Art for Children with Special Needs. Literature & Language Essay

Art for Children with Special Needs
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Art for Children with Special Needs
Art is one of the extra-curricular activities that early childhood education teachers can use to improve learning for children with special needs. Evidence shows that most children in early childhood education learn faster and better through arts. Arts provide special needs children with an avenue to express themselves better through creativity that boosts learning. Also, art is a good way of boosting self-esteem for children with special needs, since some of them may fee underprivileged and compare themselves with classmates who are not in the special needs category. Unlike other school assignments, the artwork is never wrong since children have different abilities and therefore expected to come up with special artworks or creativities. Art can also be used as an inclusion initiative where children with special needs participate in the same art activities.
More therapists, teachers and organizations are realizing the importance of incorporating art to support special education (McNamara & Blenco, 2018). For instance, there are children who begin singing before they properly know how to talk, and activities such as classes where children are encouraged to write and perform songs either in person or in groups can help such children learn how to talk effectively. Current research on the role of drama in improving student achievement has shown that art is most effective when incorporating into early childhood education since children learn quickly and their quick adaptation capabilities. Some educational institutions have music and movement lessons in their regular curriculum. Some schools even hire music therapists permanently or under contract to work which special education students. Although music therapists and trainers are too expensive for most schools it is a critical part of learning for special education students, but should need to create more activities to include students with other special needs including Visual impairment, Orthopedic impairments, and hearing impairments.
Inclusion is another advantage of incorporating art into special needs education. Some parents whose children have special needs try to ignore the need to enroll them in special education and assume that they can keep up with regular children. The assumption can cause serious damage to the child’s morale and self-esteem, especially in cases where the child with special needs is unable to cope with other children and ends up submitting projects and assignments late. Specialized art activities for children under specific special needs categories can improve their learning abilities and make them understand that their worth and similarities with other children in the class (Devecchi & Watts, 2018). For a teacher to create an inclusive curriculum that incorporates art activities for special needs children in each category, they must identify and deeply understand the nature of the special needs. Art is based on expression and creativity rather than standardized test scores that may put special needs children at a disadvantage. Children with special needs can explore different types of creative media alongside general education peers and since there is no right answer in creativity, some special needs children may have better talents than those in the general category.
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