Autistic children are unaware of the cause and reason behind their aggravated episodes, or the absence of enthusiasm in their daily routine. They may thus be unwilling to go through certain modes of behaviour therapy for any problem behaviours.
Small Steps Big Dreams in Dubai, UAE works on providing the best of information and treatments, so that families with autistic children may breathe easy. Needless to say, all therapies provide a level of solace and relief- which is required for the child with ASD who may show issues in cooperating.
Art therapy has been acknowledged to be the best starting points for the children on the spectrum to be able to open up and communicate better. As Plato saw it, music has a conciliatory impact on the self. Even Sigmund Freud’s interest in the arts speculated that it allowed both the artist and audience to release unconscious desires- in the process, any negativity was also dispelled.
What is Art Therapy?
This is a form of behaviour therapy that is used to tend to psychological disorders, reinforcing mental fitness. The footing of this technique is rooted in the principle that imaginative articulation can nurture healing and the mental well-being of an individual.
Medical professionals and art therapists have remarked that humankind has for centuries used arts as an outlet of communication to express ourselves. This was particularly true in the case of those who suffered from mental illnesses. The patients often used several artworks as a reflection of their internal struggle, which steered many to scrutinize the use of art as a rehabilitation program.
Yet, art wasn’t deemed as a logical and/or practical method to be adopted as therapy until the early 19th century. And it was from then that artistic therapies were incorporated either as treatments or assessments of patients with neurological conditions.
Pursuing Treatment Through Art Therapy
According to the American Art Therapy Association, this form of treatment is directed towards mental health and human services that augment the lives of individuals. It provides an “active creative process, applied psychological theory, and human experience within a psychotherapeutic relationship,” as the Association puts it.
Art therapy offers a collection of possibilities for children on the spectrum to try their hand at. Though it’s still not taken into consideration as compared to ABA, several studies show it to be beneficial as an interrelated treatment for autistic children, and their development delay and speech delay. With the combination of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), they may attain quite a lot of advantages.
When Art Meets CBT
CBT is mainly targeted towards modifying a hostile frame of mind and/or developmental delay into adaptive ones. Art may place a client in the favourable headspace for CBT to take effect. A creative space may allow the client to relieve the stress that has dominated their mental state. If we can take in the underlying problems causing the mental state, we might progress in positive and effective change.
Advantages of Art Therapy
- Children may be able to work through their speech delay and/or language delay through creative artful projects.
- Their imagination and being able to grasp an idea from an abstract becomes better.
- The capacity to construct healthier connections with others can be encouraged by having them view the artworks of others; get to know their perspectives.
- Greater sensory integration while improving coping skills
- According to the research from HMHB, children may strengthen their social development through art therapy without having to worry about others’ judgement.
- Parents can also involve their children in artistic recreations at home. This further allows them to be independent in their individuality.
- These activities can be interwoven into the household game night so that the autistic individual won’t be shut out.
Conclusion
Art therapy as behaviour therapy is grounded in the crossroad between psychotherapeutic interventions and art as representation. Several people on the spectrum have found it to be challenging when it comes to impulse control. Your objective may be to enable your child to investigate and discern their own. It could also be able to reduce their behavioural issues. Either way, art therapy allows autistic people to recognize and govern their emotions in a structured setting.