Art can be an important part of education for special needs students. It provides them with a hands-on way to express themselves and experience the joy of completing projects that are fun to do. Often, special needs students have a harder time experiencing success with hands-on activities, due to motor, visual, and tactile impairments. With art projects, however, all students can succeed.
It's important that teachers have patience when helping special needs students with art projects. Reacting with impatience may cause the special needs child undue anxiety and make the task far less pleasurable. Teachers should make the point of the art activity the actual process rather than the finished result. Letting the child know that his/her artwork is special and unique throughout the process can help him/her become more confident.
Art time is no time for overly strict rules. Children often grow used to being instructed not to make a mess. At art time, the mess-making rules should be relaxed and they should be free of worrying about spilling a drop of glue or splattering some paint. It's wise to take precautions and cover clothing and surfaces, of course, but strive to make the experience fun and worry about the mess later.
To give children the best chance of having a fun, successful art experience create a time schedule. Allow plenty of time for the art project. Rushing through art time will only cause the students anxiety. Also, they may experience frustration when they are not able to perform fast enough, making them reluctant to participate in the future. Even worse, they may feel disappointed if they are unable to finish the projects they've put loving effort into doing.
Be sure to compliment the special needs student on his/her artwork. Generally, students are eager to please their teachers, and a few kind words can boost their self-esteem and give them an overall sense of accomplishment that may spread to other subjects. Your encouraging words can help to inspire a "can do" attitude.
Last but not least, start out with simple projects, like handprint painting, simple crafts and finger-painting. Play around with clay, and offer the children different shapes and textured materials they can glue onto paper or cardboard. Gradually introduce more complex projects when you see that the children are ready for them. Make art expression a time for fun learning that will inspire and provide creative outlets for special needs students in the classroom.