Drawing Process in Children with Autism

Drawing Process in Children with Autism

The Journal of Psychology & Psychotherapy published an open source article to determine the correlations between the drawing process in children with autism and developmental indexes.  The authors consider drawing to be one of the best tools to objectify the level of maturity reached by the child in psychomotor, cognitive and emotional areas.  The participants in this study included 84 children with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders (ASD), between the 2.58 and 15.00 years old.  Each individual completed a drawing exercise which was evaluated by an expert team of professionals to determine the drawing stage after establishing a scale ranging from the presence of the disordered scribbling to the presence of the body schema.  Different parameters were observed including: the attitude of the child, how that activity was accepted, eye contact during the action, use of color, prehension of the instrument, presence of interaction with the examiner during the activity, duration of the drawing and the attentive level, use of the space in the sheet, form and the order of the elements that constitute the drawing, line, shape, proportion and erasures and finally the child’s posture while drawing.  These parameters were used to create a 5 point scale:

Level 0. Refusal to draw or absence of productions.
Level 1. Disordered, random scribbling (age range 2 to 3.6 years)
Level 2. Controlled scribbling (age range 2 to 3.6 years)
Level 3. Named scribbling, with meaning attribution (age range 2 to 3.6 years old)
Level 4. Preschematic (Age range 3.7-5, 6 years)
Level 5. Schematic (age range 7-8 years)

The results indicated the following:

• the drawing level improved with the increase of the age of children
• the drawing level improved with the increase of Autism diagnostic observation schedule, second edition (ADOS)  in particular with the improve of the Social Affections
• there was no correlation between drawing and restricted, repetitive behaviors
• the drawing scores had a higher correlation with IQ scores than with ADOS scores

The researchers concluded that there is a close relationship of drawing with the level of autistic symptomatology. All children who are part of an autism spectrum disorder have a significant delay in the drawing process, and this delay is not related to the IQ, but rather to the Social Affection area investigated by the ADOS.

You can read the full-text article here.

Reference:  Di Renzo, M., Marini, C., Bianchi di Castelbianco, F., Racinaro, L., & Rea, M. (2017). Correlations between the Drawing Process in Autistic Children and Developmental Indexes. J Psychol Psychother, 7(291), 2161-0487.

Looking for drawing resources:

Beach

Bugs and Butterflies

Arctic Animals

Holiday Edition

Dinosaurs

Transportation

Alphabet

Monsters

Doodle Diaries

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Cut Sequence Paste Draw Dolphin

Cut Sequence Paste Draw Dolphin

Here is a dolphin activity that includes scissor skills, sequencing, motor planning, visual motor skills and following directions!  All on one piece of paper (translation: NO PREP activity).  This dolphin activity is from the Cut, Sequence, Paste and Draw – Beach.   Print out this activity and the child can cut, sequence, paste and draw the dolphin using the step by step directions.

DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE CUT, SEQUENCE, PASTE AND DRAW  DOLPHIN

Need more activities?  Check out these titles for beach themed activities:

Beach Sensory Motor Packet

Summer Sensory Motor Packet

And more Cut Sequence Paste Draw activities:

Bugs and Butterflies

Arctic Animals

Holiday Edition

Dinosaurs

Transportation

Alphabet

Monsters

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My Biggest Accomplishment This Year

As the school year winds down, encourage self reflection by asking students to record answers regarding their biggest accomplishments, improvements, goals and more.  Not only does this help students to stop and reflect what they have acheived, it also helps them to plan for the future.  Bonus – it requires handwriting and drawing practice.

Here is a practice sheet from the My Memory Book complete packet.  You can download below for free.  It is available in single line, dotted line (Zaner-Bloser type format) and double line (Handwriting Without Tears type format).

DOWNLOAD MY BIGGEST ACCOMPLISHMENT THIS YEAR WORKSHEET

Get more information about the complete My Memory Book here.

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Blue Bird Color, Write and Draw Freebie

This blue bird color, write and draw freebie is from the latest digital download, Bird Color Packet.  This activity is perfect for Spring time!  Print out the black and white worksheet and ask the child to color the word blue, color the bird blue, write the word blue and draw something that is the color blue.

DOWNLOAD THE BLUE BIRD COLOR, WRITE AND DRAW FREEBIE

Get more information on the complete Bird Color Packet.  This digital download includes:

• 6 matching activities – match the bird to the correct birdhouse
• 6 coloring pages – color the word, bird and bird house the correct color
• 6 handwriting and drawing pages – color the word and the bird, write the color word and draw a picture

FIND OUT MORE.

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Cut, Sequence, Paste and Draw Butterfly

Here is a freebie from the latest download – Cut, Sequence, Paste and Draw Bugs and Butterflies.  It is perfect for Spring time which is right around the corner.   This activity encourages: scissor practice, fine motor skills, sequencing and visual motor skills.

DOWNLOAD the free Cut, Sequence, Paste and Draw Butterfly

Find out more about the complete download.

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Fall Picture Pokes – Fine Motor and Visual Motor Activity

Here are 4 FREE Fall picture pokes or tracing pages.  It includes pictures of a pumpkin, leaf, acorns and an apple.  The child can either trace each picture and the word or use a thumb tack to poke out the picture.  This is great for a fine motor station in early learning classrooms.  Print the pages full size, half size or all four on one page – directions included.

Download the FREE Fall Picture Pokes to practice fine motor and visual motor skills.

Need more fine motor activities with a Fall theme?  Check out Print and Create Fine Motor Activities Fall Edition:  This download is a collection of 10 fine motor projects with a Fall theme.

The 10 projects included are the following:
Stained Glass Autumn Leaves
Things About Fall Poster
The Flying Crows
Squirrel Away Nuts
Harvest the Corn
Leaf Animals
Clothes Pin leaves
Personalized Apple Tree
Raking Leaves
Autumn Place Mat Weave

This download encourages: fine motor skills, scissor skills, finger and hand strengthening and visual perceptual skills.

FIND OUT MORE INFORMATION and download another freebie!

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Cut, Sequence, Paste and Draw – Dinosaur

Here is a freebie from the latest packet Cut, Sequence, Paste and Draw Dinosaurs.  Children can practice scissor skills, sequencing, gluing and drawing this adorable dinosaur.  If you have a student that loves dinosaurs this is the packet for them!

Download the free sample dinosaur page.

Get more information about the complete Cut, Sequence, Paste and Draw Dinosaurs packet or check out the other themes:

Cut, Sequence, Paste and Draw A to Z

Cut, Sequence, Paste and Draw Monsters

Cut, Sequence, Paste and Draw Transportation

 

The post Cut, Sequence, Paste and Draw – Dinosaur appeared first on Your Therapy Source.

Cut, Sequence and Draw Trucks

Practice scissor skills, sequencing, glueing, following directions and drawing all with this one activity – Cut, Sequence, Paste and Draw Transportation. Download this truck freebie to get started with this no-prep activity.

Find out more information on the complete Cut, Sequence, Paste and Draw Transportation Packet.

Looking for different themes?

Check out Cut, Sequence, Paste and Draw Alphabet where each pictures starts off with writing a letter of the alphabet.

Check out Cut, Sequence, Paste and Draw Monsters.

COMING SOON – Cut, Sequence, Paste and Draw DINOSAURS!!!!!

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15 Silly Drawing Games for Kids

Here are some super simple and silly pencil and paper games to play. You can play with one person or a large group.  Everyone grab a pencil and paper.  Start by drawing one object with your dominant hand. Now it is time to switch it up and try drawing a different way.

Try drawing:
1.  using your non-dominant hand
2.  with the pencil in your mouth
3.  with the pencil in your toes
4.  with your head upside down
5.  with your eyes closed
6.  with your dominant hand after you spin around in a circle 10x
7.  using a super tiny pencil (use a golf pencil or smaller)
8.  using a huge pencil (duct tape the pencil to a wiffle ball bat)
9.  with your paper taped to the underside of a desk (Michelangelo style)
10. a round of Silly Sketches                                                                                                                          11. with both hands at the same time                                                                                                       12. using a white paper plate on your head and try to draw a picture on it                                         13. the silliest face you can think of                                                                                                         14. a round of draw a doggy hangman                                                                                                   15. some themed Squiggle Drawing: Draw a squiggle on a piece of paper. Write a theme on the top of the paper (i.e. – farm animal). Pass the paper to someone else and they have to create a farm animal from the squiggle on the paper.  Download some free sample pages from Doodle Diaries to get started.

What crazy and silly drawing games can you create?

Silly Sketches includes 10 drawings to create by following 6 simple directions. There are 10 drawing starters for each silly sketch to make the activity easier if necessary. This is suitable for one child to complete or for a group of children. This electronic book is in black and white.

This download encourages: drawing skills, ability to follow step by step directions, creativity, visual motor skills and visual perceptual skills.

Find out more information at http://ift.tt/1tgy0eE

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Drawing Lines and More Lines!

Here is a freebie to provide some visual cues for students to draw different lines.  You can download it at YourTherapySourceor http://yourtherapysource.com/freedrawlines.html

Need more practice drawing lines?  Check out Lines, Lines and More Lines.  This download includes 24 task cards (12 full pages) to trace lines of varying difficulty, 5 letter matching lines, 4 line racing games and 3 roll and draw games.  Find out more here http://yourtherapysource.com/lines.html.

Cut, Sequence, Paste and Draw - Monster

Here is a freebie from Cut, Sequence, Paste and Draw – Monsters that encourages: scissor practice, fine motor skills, motor planning and visual motor skills.  You can download the freebie here http://yourtherapysource.com/cutsequencedrawmonstersfreebie.html

Can You Set the Record?

Can you set the record to be the fastest?  Try this challenge from the Set the Record packet. Download it here http://yourtherapysource.com/setrecordfreebie.html 

The Set the Record packet challenges fine motor, gross motor, oral motor and visual motor skills with a fun game!  This packet is great for small spaces, individual children or a group.  Find out more here http://yourtherapysource.com/setrecord.html

Doodle Diaries and Writing

Did you know that research indicates that students who drew or doodled while learning had improved memory recall over students who did not?  If you need to practice drawing skills,
visual perceptual skills, visual motor skills and handwriting practice give some of these activities a try.  You can download the sample pages here http://yourtherapysource.com/doodlediariesfree.html

Reference: Drawing to Learn in Science, Science 26 August 2011: Vol. 333 no. 6046 pp. 1096-1097. DOI: 10.1126/science.1204153

10 Simple Drawing and Handwriting Games

Here are a few quick, simple activities to practice drawing, pre-writing strokes and/or letter formation:

1.) Squiggle Drawing: Draw a squiggle line on a piece of paper. Pass it to someone else. Let them add to the squiggle line to create a picture.

2.) Themed Squiggle Drawing: Draw a squiggle on a piece of paper. Write a theme on the top of the paper (i.e. – farm animal). Pass the paper to someone else and they have to create a farm animal from the squiggle on the paper.  Try some Silly Sketches or Doodle Diaries.

3.) Group Shape Picture: Pick one shape (i.e. circles). Hang up a large piece of paper on an easel or the wall. Each person should add one circle to the paper, whatever size and color they wish. Add to it each day to create a nice work of art. Change shapes the next time.  Need more shape ideas? Try the I Can Draw Shapes Mini Book.

4.) Drawing to Music: Turn on different types of music and draw while listening.

5.) Simon Says Draw: Just like the active game of Simon Says except the leader calls out phrases like: “Simon says draw a circle”. “Simon says draw a face”. “Draw three lines”, “Write the letter A”….

6.) Follow the Leader: Put the easel in the front of the room or use a whiteboard. Choose one student to be a leader. That student draws an object. Each student at their seat follows the leader and draws the same object. Keep going and compare everyone’s pictures at the end.

7.) Hot Artwork: Put a piece of paper on a clipboard and put several different writing utensils in the middle of a circle. Have the children sit in a circle. Turn on music and pass the clipboard. When the music stops, the person holding the clipboard draws one object. Turn the music on again and repeat until a picture is created.

8.) Hide the Drawings: Put two children near each other but put up a divider so they can not see each other’s paper. Call out directions such as: draw a house, draw a flower in the yard, draw a bird in the sky, etc. At the end compare the pictures and see if they are similar. For letters you could call out directions such as: write a capital letter ‘A’ in the right corner, write a lowercase ‘b’ in the bottom left corner, etc.

9.) Complete the picture: Using a starting image on a piece of paper, have the child complete the picture. Here are free sample pages from Partner Pictures to download. Try some Dice Drawing. Roll the dice and complete the picture. Here is a sample page to try Dice Drawing.  Check out free sample pages from Let's Hang Out.

10.) Hide and Go Draw/Write: This is played like regular hide and go seek except the person hiding brings a clipboard along. While hiding they must draw a picture or write a word/ phrase. When the seeker finds them, he/she has to guess what was drawn or read the words.

HAPPY DRAWING!

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Great Drawing Card Game - Pick and Draw

This is a wonderful drawing card game called Pick and Draw.  If you are looking for a compact, easy to travel with, learn to draw tool, you should check out this activity.  I received a free copy of the card game and the book to review this product.  

The card game comes in a plastic case with 54 playing cards.   There are five different categories - face, nose, eyes, mouth and hair with 9 cards in each category.

It is very simple to get started.  Grab a piece of paper and a pencil.  Read the step by step directions as you go (they contain some helpful drawing tips so I would go through the direction cards).   So you start by picking one face card.  You draw whatever face card you selected on your paper.  Continue on adding the nose, eyes, mouth and hair from the cards you selected.  The Pick and Draw cards break down the drawing of the cartoon character into simple steps instead of tackling drawing a cartoon character all at once.  This is an excellent benefit to students who struggle with motor planning and visual perceptual deficits.

If you have a group, you can all draw the same features.  Below is a picture of 5 different cartoon faces but each artist had all the same facial variation cards to create their cartoon character.

The group wanted to keep playing so next they tried each picking their own cards to create their cartoon character.

Some of the children chose to name their characters.  Overall, this is an excellent, fun drawing activity for abilities of all ages.  Many of the kids started out the activity complaining... "I am not good at drawing" but after playing the game they were ALL impressed with how their cartoon characters turned out.  Quite a few commented... "I didn't think I could draw this good" and "This helped me to draw better".    Who doesn't want to hear that after any activity but it is especially wonderful if you are working with a child who struggles with drawing and visual motor control.  

So far, I used the cards with individual children, a group of four children with a 4 year age span between them and a group of 10 children with varying drawing abilities.  Managing the individual lesson or the groups were a breeze because the activity goes step by step making it easy to offer tips to everyone during the drawing process.  And, as we all know that can be success in itself with pediatric group therapy sessions.  

If you wanted to add in more therapeutic activities to the game you could:

• place each child's paper on an easel or on the wall to encourage wrist extension while drawing. 
• you could place the cards on the floor and the child would have to squat down to get each facial feature to draw.  
• place the cards around the room and the child has to scooter board or perform different animals walks to retrieve the cards.
• put the cards on the floor, the child stands behind a line and throws a bean bag at a card.  Draw that feature. 

I also received a book entitled The Big Book of Pick and Draw Activities by Rick Davis.  This book is full of ideas that go with the deck of cards.  There are chapters such as: Using Pick and Draw to Write Stories, Using Pick and Draw to Teach Non Fiction Writing, Pick and Draw with Clay and Pick and Draw Flexible Drawings for Students with Autism and Other Related Disorders.  Many of the ideas in the book are wonderful to provide multi-sensory instruction and to help children with written expression (which many children who receive related services have deficits in these areas).

Interestingly, the Pick and Draw Game was just awarded the "Seal of Approval" by The National Parenting Center this last week which is a highly sought after award.  I certainly concur and would give it a seal of approval as well.  I was financially compensated for this post but the opinions are completely my own based on  my experience.  I would love to see more cards that included the rest of the body. 

In summary, the positives about the Pick and Draw Card game are:

1. Excellent tool to teach drawing skills.
2. Step by step instruction breaks the large task of drawing a  cartoon into smaller chunks. 
3. Works well with a large group and with children of varying abilities.
4. Children reported that they felt that it improved their drawing skills.
5. Children participated throughout the entire activity without complaint.
6. Small and compact.
7. You can play for a few minutes or for as long as you wish.
8. Book helps expand ideas to do with the cards and to apply to educational goals.
9. Sparks creativity.
10. Fun, fun, fun!

Here are the negatives:

1. One complaint but I have a simple fix - I wish the plastic card case for the cards closed better.  It does come in a paper sleeve too but if you just toss the cards in the case into the black abyss of a therapy bag while traveling school to school it may open up.  If you are like me, always in a rush and somewhat disorganized I would wrap a rubber band around the case to ensure that the cards stay together.

Overall, I really loved the Pick and Draw card game.  If you want to order the Pick and Draw cards for $10 go to www.PickandDraw.com.  The Big Book of Pick and Draw Activities is available for $5.99 as a Kindle Edition at Amazon or for around $13 for the print version also at Amazon.     

Baby Oil and Cotton Swabs for Writing

Here is a fun, simple activity - painting, drawing and writing with baby oil.  

Materials:  baby oil, small cup, cotton swabs, different types of paper and dotted shape cards from Alphabet, Number and Shape Cards -  http://yourtherapysource.com/alphacards.html

Purpose:  To encourage prewriting skills, handwriting skills and drawing.  Promotes visual motor skills.

Activity:  Just dip your cotton swab in the baby oil and start writing or drawing.  The cotton swab with the baby oil moves fluidly across the paper making it excellent practice for cursive writing.  It smells wonderful and is also a very calming activity.  

We tried using the baby oil paint on various mediums such as construction paper, cardstock, crepe paper and tissue paper.  The card stock had to best end result for pretty artwork.  The crepe paper strips added some bilateral coordination to the activity.  Marking the dotted shape cards added visual motor control to the task.  We did use paint and a cotton swab to paint the dots.

The baby oil pictures fade somewhat as they dry so this activity is more about the process than the end result. 

Tip:  Cut the cotton swab in half to encourage an appropriate grasp.

Hangman Freebie with Step By Step Drawing Instructions

Check out the latest ebook - Let's Hang Out.  You can play hangman, learn how to draw and sneak in some handwriting practice!  Get your free sample Doggy Hangman at YourTherapySource.

Design a Toy Worksheet

Practice drawing and handwriting skills with this printable to help design a new toy.  You can download and print it at YourTherapySource.com.



Doodle Diaries

Check out this latest freebie - add to the doodle picture or squiggle and write a story about it.  It is available on dotted line and double line paper.  You can download the freebie at YourTherapySource.

Here is a picture of a completed doodle and story -

10 Simple Games to Practice Drawing and Handwriting

Here are a few quick, simple activities to practice drawing, pre-writing strokes and/or letter formation:

1.)  Squiggle Drawing:  Draw a squiggle line on a piece of paper.  Pass it to someone else.  Let them add to the squiggle line to create a picture.

2.)  Themed Squiggle Drawing:  Draw a squiggle on a piece of paper.  Write a theme on the top of the paper (i.e. - farm animal).  Pass the paper to someone else and they have to create a farm animal from the squiggle on the paper.

3.)  Group Shape Picture:  Pick one shape (i.e. circles).  Hang up a large piece of paper on an easel or the wall.  Each person should add one circle to the paper, whatever size and color they wish.  Add to it each day to create a nice work of art.  Change shapes the next time.

4.)  Drawing to Music:  Turn on different types of music and draw while listening.

5.)  Simon Says Draw:  Just like the active game of Simon Says except the leader calls out phrases like:  "Simon says draw a circle".  "Simon says draw a face".  "Draw three lines", "Write the letter A"....

6.)  Follow the Leader:  Put the easel in the front of the room or use a whiteboard.  Choose one student to be a leader.  That student draws an object.  Each student at their seat follows the leader and draws the same object.  Keep going and compare everyone's pictures at the end.

7.)  Hot Artwork:  Put a piece of paper on a clipboard and put several different writing utensils in the middle of a circle.  Have the children sit in a circle.  Turn on music and pass the clipboard.  When the music stops, the person holding the clipboard draws one object.  Turn the music on again and repeat until a picture is created.

8.)  Hide the Drawings:  Put two children near each other but put up a divider so they can not see each other's paper.  Call out directions such as: draw a house, draw a flower in the yard, draw a bird in the sky, etc.  At the end compare the pictures and see if they are similar.  For letters you could call out directions such as: write a capital letter 'A' in the right corner, write a lowercase 'b' in the bottom left corner, etc.

9.)  Complete the picture:  Using  a starting image on a piece of paper, have the child complete the picture.  Here are free sample pages from Partner Pictures to download.  Try some Dice Drawing.  Roll the dice and complete the picture.  Here is a sample page to try Dice Drawing.     

10.)  Hide and Go Draw/Write:  This is played like regular hide and go seek except the person hiding brings a clipboard along.  While hiding they must draw a picture or write a word/ phrase.  When the seeker finds them, he/she has to guess what was drawn or read the words.