Programming for People with Special Needs by Katie Stringer

Author:Katie Stringer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: undefined
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Published: 2012-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

Museum of Contemporary Art

in Jacksonville, Florida

The Museum of Contemporary Art in Jacksonville, Florida, offers a long-standing, very successful model program for children with autism.[9] The program is currently in its sixth year and was started after parents and museum staff collaborated to meet a tremendous need for these programs across the country. The program, “Rainbow Artists,” focuses on communication and social skills as well as art, and the museum offers it strictly for children with autism.[10]

Staff and parents started “Rainbow Artists” because of the community need for this type of program. Carol Lombardo, a parent of a child with autism, wanted to create a program for children so that they could communicate through the arts. Lombardo’s daughter could speak a little but could not verbally communicate very well, so they drew pictures together. The family felt that it was important to communicate in a way that all members could understand, and she could express herself through art. The museum asked Mrs. Lombardo, “If you could have any dream program for your child growing up, what would it be?” Next, they asked her to develop the program with her family’s needs in mind. Lombardo described the program development process in the Southeastern Museums Conference session as an “act of love and passion for all involved.”

Kelly DeSousa, an educator who worked with the program from its inception, has an art therapy degree. She worked with a school art therapist, but she learned the most from the kids. The program originally started as a Saturday program with only five kids enrolled. DeSousa also helped develop a separate program for the parents, almost as a support group for discussion. She then went to graduate school to learn about autism populations, and when she came back to the museum after school, they were serving over 200 children with autism.

Today, the program serves an average of 250 children from 8 schools. School districts recommend the students, who come to the museum for a couple of hours during the school day and then return to their regular classrooms. “Rainbow Artists” was originally offered for elementary students and now also serves middle and high school students to fill the gap for those children who are often not offered programs as much as the younger students.

Today, the program is not only for autism but for all disabilities as well. Community members and private donors fund “Rainbow Artists”; the museum staff work with teachers to schedule trips. The museum covers transportation, materials, teachers, and staff. The therapeutic objectives of the program are to improve social skills; to encourage emotional regulation and motor skills; to decrease anxiety and increase focus, self-confidence, self-esteem, and creative self-expression; to increase abstract thinking skills and imagination; and to improve visual-spatial skills.[11]

The framework for the program is as follows:

One visit is made to the school by museum staff for preparation. Staff tell the students what to expect for all five senses so that there are no surprises when they come to the museum. This visit also helps plan the lessons in which the students will participate at the museum.

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