teacher leading the painting classes. Based on this conversation, the teacher develops plans for the next lessons for each teenager.
As for music lessons, we prepare them differently. In this case, a team of educators is involved, that is, the musician, together with them, determines what he will do with the children. Cooperation is necessary in order for the common line that I spoke about to be pursued. This is important because if the child’s condition is not very good, for example, there are periods when he becomes more aggressive and excitable, then we need to think about what type of work to offer him. music lesson. And, naturally, the choice of tool and material plays a role here. Therefore, we have a responsibility to work together.
Do you take into account the influence of color on the child’s emotional state? This may affect its development.
It's possible. Usually we ourselves offer him a certain color in order to provoke a particular reaction in the child. But for some children, the most important thing is to simply repeat the same gesture. They don't care what color or material is offered to them, they will still always do the same thing. Therefore, we introduced training in various techniques so that, using this experience, they could learn other gestures. For example, a child has normal stereotypical repetitive movements that occur in one pattern - either from right to left or in a circle. He only paints the space this way because he doesn’t know how to paint it any other way. When we give him additional funds, we see that his work is closer to reality. And here it is very important not to let the child constantly repeat only what he wants, but to demand that he fulfill our conditions, because this will help us cross another milestone together.
What do you do when a child doesn’t want to follow a given framework, for example, work with one color?
If we offer a child work with one color, then only this color is in this moment in the gym where he practices. It happens that he does nothing at all. This is where group work is important, because there is no such thing as all five of us doing nothing. Even someone who does nothing will watch what others are doing. The rooms are not locked, children can leave them, but they rarely leave. Usually the child stays, watches what happens, and gradually tries to do something himself. There has never been a case where a child or teenager did nothing during the entire lesson. Drawing and painting classes are quite long - they last 2 hours. This means that the teenager has time to think about what he wants to do, stop, look at what others are doing, return to his own drawing, look and add something.
Often teenagers in the same lesson begin to draw again, that is, they put aside what they did not like and start a new drawing. They do this not to make a new drawing, but simply to redo what didn’t work out. And this is not the teacher, but he himself sees that something did not work out for him. Educators never evaluate the quality of his work, they simply encourage the teenager, ask him if he is happy with what he did, if he did it well, if he forgot anything, if he wants to add something. But it is always the teenager or child himself who chooses. And he himself can say that he has already finished his work.
Children make drawings and paintings for themselves. But sometimes we ask them to draw something and give it to their family, that is, we set a certain goal for them in advance. Very often, the drawings some children made for home differ from those they all made together. Often children do not want to take their work home. But on the other hand, when once a year we collect all the drawings that were made by the children and ask them which of them they would like to exhibit at the Center, they themselves evaluate and select some of the works, and insert them into a frame for display. Children know that these works will be seen and appreciated by everyone who comes to the Center, including their loved ones.
After the exhibition, we sometimes offer them to take the paintings home, but they don’t always want this, because for them the Center and the house are two separate world. They do not realize that they themselves are the link between these two worlds. It takes them some time to bond with each other.
Does everyone attend art therapy classes?
Not everyone is into painting or drawing. But everyone attends art therapy classes: for some it will be music, for others it will be sculpture, modeling or drawing. It must be said that we always offer art therapy classes to those children who are unsuccessful in other areas and can do almost nothing. Some children are very unproductive in regular classroom activities. They only spend 45 minutes a week in class (I'm talking about teenagers now). And we do not insist on more: for 10 years they have been offered classes in order to develop their graphic skills, teach them to read and write, but they have not made any progress. They need to look for other means that will help them develop their graphic abilities and get an idea of the world around them. These means can be, in particular, drawing and painting. The regular school reinforcement system is not suitable for them. Some, for example, in painting classes will be able to choose 2 or 3 colors and be able to count them, while they do not know how to count. Through specific activities, when children become active " actors", they also master theoretical knowledge. If children or teenagers cannot write because writing doesn’t mean anything to them yet, then learning basic graphic skills will allow them to perhaps draw a pictogram to express what they want to say. But with them you need to work on the meaning of what they depict: does your drawing really look like a vase or a cat? And then you need to give the child the opportunity for creative self-expression and depict objects and living beings the way he imagines them.
How do you prepare for art workshops?
I have already said that we choose the colors, size and shape of the “handy tools”. We also need to take into account our financial capabilities, and they are different in the children's and adolescent centers. The Center for Teenagers has a special room for painting classes. As for the Center for Children, all art therapy classes there are held in main groups. But in both Centers, the teacher must prepare the room for classes in advance. This necessary condition, which we insist on. If during a class we waste time cutting paper, filling containers with paint, or preparing palettes with different paints, it is safe to say that the can of paint will be turned over or used before the actual class begins, because while The teacher will cut the paper, the children will get into the paint with their hands. That is why it is very important to prepare in advance what we will offer to children. I have already said that we think in advance what places the children will take during this lesson. If we decide to have them work at a table, they can do it sitting or standing, but either way they will have their own space and we try to be there to make sure they stay in place when they work with paints. Then they can move around the audience, but their hands will be clean.
In fact, we simply act in accordance with established rituals, which helps the child understand that the activity has begun. First, a special apron is put on. Then the child chooses, for example, paper for work from a pre-prepared folder. Usually, at the beginning of the lesson, teachers themselves place paints or paint on the table. But as for small children, they very often begin to mix all the colors at their disposal, and after 5 minutes there will no longer be red, blue, yellow colors, but there will be one dull gray spot. So we try to offer, particularly to young children, paints of primary colors in a package that does not allow them to mix colors, but at the same time we give them a board (palette) on which they can mix paints. I think it is very important that they always have paints in primary colors that attract their attention. But if they need to mix paints, gain a new experience for them, it is important that they have a palette that they can then use for painting. And they always have the opportunity to add clean paint there.
As I already said, first we ourselves offer paints for the work, usually gouache. But over time, we put all the colors on one table, and the children choose them themselves. This becomes possible when we know that children have already understood that they do not need to mix all the colors on the palette. We have established other rules for children who only do coloring on sheets of paper. Some people completely concentrate on this work and do it very slowly, but most, on the contrary, do everything quickly. Then we say that today we will only work with one sheet of paper. And when the child finishes his work, we invite him to look at it again, show it to others, dry it, etc. All this is done so that the child does not immediately start a new drawing, because if he doesn’t If he has time for a “break,” he will most likely draw the same thing again. He needs to take a break. We offer him, for example, to wash his brushes, tidy up his workplace, maybe wash your hands, drink something, or nibble on some candy. Only then will we ask him if he wants to do anything else. The end of a lesson is always prepared in advance and is always celebrated in a certain way. If the guys have finished everything and don’t want to draw anymore, we put the room in order together. Those who had plastic aprons wash them, and for those who had fabric aprons, there is a basin, water, and soap. It is very important - this applies to all activities - to accurately mark its beginning and end. But it happens that classes are already over, and some children are still drawing. We warn them that they have little time left, and in order to give this moment a visible form, we usually turn on some song they know well. Children know that when the song ends, they will need to finish their work, and this allows them to mentally prepare for the end of the lesson, to build a sequence of events. But they also know that if the drawing is not finished, they can continue it next time. Well, then – the same cleaning ritual.
All children's learning is carried out in joint actions with the teacher. When instilling in an autistic child an interest in joint activities, positively reinforcing his activity, it is necessary to remember that in purposeful activities he usually gets tired easily.
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Collaborative drawing with autistic children.
Autism is a withdrawal from reality. An autistic child lives in a world of internal experiences, he lacks everyday skills and emotional connections with loved ones, he is only concerned about his own difficulties. Childhood autism is a special disorder of mental development, i.e. a disorder that affects all aspects of the psyche - sensorimotor, speech, intellectual, emotional sphere. Mental development in this case, it is not just disrupted or delayed, it is distorted. The very style of organizing relations with the world and understanding it is changing. At the same time, it is characteristic that the greatest difficulties of such a child are associated not even with the acquisition of knowledge and skills (although this is quite difficult for many autistic children), but with their practical use, and he shows himself to be the most helpless precisely in interaction with people. Such children do not make contact with others and treat loved ones as inanimate objects, reject the tenderness shown to them or do not react to it at all. A child suffering from autism is unable to play with other children and has difficulty acquiring speech (if at all). He often repeats the same words, even despite the ability to speak. Other characteristic feature- stereotypy in behavior, manifested in the desire to maintain constant familiar living conditions, resistance to the slightest attempts to change anything in the environment, in the child’s own stereotypical interests and stereotypical actions, in his addiction to the same objects. It is indeed difficult to help such a child.
How can a teacher interact with such children, since they need to be introduced to the world around them, taught to move, play, draw, sculpt, etc.? All teaching of autistic children is carried out in joint activities with the teacher. When instilling in an autistic child an interest in joint activities, positively reinforcing his activity, it is necessary to remember that in purposeful activities he usually gets tired easily. I would like to take a closer look at the issue of joint drawing between a child and a teacher.
Collaborative drawing method.
Joint drawing is a special play method in which an adult and a child draw various items, situations from the life of a child and his family, various scenes from the world of people and nature. Such drawing is necessarily accompanied by an emotional comment.
It can be said that in in this case there is a special method of teaching, and not drawing as a type of productive activity of the child himself.
The use of joint drawing in classes is possible after emotional contact has been established between an autistic child and an adult.
The collaborative drawing method provides new and interesting possibilities:
1 . A situation arises that encourages the child to take active action. A child is fascinated by the magic that happens on a piece of paper. Especially if objects and subjects are drawn, especially interesting for a child. Using this interest, the adult encourages the child to actively participate in the drawing process: pauses, consults with him, “forgets” to finish drawing important detail, as if inviting him to complete the drawing. The child is interested and at the same time important to get results as quickly as possible, and he often agrees to what would be impossible in other situations. So, for the first time he will pick up a pencil and try to finish drawing something on his own and answer the questions posed. Here a situation of emotional and business communication arises, implying active actions of give and take between communication partners. In this unique situation for an autistic child, an adult must follow certain tactics: even if he understands what the child wants, there is no need to implement this desire immediately. Encourage the child to express his desire in any acceptable way - in word, gesture. To do this, take breaks in drawing and commenting on it. When asking questions, make it clear that the result also depends on the child’s actions: if he is not active, the drawing seems to “freeze.” Since the child is impatient to get the desired result as soon as possible, it can be assumed that the manifestation of activity on his part will not take long.
2 . The situation of joint drawing provides new opportunities for an autistic child to get to know the world around him. Here we will mention the features of the assimilation of information by an autistic child: it occurs spontaneously and selectively. Moreover, the information that has attracted the child’s involuntary attention is not always useful in life and is close to the child’s experience. In addition, it is almost always difficult to understand what the child has learned and what he has not. Thus, adults are surprised to discover that the child has quite deep knowledge in some area, for example, he recognizes and names various geometric shapes, knows complex shades of colors, and solves mathematical problems. Most likely, he involuntarily remembered this information and one day spontaneously reproduced it. However, its voluntary use is impossible - the child uses his knowledge only “by inspiration” and is helpless when the use of acquired knowledge becomes necessary. Possessing a variety of specific knowledge, an autistic child may remain unadapted to correct actions in ordinary everyday situations.
Thus, if he does not find a bath towel in his usual place in the bathroom, he may freeze, but will not make any attempt to resolve the situation. An autistic child is completely lost if the chain of habitual actions is disrupted; This situation confuses him, and he cannot find a way out of this situation on his own. He doesn't know where to get another towel and doesn't know how to ask for help.
– When drawing together, it is possible to clarify the ideas that the child already has. This opportunity is unique. What the child knows and what he doesn’t, what he understands distortedly, usually opens up and becomes clear in spontaneous manifestations. It is impossible to find out this arbitrarily (for example, by asking questions). If an adult is attentive while drawing together, he will be able to draw many interesting conclusions regarding the child’s knowledge of the world around him;
– Another possibility is to enrich these ideas. The adult gradually begins to introduce new details into the drawing and offer the child options for developing a familiar plot. If the result of joint drawing is important for the child (this happens if the child is drawing an object of interest), he often agrees to accept such innovations. In an effort to quickly achieve what he wants, he is ready to accept something new, even though violating the usual stereotype causes discomfort. However, you should remember to be careful and follow the usual principles when working with an autistic child - gradualism, dosing of introducing new things and mandatory consideration of the child’s interests and desires. Use the opportunities of the situation, but try not to cause acute discomfort in the child;
– The next stage is a generalization of ideas about the environment. This is extremely important, because it allows you to teach the child to use existing knowledge in various situations. To do this, objects and situations drawn many times flow from plot to plot. In addition, the plot of each picture gradually becomes more complicated during the next incarnation, new elements are introduced into it (do not forget about the stereotypical thinking of an autistic child and if he resists changes, put them off until next time). What was worked out in the drawings is then played out. In the future, the acquired knowledge is constantly used in life - during an emotional commentary, the adult pronounces the situation in all details and nuances, encouraging the child to be active. And thus does not allow one to forget what has been learned, constantly updating the knowledge and skills acquired by the child;
– The main success of such work will be the transfer of knowledge to real life. This is an indicator that the child has acquired new knowledge about the world and is using it.
3 . Using the method of collaborative drawing makes it possible to develop means of communication.
– At the same time, in a situation that is significant for the child, during an emotional commentary, his passive vocabulary is enriched. An adult denotes with a word everything that happens on paper. This allows you to clarify the meaning of words that the child already knows, as well as tell the child new words and their meanings;
– Particularly relevant is the possibility of developing active speech, which in this situation turns out to be one of the means for the child to show activity. Support any attempt by the child to “talk”, specifically create situations in which he will want to do it again. Try to understand even an indistinct muttering, and having understood, repeat clearly in the form of a simple phrase, thus giving him a sample of correct speech;
– Nonverbal means of communication include primarily gestures. Since even a speaking autistic child finds it difficult to actively use speech for communication, it is advisable to teach him some generally accepted gestures: pointing gesture, “give” and “na” gestures, “big”, “small”, “one”, “many”, etc. as a result. The child will have an “arsenal” of generally accepted gestures that will help him express his desires and thoughts, but will not interfere with the development of speech as the main means of communication.
4 . Drawing together also provides opportunities for therapeutic work with the child. To do this, scenes from the child’s life are drawn, in which he experiences various kinds of difficulties - everyday moments, what the child is afraid of, etc. At the same time, the stories are spoken out, and a way out of the difficult situation that has arisen is always found, a favorable scenario for the development of events is proposed.
Stages of development of collaborative drawing.
Drawing together between an adult and an autistic child requires gradual development. It is inappropriate to start with a detailed plot. First, give the child time and the opportunity to enjoy and get enough of a simple object drawing, because more often than not the interest of an autistic child is directed precisely to the world of objects. Only after this, begin to gradually unfold stories, first from the life of the child himself, and then from the life big world of people.
1st stage: establishing emotional contact, attracting interest in a new type of activity.
You should start with the image of objects that are especially significant for the child, accompanying the image with an emotional comment. For example: “Oh, what sweets are in the box! This is a yellow candy, probably lemon. But the green candy - I wonder what it tastes like? Probably apple,” etc. Or: “Oh! What colorful fireworks in the night sky! Here are the red fireworks - bang! And here are the blue fireworks!” Such a move cannot but interest the child. However, it is not always the case that an autistic child accepts plot-based drawing right away. He may need time to get used to such a new game. Don’t give up trying and next time draw again what is meaningful to the child. At first, the child watches sideways what is happening on the piece of paper, listens to your comment, but remains passive. However, over time, his attention to this method of drawing will grow. And one day he himself will ask you to draw what he wants. And then you can move on to the second stage.
2nd stage : drawing “to order” of a child.
Draw what the child likes, strengthening his interest in drawing together. Be patient, because at this stage you will have to fulfill the same type of child’s orders “countless” times, again and again drawing columns, cubes, bottles, etc. Already at this stage, the child’s interest is completely satisfied. This is explained by the peculiarities of his psyche - behavior is determined by the internal desire for the constancy of consolidating various stereotypes, certainty and completeness. He tries to preserve unchanged and repeatedly repeat and play out familiar actions, situations and plots. In a joint drawing class, the child will demand that the drawing be repeated in the same form every time - the same size, color, using the same materials. However, do not stop there - carefully begin the transition to the next stage.
3rd stage : gradual introduction various options execution of one drawing, new details of the image.
While still fulfilling the child’s order, start using various visual media and vary the drawing. However, remember that the child must be given the opportunity to get enough of the reproduction of exactly the same images.
If your attempts to introduce something new are met with strong protest, return to the previous stage. But after a certain number of repetitions, resume trying to diversify the pattern. If you act carefully and gradually, then one day the child will definitely agree with the introduction of something new, because he is fascinated by the magic of the appearance of an image of his favorite object on paper.
I offer options for variety of designs:
– Use various materials: in addition to pencils and markers, try using crayons, paints, etc. white paper, but also colored, cardboard.
– Vary the drawing itself in size, shape, color and position in space.
– Supplement images with new details; When drawing the same thing, try to make small changes each time.
4th stage : involving the child in the drawing process, encouraging active actions.
The child enjoys watching the actions of an adult, but often he still prefers to remain passive. The child does not show activity unless specifically stimulated. When inviting a child to be a “co-author,” an adult sometimes stops drawing: he stops active actions and a pause occurs, in which case the child begins to push the adult’s hand, thus expressing a request to continue, or asks: “More!” If the child is looking forward to completing the drawing, then you can suggest: “Let’s draw together!” Now the child is holding the pencil, and you are moving his hand.
The following techniques are especially effective:
– When asking questions, encourage the child to make an “order” at different stages of the drawing and fulfill his request each time. Offer to choose pencils for drawing and bring paper.
– “Forget” to complete an important detail in the image, and when the child notices this and demands completion of the image (which is especially important for an autistic child), offer to complete this detail yourself (at first it should be something very simple to perform, in the future it is possible gradual complication).
– Offer your child several options for developing a drawing, and let him choose the one he likes best: “What should we draw now?”, “Where will the box stand? Show me!”, “Is our jar full or empty? What's in the jar? Offer to choose the color of the image and find the right pencil. Encourage the child to respond in any form (gesture, vocalization, word).
5th stage : Introduction of the plot.
At this stage, images of his favorite objects that have become close to the child are placed inside the plot. Such a plot should, on the one hand, be close to the child’s experience, and on the other, it should provide an opportunity to clarify the child’s already formed ideas and, if necessary, correct them.
6th stage : further development of the plot.
After the plot has been lived out by the child, one should move on to expanding it and introducing new lines. Thus, at this stage we begin to give the child new ideas about the world around him.
7th stage : transferring acquired knowledge to other situations.
Now it is possible to proceed to playing this plot using toys and objects, fix it in Everyday life, use the acquired knowledge in other activities (modeling, design).
The described path requires mandatory completion of all stages only when a child first becomes acquainted with the method of joint drawing. In the future, it is possible to accelerate the passage of some stages and minimize others. For example, there is no need to specially attract the child’s attention every time, because he is already familiar with this type of joint activity with an adult and he likes to draw (stage 1). Gradually less time will be spent on creating images of objects outside the situation at the child’s request. social life(2nd stage). Most likely, it will take less time to obtain the child’s consent to introduce new details (3rd stage) and to expand the plot (6th stage). But still, in general, the logic of development of classes remains the same.
Using special techniques during joint drawing.
Using stickers.
Using stickers with a variety of images makes it easier and faster to create a story picture. This is especially important when working with an autistic child, for whom the waiting process causes real suffering, because you often have to watch how he jumps up and down with impatience, trying to quickly see the desired result of drawing.
In addition to the speed of creating an image, the use of stickers makes it possible to organize the active participation of the child in the process of joint drawing, since children usually like to manipulate stickers.
The use of stickers also allows you to teach a child, while he learns new useful information about the world around us is more effective than in other learning situations.
To do this, you need to purchase several books with stickers from different series of children's educational literature and get sheets of stickers. Try to have stickers in the set depicting different objects - toys, clothes, furniture, food, as well as people and animals. In addition, you will need stickers with geometric shapes of different colors (from the “mosaic”).
The subjects of paintings using stickers will depend on the desires of the child, the “arsenal” of stickers and the imagination of the adult. Let me give you a few examples.
“Salute”: on a sheet of black cardboard or dark blue stars, circles, triangles of various colors are glued on. So quickly and effectively, with the hands of the child himself, “the fireworks are lit in the night sky.”
“Apple tree”: with pencils we draw a tree - a trunk and a crown, or we prepare an applique in advance, and the child glues red, green or yellow apples. At the same time, for variety, you can glue a few apples under the tree - they are “already ripe.”
“Kitchen”: we begin to depict kitchen furniture, a child and his family sitting at the table on a piece of paper. Then the child “sets the table” by sticking stickers with pictures of dishes, and “offers treats” by sticking pictures of foods.
“Shop”: we draw numerous shelves, a refrigerator, a salesperson stands behind the counter. Then, with the help of stickers, the store shelves are filled with fruits and vegetables, and sausage, cheese and eggs appear in the refrigerator.
“Zoo”: we glue the corresponding pictures - and various wild animals appear on a sheet of paper. At the same time, the names of the animals are repeated and clarified, their habits are discussed, appearance, cells are drawn, nameplates are attached.
“Road”: we draw a road along which a variety of cars, large and small, a motorcycle, a bicycle, a trolleybus will travel (the list of cars depends on the set of stickers). At the same time, we discuss how cars drive (slowly or fast), how they honk: “beep!” etc.
Making books from drawings.
In order to use the results of joint drawing in the child’s further education, we advise you not to throw away the drawings, but to make books out of them. Such books can be different: “About Danya” (daily routine), “How we went to the store,” “How we rode in a car,” etc. These books can become especially loved by the child, they are perceived by him as something familiar, lived-in, and therefore pleasant and comfortable. “Re-reading” these books makes it possible to repeat what has been covered and consolidate the knowledge gained.
Later, when learning to read, you can label each picture with a word or a simple phrase. Of course, it will be easier and more interesting for an autistic child to read about what is familiar and close to him.
At the right approach It is usually possible to get an autistic child interested in drawing together. He likes this type of joint activity with an adult; he feels comfortable inside it.
N.G. Manelis, I.S. Gorina
Moscow, Russia
“...I was surrounded by some kind of thick fog, and because of this I was as if completely alone, I did not see, hear or feel anything except the ghosts penetrating through it, and sometimes the fog turned into the most wonderful pictures from a magic lantern. This happened on one level, and on another I saw, heard and understood much more than ordinary people, but looking at me, this could not be said, and I could not realize it within myself. Inside this fog it was so easy, calm, safe and wonderful that I reacted very painfully when someone tried to penetrate through it ... "
This quote from the book “A Special Childhood” by Iris Johansson (2000 p. 31) surprisingly accurately describes such an unusual perception of the world around an autistic person, but also the abyss that separates him from ordinary people. And all of us who, one way or another, come into contact with an autistic child, must first understand his world, learn to “speak” his language, in order to then introduce him into our world, with our rules and our language. This is necessary so that the child can live and interact with people, so that these two worlds do not remain parallel. Psychology has in its arsenal enough necessary techniques and methods that allow us to get closer to the answer to the question “How does a person perceive the world around him?” One of them is the analysis of the process and products of creative activity, in particular, the process of drawing and, accordingly, drawing. So, the purpose of this work is to try, by analyzing the drawings of autistic children, to understand how they perceive the objects of the world around them.
The drawings of autistic children that we saw, and accordingly the children themselves, can be divided into three groups. The first group is the most difficult children. They often have no speech, they are practically not socialized, and their intelligence is seriously reduced. This group also includes children who experience an exacerbation of the disease and signs of regression. If these children are given paints and paper, many of them begin to draw. Drawing simply involves putting paint on paper. As a result, spots or stripes are formed, sometimes monochrome, sometimes children use different colors (Fig. 1).
When does a person perceive an object in this way? This happens if we bring it very close to our eyes. In this case, form, movement, depth, and perspective disappear. Vision in this case ceases to be distant, but becomes almost contact, i.e. approaches tactile sensations. The French philosopher Merleau-Ponty wrote very interestingly about this way of perception. He called him wild, i.e. perception before encountering culture. Here's what he writes: “Perception as wild perception is ignorance of oneself, non-perception. It tends to see itself as an act and forget itself as a latent intentionality."(cited by Yampolsky, 2001, p. 19).
The second group of children, which we will now discuss, are, it seems to us, gifted in the sense of artistic abilities. This work analyzes the drawings of four autistic children – two boys and two girls (Fig. 2 – 6). The age of children is from 4 to 9 years. Three of them are right-handed, one girl is left-handed. None of the children had any special training in drawing; they did not know each other. Only those drawings that children drew spontaneously are analyzed.
Plot. Animalism completely dominates all the drawings. There are practically no images of people. One drawing depicts dinosaurs, other children drew: a herd of horses, a flock of running birds and a caravan of camels. All animals are depicted in motion, usually from right to left. Among the running animals, adults and young are clearly visible.
Form. Absolutely all animals are depicted in profile. The desire for a closed form dominates. In some cases, only part of the animal is depicted (if the entire figure does not fit on the sheet). So, on the left side of the picture only the horse’s croup is drawn, and on the right there is no dinosaur tail. With amazing expressiveness, children manage to depict the pose of animals and convey the expression of movement - the majestic slowness of camels, the swiftness of horses and birds, the peculiar plasticity of dinosaurs.
Transferring perspective. In all the drawings, perspective is conveyed by overlap (the figure closest to the observer covers the part more distant). In one drawing there is clearly direct perspective.
For a long time, autism remained the least studied type of functional brain disorder. And only in last years, thanks to research by scientists, autistic perception is no longer branded as “dysfunctional” - in fact, the brain of autistic people develops and functions according to a different scenario. Depriving a person of the possibility of social adaptation, nature generously “rewards” him with extraordinary abilities - it is among autists that there is a high percentage of brilliant mathematicians, musicians and artists. Creativity, expression and versatility - all this reveals unusual talents to us.
Stephen Wiltshire
Stephen Wiltshire has become famous for his detailed panoramas of big cities. His talent lies in the ability to recreate city landscapes with amazing accuracy solely from memory - often half an hour is enough for him to “fix” a picture. A graduate of the City & Guilds College of Art and a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, an artist whose works occupy a worthy place in private and museum collections around the world... was “sentenced” by doctors to autism at the age of three. Stephen grew up very withdrawn and did not try to establish contacts with other people, but the school helped him find his own way of transmitting information - art. His talent reached its apogee in panoramic urban masterpieces that can captivate and inspire everyone.
David Bart
David was born in Rotterdam in 1998. The boy immediately showed the ability to fine arts– he hasn’t stopped drawing since the moment he was able to hold a pencil in his hand for the first time. The young artist was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism that primarily causes difficulties in social interaction. David's illness affected his hobby, giving him the opportunity to develop his own style and express himself through a unique system of symbols and images. Experts distinguish him for his amazing sensitivity to detail and ability for visual concentration. Despite such a young age, the boy is already a recognized master: in 2005 he won the main prize in a competition organized by the Russian School of Arts, in 2007 he won the prestigious Caldenborgh Jong Talentprijs award in the Comics category, and in October 2009 he received a gift of a painting by the Dutch artist Paul Kerrebiijn for winning an art competition organized by the Royal Navy Museum. David's works have been exhibited in art galleries in Rotterdam and Beijing, and have also been used as illustrations for books about the lives of people diagnosed with autism. 
Donna Leanne Williams (born 1963) is an Australian writer, artist, singer-songwriter, playwright and sculptor. An exceptional combination, isn't it? But this versatile personality went through many difficulties on the way to recognition. In 1965, when Donna was just two years old, she was diagnosed with neurosis, which was later changed to mental disorder. In 1991, doctors diagnosed autism and sensory processing disorder. Donna's track record includes four autobiographical books, two music albums, and a number of teaching aids for teaching autistic children and adolescents. But we will get acquainted with her mastery in the field of fine art, because being self-taught and starting her career as an artist at a fairly mature age, Donna was able to achieve amazing success in this field. 
5-year-old Iris Helmshaw is called the “Mozart of the 21st century” - the masterpieces that this little cute girl creates do not leave anyone indifferent. It was visual arts that was chosen by parents as art therapy for a child who was diagnosed with autism. Unlike ordinary children's drawings, which are often something of a “test of the pen”, Iris’s creations, in addition to rich colors, are filled with hidden meaning and three-dimensional images, remarkable for their versatility and diversity - and indeed, looking at these colored patterns, you can see and a flower meadow, and the fading of distant stars, and a barely swaying surface of water. Her works have not gone unnoticed - several of them have already been purchased for private collections for at least £1,500. But material gain does not come first for the baby’s parents - the main thing for them is that the daughter was able to find the most pleasant and comfortable way to express herself and interact with the outside world, as well as help other autistic children - most of the proceeds go to support children's art - Center “Little Explorers Club”. 
Sean Belanger was born in 1985 in Calgary (Canada). His love for fine arts awoke in him quite early - at the age of 7, Sean came across a picture book, which he used as a practical guide. Having difficulties with motor skills (the boy had difficulty holding a pencil), he improved his skills with his mother, who controlled his right hand and helped him achieve excellent results. 
An acclaimed self-taught artist with autism, Jessica Park was born in 1958 and raised in Williamstown, Massachusetts, USA. Inspired by astronomy, Victorian architecture and cityscapes, the girl began to transfer her impressions to canvas - bridges, houses, churches and parks filled with color and life.
In 2003, Jessica received a Doctor of Fine Arts degree from the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, and her paintings adorn private and museum collections around the world. You can read more about her life and work in the book Exploring Nirvana: The Art of Jessica Park, published by the MIT College of Liberal Arts in 2008.
Ping Lian Yik
According to recent research, autism spectrum disorder affects 1 in 100 children, with only 10% showing exceptional ability in art, music or science - from an early age, children can easily memorize detailed maps and historical facts or learn complex pieces of music and paint beautiful pictures.
Ping Lian Yik made it into this top ten. Largely thanks to his mother, twenty-year-old Ping was able to escape his autistic captivity and live a life filled with joy and inspiration. At the age of four, the boy was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) with Autistic Disorder. It was drawing that helped him direct excess energy in the right direction and adapt to modern world. Sarah Lee, Ping's mother, went through the whole difficult journey with her son - she supported him in all his endeavors and taught him to never give up. “He was never a burden for our family - on the contrary, it was thanks to him that our life gained meaning,” admits Sarah. 
Richard Vauro is a world-famous artist of Scottish origin. Born in 1952 in Edinburgh. IN three years old doctors diagnosed “mental retardation”, later – “autism spectrum disorder”. Richard began talking only at the age of 11, which, however, did not prevent his talent from fully revealing itself - already at the age of three the boy devoted almost all his time to creating “masterpieces” on an old slate board with multi-colored crayons. Later, the creations of a 12-year-old boy were defined by teachers at the Polish School of Art in London as “an incredible phenomenon, possessing the scrupulousness of an engineer and the soul of a poet.” Like other gifted autistics, Richard has a phenomenal memory - he only needs to remember a picture he saw on TV or in a magazine and then recreate it in great detail on canvas.
At the same time, he seems to “pass” all the images he sees through his imagination, interpreting them in his own unique manner and improvising with the palette. The first exhibition of Vauro's work took place in Edinburgh when he was 17 years old. The paintings at one time replenished the collections of Margaret Thatcher and Pope John Paul II; more than 1,000 works were sold at 100 exhibitions in all countries of the world. The documentary film dedicated to Richard Vauro, Eyes Wide Shut, premiered in 1983; the picture received positive reviews film critics and was awarded many awards and honors. Even after losing myself loved one– the artist’s mother died in 1979 – Richard did not lose heart. The strength of his genius and indestructible will helped him take his rightful place among world-famous talents.
By their example, all these talents prove to us that autism is not a death sentence. What was once considered a “demon trying to come out” is actually just a soul that cannot open up to others and suffers from it. Only by overcoming your fears and loving yourself can you achieve true success - we hope that the stories of these people will help you resolve difficult issues and find a way out of complicated life circumstances.
(the diagnosis was later confirmed by specialists), they tried many ways to help the 2-year-old girl learn to contact other people and speak. A special sensory environment was created at home - but kindergarten“didn’t work”, therapy with the help of dogs and horses also didn’t produce results. But drawing with paints exceeded all expectations - with autism he blossomed before our eyes. This is how it started.
First joint activities
During our home therapy sessions, I, following Iris, slowly sought an approach to my daughter. I sat next to her on the floor and repeated everything she did. At first she pushed me away, but then she accepted me. I remained cautious with eye contact, knowing that it was very difficult for her, and behaved as quietly as possible. She was interested and smiled, looking at her favorite pictures in books, tried things by touch, bringing them to her face, just like she did. At first we played together for just a few minutes, then longer and longer.
Iris found it easier to maintain eye contact, and although there were no improvements in speech or communication with other people yet, I felt that we were making important steps in the right direction. She welcomed my presence nearby and enjoyed the time spent together; She even began to attract my attention with the help of a water pen.
A very exciting addition to our set: a pen filled with water and a white mat that turns blue where she touches it. Once dry, the marks disappear and the mat is ready for use again. Simple but useful. A timeless scribbling mat with no clutter.
Iris would nudge my hand to start drawing, then she would take the pen and try it herself, and then, when she was finished, she would hand it back to me. We worked together and I was jubilant. Every time my daughter accepted me into her game or wanted me to join her, it seemed to me that I had won a fabulous prize.
Iris is two years old: we draw with pencils and felt-tip pens together
Iris was interested in pencils, pens and crayons and would play with them for hours. Most of the time the walls in the house were covered with scribbles, I lost count of how many times they had to be repainted. Having changed my attitude towards this, I realized that I had to support this strong interest by simply redirecting it to other surfaces. Having bought a couple of rolls of wallpaper, I cut them into pieces the size of a wooden coffee table and placed these pieces on it, taping the ends on both sides with tape.
Iris appreciated the innovation and scribbled for hours, completely covering the paper with multi-colored swirls and circles, intertwining and overlapping each other. She bounced on her tiptoes, sometimes humming. My daughter even used both hands, working them at the same time, blissfully, freely and joyfully spreading the color. The paper-covered table was an amazing success, and the walls remained untouched for several weeks, but this could not last forever.
My eyes followed the blue pencil line: it went along the wall, meandering all the way to the door, and then, turning gracefully, returned to me. Iris passed here quite recently - just a couple of minutes ago the wall was untouched. Once again, wondering how to explain to her that “we don’t draw on walls!”, I noticed how the angry jagged line flowed into smooth, petal-like loops, hinting at a significant change in mood.
I accepted the challenge. After drawing a smiling face, I handed the marker to my daughter. She giggled and met my gaze, then looked down and drew a straight line, then passed the marker back to me, pushing it towards the paper.
I completed the drawing of the little man, adding earth, a tree, a bird in the sky and a sun with triangular rays, telling the story along the way. We took turns adding details to the picture, and Iris was happy for a while new game. We worked well together, understanding each other, - and then a car drove up, the gate clanged heavily, disturbing our peace and interfering with it, and Iris moved away.
I wanted to use Iris's latest hobby to get closer to her, so I started drawing more. I drew many scenes with a man and funny animals. They proved vital in drawing Iris's attention to what I was doing and allowing me to delve deeper into her world.
3 years old: how Iris started painting with paints
We had a very successful day: I drew letters in the sand, and Iris began to say them out loud. Then I prepared the easel that my grandparents gave to their granddaughter for Christmas. I had high hopes for these classes: my daughter got so much pleasure from her pencils and the stories that I told from the pictures that I was sure that she would like it, and that I would be able to link drawing with speech therapy.
I dipped my brush into the paint and left a few long strokes on the paper, showing my daughter how to paint. She stood patiently next to me and then tried it herself. But as soon as the paint began to run down the thin paper and it began to wrinkle and deform, Iris became angry. Sobbing, she collapsed on the floor, still clutching the brush in her hand. I felt absolutely terrible. I was expecting a fun learning experience, not a torment leading to frustration.
As I put away the easel and paints and scrubbed stains from the wood floor, I thought back to my previous idea: large pieces of wallpaper attached to a coffee table. I decided to change just one detail: pencils for paints, and leave everything else untouched.
Next time, just in case, I covered the furniture in the nursery with old sheets and placed mugs filled with paint on the table, allowing my daughter to decide when to start drawing. We didn’t have to wait long: soon White list became colorful.
Iris drew very carefully: a bizarre mixture of ease and thoughtfulness. She used a variety of techniques to make her brushstrokes: colored swirls, zigzags, spots and dots. Surprisingly, she spilled almost nothing on the floor and absolutely nothing on herself. The colors were separated from each other - no blurring.
While the painting was drying in my office, I realized how cute it was for a first attempt, so I took a photo of it to remember the joy this new activity brought us.
I just came up and hugged
The next few days things were the same. Iris's interest in drawing intensified, and she spent more and more time doing this activity. Thanks to my new hobby, I had many opportunities to interact with my daughter, who seemed very happy. The uncertainty and vulnerability that usually arise in social situations receded as long as she held the brush in her hands. Iris would jump with delight when I told her about colors and how to mix them.
It seems that I have found another key to our baby’s world. Having not felt this kind of excitement for a long time, I decided to let Iris draw whenever she wanted, exploring this new way of expressing herself, and rearranged the furniture in the kitchen to make room for the table.
By the end of the week I was photographing another piece of Iris's work. My heart began to beat faster: the intricacy of blue, green and yellow strokes looked very impressive. I didn't expect that three year old child capable of this.
Did you see this? - PJ asked, pointing to the picture. - This is brilliant, seriously, go take a look.
I know you read my thoughts. I even took a picture of her. Maybe we can put it in the frame?
Necessarily.
She seems so...
Adult.
Yes, not the same as before. I'm thinking of continuing in the same vein. I know I have a whole list of things to do, but...
Get the list out of your head! Continue what works. Now it's drawing. Do you know what Iris did this morning? She hugged me! She just came up and, smiling widely, hugged her.
PJ looked incredibly happy. I knew how much that hug meant to him, and how long he had waited for his daughter to express her love in that way. The hug turned out to be voluntary and sincere. Beautiful - even without words.
There was excitement in the air. Positive energy, surrounding a modest pine table, has had a profound impact on our family.
Drawing changes her
I moved the table under the kitchen table to let the painting dry and mopped the floor. The activity turned out to be very active, and tiny splashes of paint could be seen literally everywhere.
Then I heard the noise of the gate. When PJ entered the kitchen, Iris was still fidgeting there. She greeted him with a smile, took his hand and pulled him to her table.
Iris, what are you up to?
Let me get him out. “I pulled the table back into place, and Iris shared her joy with her father, showing him every single white dot and wave.
PJ looked awfully proud.
They are truly amazing, don't you think?
Yes, but all parents think this way about their children’s drawings. I agree that they are special, but what if it seems so to us?
We spent the whole evening talking about our daughter’s paintings, about why she likes to draw so much, how easy it is to communicate with her when she draws, how it changes her. And the more we talked, the more inspired we became. How great it is to focus on something positive, and not on another problem!
Unlike many other activities that ended with my daughter pushing me away, now Iris finally wanted me next to her in the kitchen. I became part of the process, helping to create the colors she wanted. She took the chance to say as many words as possible, and Iris answered willingly.
The next morning my mother arrived with treats and a vase of flowers on the kitchen table. PJ heard the noise from the gate and also stopped by to take a break. We looked at each other and smiled. Iris was painting at her table, blurring blue and red so that some areas turned out pink and others purple. We heard her say "ball" as she dipped her brush into white paint and pressed it to the paper. Turning the brush, my daughter drew a circle in the far right corner, and another one closer to the middle. She dragged the brush across the paper, drawing a white stream.
While we were drinking tea, mom was talking to Iris near her table. The daughter did not push anyone away; on the contrary, she seemed pleased and proud of her work. PJ and I watched her in disbelief. Our girl became so brave, assertive and confident: she knew what she wanted and how to show it to us.
Iris and I quickly became involved in this new ritual. I knew when she needed another blank sheet of paper: she would pull the edges of the drawn one to remove it, and run to the office for the next one. I pulled out the mugs and prepared the paints. Having organized everything, I moved on to other kitchen chores, but remained on hand if needed, or acted as a speech therapist.
Iris's technique was constantly evolving: her daughter experimented with all kinds of tools, household utensils and materials, made up her own colors, dipping brushes from mug to mug, moving in her own way and constantly studying what she got.
Sometimes we didn’t know where Iris’s next creation was down and where it was up, because she drew from all four sides of the table. In such cases, we sat our daughter on a chair, and I picked up the painting. PJ asked: “This side?” Then I turned the picture. "Or this one?" Iris either frowned or danced a little: simple, but effective method, who helped us out more than once.
Our baby, who had previously huddled deeper on the sofa with books, was now dancing in the heart of the house, surrounded by colors.