Internship at Anderson Center for Autism

This past Tuesday was my first day of my special education internship. I am working in the art room at the Anderson Center for Autism. This is a school for kids age 6 to 21 who are diagnosed with autism or other developmental disabilities. On Tuesday I worked with 5 classes with students ages 14 to 21. These students were all low functioning and nonverbal. A reoccurring topic in our art education class is writing a curriculum which centers on big ideas. I asked the art teacher how he writes his curriculum for students who do not have the cognitive ability to understand big ideas. He told me that he focuses on creating projects that will allow students to learn different skills and techniques. I noticed that while the projects being done in the classroom were not conceptual, they all contained the "principles and elements" of art. I found that many projects focused on layering and repetition. In one project, students started off coloring a white piece of paper with crayons, any way that they wanted to. Next, they used one color of paint, and added a layer of paint on top of the crayon. This reminded me of how Eric Carl creates his paper. Finally, they used a stencil of an animal to add a black layer of paint on top. Looking at the finished products, it is apparent that although there is not a cognitive aspect of the lesson, students are learning and actively using art elements such as unity, repetition, contrast, pattern, and texture.