Zahir Bin Ahmad

Visual Thinking Process and Emotions Through Expressive Art

Background: Drawing has a therapeutic function in the lives of people with special needs.These people need additional support for communication and learning.Researchers believed that drawing is an effective way for these people to show their self-esteem, emotions, social competence, and other hidden personalities. Art therapy teaches knowledge of visual art (drawing and painting). It is also known as expressive art because it assists in dealing with some emotions that are difficult for verbal communication. Furthermore, art therapy is beneficial for fine motor skill development. The aim of this study was to explore the use of expressive art in a group of autistic people. Subjects and Method: This was a qualitative study. A series of art therapy workshop were conducted in University of Malaya in collaboration with Malaysian Rehabilitation Council, and Maybank Foundation. A number of 18 people aged 8-17 years old with autism from Malaysian Rehabilitation Council were invited to University of Malaya for the art therapy workshop. They consisted of Malays, Chinese, and Indians. These peoplehad some level of communication problems. Art therapy workshop was conducted twice a month for 6 month with each session lasted for 4 hours. Art template, art materials, and a list of activities were given to each participant. Before the session, the participants informed the researchers verbally the scope of art that they would be drawing. The researchers observed the thinking process and emotions of the participants through the art activities. Results: Some of the art work was not related to what they have mentioned earlier. We found that art demonstrated their thought process. Drawing was more accurate in visualizing their thinking process rather than verbal communication. Besides, we detected a range of emotions illustrated from their final art work. Some of the emotions were psychological distress, happiness, and sadness. Conclusion: Expressive artis useful for visualizing thinking process of autistic people. Keywords: art therapy, autistic, visual thinking, emotions, expressive art

ART THERAPY FOR PEOPLE WITH AUTISM

Background: Art therapy is a technique used in mental health profession in which patients with special needs use creative process facilitated by the art therapist to explore patients‘ interpersonal and art skills. Art therapy teaches knowledge of visual art (drawing and painting) and the creative process involved is not only beneficial for fine motor skills development but also assists in dealing with emotions. The objectives were to identify interpersonal skills, to develop art skills and to increase self-esteem through art therapy activities. Subjects and Method: This was a qualitative study. A series of art therapy workshop were conducted in University of Malaya in collaboration with Malaysian Rehabilitation Council, Maybank Foundation, and University of Malaya. A number of 38 participants from Malaysian Rehabilitation Council who were autistic were invited to University of Malaya for the art therapy workshop. Their age range was from 8 – 17 years old and consisted of Malays, Chinese and Indians. It was a participant observer study in which the researcher studied the life of a group by sharing in its activities. Art therapy workshop was conducted for 6 months duration twice a month and each session was for 4 hours. Art template, art materials and a list of activities were given to each participant. Throughout the sessions, the way participants communicate and interact with researcher were documented to identify interpersonal skills. The development of art skills was through the teaching of art using the different art template for each session. Results: From the outcome of the artwork, participants showed increased self-esteem as their art skills improved throughout the art sessions. Conclusion: Art therapy is able to develop interpersonal skills, art skills and increase self-esteem of people with autism. Keywords: Art therapy, autism, interpersonal skills, art skills, self-esteem