Everyone deserves to have access to art, art education, and art expression, but how do we turn this into a reality when working with neurodiverse and disabled populations? Please join us for a time to learn and explore how to engage all students in the art making process. In this training we will explore how our neurodiverse and disabled students may interact in the art room, how we can scaffold objective and art techniques to authentically meet our students where they are at, and how to break down lessons into accessible parts. This training is a time to deepen our understanding of what an accessible art can look like, explore tools to develop your confidence and directives, and gain resources and skills that create space for your students to develop in their artistic process and have freedom of expression. You will leave with concrete tools and resources, as well as guides to help shape your practice into an inclusive space.  

Objectives: 

• Identify two ways in which neurodiverse students may engage in the art room

• Understand how to break down an objective or art technique into measurable steps

• Recognize why it is important to meet our students where they are at in their art making journey

• Understand how to break down a lesson into accessible parts

• Identify one technique you can use to support students in the art room

Everyone deserves to have access to art and have their voice heard, but how do we, as abled service providers, do that? Join us to explore and learn about how to engage all clients in the art making process. By listening to the needs of disabled and neurodiverse populations, we can begin to provide authentic, validating therapy and art experiences for our clients. In this training we will present accessible art directives, guides, and resources designed to serve a wide range of clients. By critically looking at how we define art therapy, art making, and who it is for, this training will invite participants to explore how they can create more inclusive spaces for clients. This training is a time to deepen our understanding of what an accessible art studio can look like, explore tools to develop your confidence and directives, and gain resources and skills that create space for your clients to develop in their artistic process and have freedom of expression. You will leave with concrete tools and resources, as well as guides to help shape your practice into an inclusive space.  

Objectives

• Identify two ways in which affirming and inclusive art therapy differs from a traditional art therapy session ​

• Understand how to break down directives into accessible and authentic parts.​

• Describe how ableism can affect how we work with clients

• Explain how having a critical lens of art and art therapy can support a more authentic experience for disabled and neurodiverse populations 

• Be able to name/create two supports for clients 

Please join us for a time of reflection, discussion, and critical thinking as we examine how the art therapy world has upheld ableist practices and how we can start disabling them. How can we reframe our language, spaces, practices, and definition of art to better support our clients? We will take a journey using art and writing by autistic and disabled artists, and researchers to examine how we can reflect on our internal biases and move towards a more inclusive, holistic practice. Topics of disability justice, how to listen to our clients, reassessing our space, and creating welcoming environments will be covered. 

 Register Here

Join us to learn about the Adapted Art Curriculum we wrote for FCPS. We will take a look at the structure and lessons, as well as go into deep dives on how to adapt lessons, create visual supports, and make our classrooms more inclusive.

We are excited to partner with GMU for one of their graduate classes, AVT 667: 2-Dimentional Art Making and Differentiated Instructions. We will be working with graduate students to unpack writing and creating accessible and inclusive art curriculums.

Come join us for a morning of learning with our session How Will We Adapt? Adapted Art Curriculum Resources.

Join us to learn about adapted art curriculum tools designed to serve a wide range of learning needs. This new collection of instructional resources was assembled by an experienced team of educators including elementary and secondary art teachers, art therapists, and occupational therapists. Resources include a program of studies with sequenced steps to meet objectives, a yearly overview with a full sequence of lesson delivery plans, and a plethora of related and linked tools and resources. It’s a turnkey resource for art teachers who need an adapted curriculum, and we are going to share it with you!

Register Here

This is a private event for FCPS employees only.

Join us to learn about how to engage all students in the art making process. We will present a new adapted art curriculum, guides, and resources designed to serve a wide range of learning needs.

Look for registration information in the art department newsletter.

This is a private event for FCPS employees only.

Join us to learn about how to engage all students in the art making process. We will present a new adapted art curriculum, guides, and resources designed to serve a wide range of learning needs.

Look for registration information in the art department newsletter.