Special Education Students Overcome Obstacles With Art Therapy

ROMANIA Art can express anything, from a simple vision that springs from the unconscious of our psyche,  turning into a matter of reflection or self-reflection, up to the most abstract ideas, generating emotions.  The process of drawing, painting or building is a complex one, in which the child brings together various elements of his experience to re-build a new whole, with a new meaning. LITHUANIAN AUTUMN FESTIVAL This traditional, but each time new, celebration invited the school community to enjoy the colours of autumn and its bounty. The symbol of this year's celebration - a giant hedgehog - invited the children to a harvest exhibition, riddle competitions, games, songs and dances, and a festival full of therapeutic elements.

  LITHUANIA STORIES MADE FROM PEBBLES During the meeting in Lithuania, the project participants were given a demonstration of one of the drama therapy methods - creating stories out of pebbles. During the activity, the guests added new drawings to the pebble collection, from which the pupils created stories. Unconventional tasks keep children interested and increase their motivation to learn. Working with pebbles not only expands students' vocabulary, but also develops their imagination and creativity. The cool and smooth surface of the stone is soothing, relaxing, helps to relieve the tension and exercise self-control.

Sand therapy is used by psychologists to help children talk about  their stories  and feelings while being able to play with sand. GREECE Sandplay therapy, a nice workshop for special needs children introduced to us at Klaipeda Litorina school(Lithuania) and we tried it to our students too!  (Vaso Bougioura, Greece) ESTONIA

  Interpretation of Murga dance in Estonia. Teachers teach line and folk dances to children in the evenings. Kids can study steps together and feel the joy .

             Occupational therapy involves movement, nature and art It is very important to involve children with visual impairments in household activities,there are some benefits. It engages all the senses, children can touch and feel the earth, dirt, seeds and flowers, they can see the vibrant colors and various sizes of plants, they can smell the scent of plants and flowers. Practicing gardening helps to improve cognitive and social skills. As students work as a team, they learn to pay attention, listen, and follow directions to get the best results. They learn to be more patiently responsible and dedicated. The long-term benefit is that they will be more mature in self-understanding and more responsible for interpersonal work. Gardening means connecting with nature, communicating with green plants, appreciating fresh air and sunlight. In nature they will find peace of mind, which can be a therapy after class. Plants produce positive emotions ...

  Culinary therapy, like art therapy, is a type of therapy known as behavioural activation. ROMANIA Sweet Cookies called  Martisor  - The Spring symbol.  During the Occupational Therapy activities, children with sensory deficiencies develop their personal autonomy, by exercising the sense of  kinesthetic - tactile ,  sensations and healthy eating rules. At the end, they learn how to evaluate their work, enjoying the results of their work, sharing it with others. PIZZA PAN  Even if they are online, the visually impaired children are happy to learn how to be more independent, how to prepare a healthy, tasty and fast food. The students can choose their favorite vegetables,  they learn how to prepare ,clean , cut , and place them on the dough. The children can  practice:  -tactile sense first shaping the dough, -the olfactory and gustatory sense through the preparation of vegetables, -orientation in space - arra...

The Fourth visit of the ERASMUS+ project “Special education students overcome obstacles with art therapy” took place in Italy in the town of Fraskati, a town of unbelievable beauty and rich history. The meeting between the Project partners was organized and hosted by the Maffeo Pantaleoni institute; the institute is responsible for turning pupils in to specialists of various fields: chefs, waiters, hotel staff, social workers, graphic designers, advertising agents, etc. There are over 700 pupils studying at the institute, 120 of which have special needs. Italy does not have separate schools for pupils with special needs; therefore, we were able to experience the inclusive education, therapeutic and other education methods, as well as the harmony of the old and contemporary school functions. The educational facility does not limit their selves solely to dance therapy. We were left fascinated by the work of the propagators of the photography therapy, the equipment in use, works created b...

  THE SOUNDS OF THE RAINBOW   Our children learn the musical sounds associated with the colors of the rainbow. For each sound it corresponds  a rainbow color, So that when they  hear a musical note, they can see the color emitted by the sound. Thus, the visually impaired children can feel the colors. TURKEY The BAST method of sound therapy combines carefully considered therapeutic sound techniques which have been shown to affect physiology, neurology and psychology with a form of reflective enquiry (a kind of questioning). This approach has been shown to be very effective at improving health and wellbeing.The therapeutic sound and  sound therapy  techniques are delivered using tonal and rhythmic instruments and voice. 

                          CLASSICAL AND UNCONVENTIONAL MUSIC THERAPY The third visit of the ERASMUS+ Project “Special education students overcome obstacles with art therapy” took place in Estonia at the Ämmuste SCHOOL (Ämmuste Kool). Educators of a small town school are making huge miracles in order to integrate and socialise their students within the society. Introduction of the music therapy in Estonia was not by chance, because this country is known around the world for their music festivals. Estonians were the first of the three Baltic States to organise the Baltic Song Festival. One of the biggest festival for choirs in the world. Therefore, there is no surprise that the visit of the project participants started on the stage next to the statue of the legendary conductor and composer of Gustav Ernesaks. The hosts of the visit organized workshops for making kuvytsi by use of recycled materials. Kuvytsi were made by impl...

Today, the Education Progress Assembly was held at the Presidential Palace of the Republic of Lithuania. We had the Honour of presenting our joint project to Lithuanian teachers and students.  

  LITHUANIA WHAT DOES YOUR SCRIBBLE REVEAL? Lithuanian educators presented the scribble method to the project participants. Scribbles are like the drawings that children often make. You can paint in the air, you can choose a wall instead of a canvas.   Young children like to draw on a large wallpaper, holding wax crayons between their fingers and toes. It is something similar to   making an angel in the snow. Drawing is also done with your eyes closed, without taking the pencil off the paper.   To prevent the paper from rolling, it needs to be stuck in several places with adhesive tape or special plasticine. When your drawing is finished, you are invited to look at your scribble and search for real objects in it. Highlight the objects that you find. And then colour them in and discuss what they mean to the artist. You can draw in different ways: with your main hand, with your non-main hand, by switching between main and non-main hands, or by drawing with both hands a...