Using Art Therapy to Promote Psychomotor Development and Facilitate Communication in Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Literature Review

By Nohelis Mena

 

This issue of NASET’s Autism Spectrum Disorder series was written by Nohelis Mena. Art therapy is a common practice used among students with autism to develop communication skills and improve psychomotor development. It is understood that art therapy has its benefits but lacks representation in how the students feel while partaking in these activities. The emotional state of the student while in therapy should be considered and should be further explored by research. This paper serves as a literature review discussing research conducted on using art therapy for communication and psychomotor skills. The specific topics to be discussed are as follows: Art therapy to teach self-expression, development of social skills, enhancement of visual skills, and enhancement of fine motor skills.

 

Abstract

Art therapy is a common practice used among students with autism to develop communication skills and improve psychomotor development. It is understood that art therapy has its benefits but lacks representation in how the students feel while partaking in these activities. The emotional state of the student while in therapy should be considered and should be further explored by research. This paper serves as a literature review discussing research conducted on using art therapy for communication and psychomotor skills. The articles covered in this review are “A Case for Art Therapy as a Treatment for Autism Spectrum Disorder”, “Exploring What Works in Art Therapy With Children With Autism: Tacit Knowledge of Art Therapists”, “Art Therapy for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in India”, and “Evaluation of Programmes in Psychomotor Therapy”. All articles were discovered through the search engine ERIC. The specific topics to be discussed are as follows: Art therapy to teach self-expression, development of social skills, enhancement of visual skills, and enhancement of fine motor skills.

Using Art Therapy to Promote Psychomotor Development and Facilitate Communication in Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Literature Review

Students with autism spectrum disorder, or ASD, struggle to communicate effectively, as well as face challenges in developing psychomotor function. Using art therapy as a form of skill development and practice, can help students achieve goals in communication and motor function. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about forty-percent of children diagnosed with ASD have no speech and about twenty-five percent have few words which are then lost as they progress into early childhood (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019). The CDC also reported that though gross motor skills, such as walking and kicking, are highly intact, children with ASD tend to have weak fine motor skills, like buttoning a shirt (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019). Based on researched literature, art therapy can be used to teach self-expression, develop social skills, enhance visual skills, and enhance fine motor skills.

As discussed in the article “A Case for Art Therapy as a Treatment for Autism Spectrum Disorder” by Huma Durrani, art therapy helps students with ASD feel relief from anger and frustration while allowing them to express themselves (Durrani, 2019). Self-expression helps alleviate pent up aggression. By participating in art therapy, students can understand how to act accordingly while reducing behaviors that tend to be problematic (Schweizer, Spreen, & Knorth, 2017). This is presented in the article “Exploring What Works in Art Therapy With Children With Autism: Tacit Knowledge of Art Therapists” (Schweizer, Spreen, & Knorth, 2017). As for refined motor skills, a study mentioned in the article “Art Therapy for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder in India” mentions the use of art therapy as an intervention to assist students in creating a basis for fine motor skills (Koo & Thomas, 2019). Those who cannot communicate verbally may have to rely on physical patterns or motions to accurately portray their feelings or needs. In order to do this, the psychomotor skills must be developed. Referring to the article “Evaluation of Programmes in Psychomotor Therapy”, movement is not simply something you command your body to do, but a “deeper connection” of expression (Lucka & Listiakova, 2016). Art therapy connects expression and movement, or psychomotor skills, to overall establish a foundation of communication and function.

How Art Therapy is Used to Teach Self-Expression

It is not uncommon for students on the spectrum to have difficulty understanding the emotions and needs of others, as well as the emotions and needs of themselves. What makes this even more challenging for them, is the limited vocabulary they have. Exposing students with ASD to art therapy and providing them with therapists who can show them how to channel emotions allows them to better convey how they feel (Durrani, 2019). Students are able to focus on personal experiences while receiving sensory stimulation (Schweizer, Spreen, & Knorth, 2017). Taking the opportunity to express themselves through painting or crafting projects can alleviate anger and frustration through a creative outlet, rather than resorting to tantrums. A therapist is able to see these changes in self-expression through the manner in which the students are moving, positioning themselves with body language, and reciprocating cues (Durrani, 2019). Even by associating certain colors of paint with corresponding emotion, such as blue representing sadness, students can at least identify their emotional state.

Art therapy does not have only one use. It can be beneficial for reasons other than indicating one’s own emotional state. Schweizer, Spreen, and Knorth state in the article “Exploring What Works in Art Therapy With Children With Autism: Tacit Knowledge of Art Therapists” that it is a “multifocal intervention” (Schweizer, Spreen, & Knorth, 2017). The art supplies present have different textures, smells, and even tastes if edible, and can cause emotional responses (Durrani, 2019).

The Development of Social Skills with the Use of Art Therapy Intervention

Students diagnosed with ASD encounter conflict in social situations when it comes to identifying the appropriate response or gesture (Koo & Thomas, 2019). Art therapy intervention can enlighten them on the use of reciprocity in a social setting (Durrani, 2019). For instance, if the art therapist holds out his or her hand to teach the behavior of requesting and providing an object, they can use the sharing of art supplies such as paper or crayons to do so. Based on the article “Art Therapy for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in India”, continuing with regular art interventions can also reduce problematic behaviors and instead promote accepted social behaviors (Koo & Thomas, 2019).

It is important to note that establishing boundaries is essential in the growth of an individual. This can be shown with a lesson in spatial skills (Koo & Thomas, 2019). The stimuli provided during interventions and the location of the stimuli can provide a setting to apply a lesson in social skills and boundaries (Lucka & Listiakova, 2016). This is demonstrated in “Evaluation of Programmes in Psychomotor Therapy” (Lucka & Listiakova, 2016). By placing art supplies of one type in front of one student and art supplies of another type in proximity of another student, it creates a boundary that states that one cannot simply take the supplies of another but should ask and share. This creates a regulated social interaction. 

Applying Art Therapy to Enhance Visual Skills in Psychomotor Function

Students on the spectrum tend to be visual learners and thinkers (Koo & Thomas, 2019). Using images to comprehend a concept is much easier for them than decoding words and phrases (Koo & Thomas, 2019). The practice of focusing on imagery and art can strengthen visual focus and attention by targeting psychomotor function with art therapy. Eye gaze is reduced due to the student’s need to look at what he or she is creating in an artistic setting while simultaneously using their hands (Durrani, 2019). This in succession increases the development of refined psychomotor skills. The visual aspect of these skills will condition students with ASD to focus their attention or even engage in joint attention. Promoting the use of joint attention will force them to use visual skills, which in turn will cause them to develop psychomotor function and possibly increase attention span (Schweizer, Spreen, & Knorth, 2017).

Applying Art Therapy to Develop Fine Motor Skills

Though the CDC stated gross motor skills are well developed in students with autism, they likely have weak fine motor skills (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019). The fine motor skills can be developed through the use of different art intervention activities. Students with ASD have different needs and the art program they are assigned to can cater to those needs by customizing art materials and work space and assigning different individualized projects (Durrani, 2019). According to a study conducted in 2016, much of the psychomotor function therapy conducted in a controlled setting promotes the use of art therapy (Lucka & Listiakova, 2016). By taking advantage of the countless types of activities involved in art therapy, students can work on using smaller hand motions, such as drawing small shapes or coloring inside the lines of a preferred image. An example of this is demonstrated in a study conducted by Jongsoon Koo and Elziabeth Thomas. The study was done on an eleven year old girl named AD who had no eye-motor coordination skills (Koo & Thomas, 2019). AD was unable to trace shapes presented to her nor was she able to mold clay into specified shapes, but after time in art therapy and learning about the parts of the human body, she was able to trace her own hand  (Koo & Thomas, 2019). This is a result of improved fine motor skills.

Future Research and Study

Based on the literature, art therapy is an excellent practice and form of intervention used to assist  students with autism. It develops communication skills and improves psychomotor development. It is understood that art therapy has its benefits but lacks representation in how students on the spectrum feel while actively engaging in the art activities. It is possible they may feel stressed or they may feel relief from frustration and anger. The emotional state of the student while in therapy should be considered and should be further explored by research.

References

Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2019, August 27). Signs and Symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Retrieved September 06, 2020, from www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/signs.html

Durrani, H. (2019). A Case for Art Therapy as a Treatment for Autism Spectrum Disorder. Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association,36(2), 103-106.

Koo, J., & Thomas, E. (2019). Art Therapy for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in India. Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association,36(4), 209-214. Retrieved September 5, 2020, from eds.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.fiu.edu/eds/detail/detail

Lucka, Z. F., & Listiakova, I. (2016). Evaluation of Programmes in Psychomotor Therapy. Review of Artistic Education,11(12). doi:10.1515/rae-2016-0019

Schweizer, C., Spreen, M., & Knorth, E. J. (2017). Exploring What Works in Art Therapy With Children With Autism: Tacit Knowledge of Art Therapists. Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association,34(4).