Graciela Fierro

TWENTY-ONE

Fall 2016

ART AND AUTISM

A look into positive effects of art therapy
on children with Autism Spectrum
Disorder.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction page 1

Methodology page 2
Results/Findings
Discussion
Conclusion
Table of contents
Lists of tables and figures
Abstract 100 words
Appendices
Primary research
Additional tables
References

ABSTRACT
Art therapy is a fairly new treatment for those suffering from Autism. Though there are many
scientific studies to show that art is extremely positive in the development for children, it has
only now begun to break the surface as a treatment for those on the autism spectrum. From my
own primary research, I would venture to say that this is because the trouble that children with
autism face at first seems to contradict sitting down and trying to create art. However, as you will
see in the following paper, the positive effect that producing art has on the brain simply enhances
the natural proclivity those who have ASD, have for visual art. It is clear that this can be used as
a useful tool in brain development and therapy for children with ASD.

INTRODUCTION
In this paper, we will attempt to delve into the question, how does art effect the brain, especially
in cases of autism?
To answer this question, we first must understand what autism is.
According to autismspeaks.org, autism (ASD) is a spectrum of disorders that are all based in
intellectual and social difficulties. These disabilities can range anywhere from mild to
debilitating. Autism affects 1 in 68 Americans, per the CDC, and over ten million internationally.
Additionally, it is worth mentioning that some with ASD excel in visual skills, music, math, and
art. From here we can ask how and why these skills seem to be prevalent among those with
autism.
It is important to note that those with autism have been found to primarily activate the region of
the brain responsible for visual processing (Cornell) however, this is said to be because those
with ASD have an abnormal ratio of neurons in the brain leading to poor communication
between the two sides of the brain when focused in on a specified task. This attention to
specified task can be a detriment in social situations, but is excellent when focusing is necessary.
This explains why children with autism are commonly found to have an aptitude in visual skills,
such as art.
How then, does art affect the brain? In research conducted in 2014, it was found that producing
art improves neuron communication and increases resilience in stressful situations. Additionally,
it is said that due to these findings art can be used as a preventative tool in chronic diseases and
has an overall positive effect on the brain both cognitively and emotionally.

METHODOLOGY
For my primary research, I had the honor of working with Krista Pink, a teacher at ASK, a stem
focused charter school here in Albuquerque, NM. Though Krista is now a teacher for regular
education, she has spent the last ten years working with children with disabilities, including those
with Autism.
The following is the interview with Krista, before I talked to the cohort she had assembled from
previous students and student parents.
EDUCATOR INTERVIEW
Interviewer: Hello Ms. Pink, thank you so much for meeting with me on such short notice. First
of all will you tell us a little bit about your education history and work with children with
autism?
Ms. Pink: No problem Grace. I have taught special education classes for the last ten years. I
originally knew I wanted to teach, but when we found out our son was on the spectrum, I began
to become interested and invested in the path his education would take. It was then that I went
back to school in Santa Fe for my masters in Multicultural Special Education. After graduating I
went on to teach in the public-school setting for children with special needs.
Interviewer: Do you think that art has any influence on students on the autism spectrum?
Ms. Pink: Yes, in fact in the field we call it art therapy and we see very clear results.
Interviewer: What qualities do you see improve with art therapy?

Ms. Pink: I have found that many children who have trouble sitting still are able to overcome this
when involving themselves in art. Additionally we see improvements in fine motor skills,
communication, and ability to work with others which is vital to a healthy education.
Interviewer: Do all of your kids participate in Art Therapy?
Ms. Pink: Some more than others. We have art every other week but on Fridays the kids can
choose their activities for the last hour of class. We call this a Friday Free Hour and we do see
many children eager to partake in the art center.
Interviewer: Is there anything you notice in particular about students with autism when they are
engaged in the art center.
Ms Pink: I do notice they are very focused with little to no direct interaction with other students
at the center. Students with autism are more likely to finish an art project than other students. I
have noticed a need for completion in students with autism so it is important to set time
boundries and make sure they are understood before they begin in the art center. In fact you will
find in general students with autism do best with clearly defined parameters.
Interviewer: Thank you so much for taking the time to sit down with me.
Ms. Pink: It has been my pleasure.

CHILD/PARENT SURVEY
In addition to the above interview, Ms. Pink, was kind enough to contact ten parents from her old
class to see if they would be willing to participate in a short survey with me and allow their
children who were on the autism spectrum complete a short survey as well.
Unfortunately, only six parents responded and only five were willing to let their children
participate but I was very grateful to even get that many participants.
For the parent interview, I asked the following questions. To respect the privacy of all
participants, no names will be mentioned.
Children A, B, C, D, and E participated in the study. Parent of child F also completed the parent
survey but did not feel child F was up to the questionnaire. There were five children and eight
parents participated in the survey. Additionally, please note that all children were in Ms. Pinks
class and therefore were all exposed to art therapy. The children were in grades 3-5 during their
time in Ms. Pinks class.
PARENT SURVEY
Do you think that art therapy is beneficial to your child?
7 yes // 1 no
Psychologically, did you see a difference since in your child after starting art therapy?
5 yes// 3 no

Behaviorally, did you see a difference since in your child after starting art therapy?
2 yes // 6 no
Did you continue art therapy as part of your childs routine after Ms. Pinks class?
3 yes // 5 no
CHILD SURVEY
Do you like art?
5 yes
Do you like sports or art better?
5 art
Do you like school?
3 yes // 2 no

ADDITIONAL RESEARCH

In addition to the surveys, I wanted to take a more scientific look into the effect of art on the
brain. According to a study done at Beijing Normal University, the brains of artists and nonartists were compared. The brains of each of the cohorts were scanned every ten weeks after
participating in art, or for the non-artists, normal everyday life.
Though this study was not specific to those suffering from autism, as you can see in the image
below the group who participated in creating art showed more stimulation in the brain.
Particularly, the part of the brain most highly affected is that which is considered the area of
psychological resilience.
You might be wondering what this has to do with art therapy and children with Autism. We can
refer back to our knowledge of autism where it is social difficulties that were one of the primary
contributors to the frustration of children with autism. If we were to apply this knowledge to the
brain of a child with autism, the art therapy would actually increase their ability to focus and
attempt difficult tasks due to the medicinal stress resistance effect caused by the continuous art
therapy.

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DISCUSSION
Along with ,the short survey, I asked parents to describe what was the most prevalent difference
they noticed when their child began art therapy. 7 out of 8 parents mentioned fine motor skills as
one of the things they notice improve as their child participated in art therapy. This should come
to no surprise, as per an article by PBS, the benefits of art include motor skills, language,
development, decision making, and visual learning to name a few. However, it seems that all of
the parents were particularly surprised by the fact that the children were so taken in by the
project they sat still and were able to use fine motor skills they would not usually use in other
circumstances such as writing activities.
We have seen that though there have not been specific studies on art and autism, that studies of
art on the brain show incredible results. Art has proved to decrease stress, increase psychological
resilience, increase communication skills, increase fine motor skills, increase attention span, and
an overall, better mood and that is just to name a few affects we have looked at in this analytical
report.
Art therapy is new, but even from this simple report we can see that this should be a leading topic
in the scientific and educational community moving forward. We are in the 21st century and I
think we have lost the value for art that we once had. It used to be that humans had hobbies like
weaving or painting or music. In todays increasingly digital day and age however, we are
constantly spending our time in the online world. It should be a goal moving forward to recall
what enormous benefits time spent creating has on the brain and overall happiness. It is time we
bring this back to the forefront of the society.

CONCLUSION

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As for scientific research, specifically regarding the brain and autism, there was no actual
research to be found. There were extensive studies on those with schizophrenia and art but as it
turns out, art therapy is relatively new in the autism world. If I had to hypothesize why this is, I
would venture to say it is because children with autism have a difficult time with communication
and long periods of the same activity. However, from talking shortly with Ms. Pink and the
parents of the children I would say that their skill in focus is drawn out with art.
Going forward I see a need for more, scientific based research specific to those with autism. If I
had the tools, I would like to gather a large cohort and take MRIs of the childrens brains before,
after, and while participating in art therapy. What neurons are being activated and why is it that
this seems to really affect the children so much?

REFERENCES

1. "Autism and the Social Brain." AccessScience (n.d.): n. pag. Web.

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2. Bolwerk A, Mack-Andrick J, Lang FR, Drfler A, Maihfner C (2014) How Art Changes
Your Brain: Differential Effects of Visual Art Production and Cognitive Art Evaluation on
Functional Brain Connectivity. PLoS ONE 9(7): e101035.
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0101035
3. "What Is Autism?" Autism Speaks. N.p., n.d. Web. Dec. 2016.
4. Brain Res Cogn Brain Res. 2002 Apr;13(2):179-86.
Shadows of artistry: cortical synchrony during perception and imagery of visual art.
Bhattacharya J1, Petsche H.
5. Lynch, Grace Hwang. "The Importance of Art in Child Development." PBS. PBS, 16
May 2012. Web. Dec. 2016.