Implementation

What does this Look like in Clinical Practice?

• Many SLPs already use arts and crafts every day in their clinical practice to engage students and work on a variety of goals 

  • These activities can be expanded to reflect the current evidence and provide additional opportunities for targeting goals

• Tailor arts-based activities around the student's specific interests → creative freedom builds confidence and motivation to continue

  • Use the student's preferred art medium (painting, photography, movie making, cut & paste, etc.)

  • Give options or allow the student to choose the subject matter 

  • Provide flexible pacing and autonomy 

• Pair students with peers to encourage collaboration and natural social interaction → children communicate to complete the shared task, not because they were prompted or forced to 

  • Use shared materials, not individual art kits

  • Provide one joint goal (ex. "create one collage to describe the character of this book")

  • Assign complementary roles to each student that require teamwork and communication (ex. one student is the chooser and the other is the builder) 

• Create low-pressure environments for creative freedom, don't over prompt  → allow the art task to naturally encourage communication, don't overly control the experience

  • Provide and accept multiple forms of communication (ex. AAC, gesture, etc.)

  • Allow long pauses if they naturally occur 

  • Provide visual supports 

  • Create predicable routines including warm up activates, social breaks, and independent time vs SLP modeling time 

Collaboration

• In using arts-based interventions, there is ample opportunity to collaborate with other service providers such as;

  • Occupational Therapists → target fine motor, sensory regulation, adaptive behaviors, etc.

  • Classroom Teachers → incorporate the student's classwork into arts-based activities or allow students to present their final product to their class

  • Art Teachers/Therapists → help design age and skill appropriate art projects, provide instruction for digital tools, etc.