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Peace through Art
an article by Parvathy Viswanath,Founder - AIKYA
"Let us appreciate that people are different and have different
abilities and each one has something to contribute to the community"
September 1989 saw the birth of AIKYA Recreation Centre in Chennai,
Tamil Nadu, India. It was set up to integrate Special Children with the
neuro typical Children. The centre first functioned once a week. With
in four months, in January 1990, a regular Day Care Centre (Special
School) was established. Parents of babies from 3 months age are
trained at AIKYA and programmes are charted out for them to carry out
on their own at home. Progress of these babies is evaluated and further
programming is given subsequently every two months.
AIKYA trains infants and toddlers through its Early
Intervention outreach programme. AIKYA trains students with ADHD,
Autism Down Syndrome and Learning Disabilities. Some of the programmes
are Early Intervention programme for children (0-3years),.Special
Education for children of 3 to 17 years,Vocational training and work
center for young Adults,Computer,Sports and Recreation center, Training
in music, dance and yoga, Counseling and training for parents and
teachers, Short term training courses for parents and dedicated
workers, Speech, occupation and physio therapy, sensory Integration and
play therapy, Music, dance, yoga and keyboard training, National open
School programme and Remedial education for mainstream students.
AIKYA is also involved very actively is conducting
seminars/workshops for dedicated workers/parents to equip the trainee
in effectively handling special children. Field placement of
postgraduate students of psychology of reputed colleges in chennai is
also a regular feature at AIKYA.
To create awareness among the public, AIKYA has produced a
number of video films on mental disabilities. They have been well
received at the national levels and international conferences. AIKYA
has also produced and marketed 'AIKYA Greeting Cards' and products made
by young adults with special needs.
AIKYA would like to network with like minded organisations.
The philosophy of AIKYA is explained in the accompanying discussion and
on the Internet at www.aikya.org.
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DISCUSSION
Question(s) related to this article:
Children with disabilities
How can they contribute to the community?
As a reader, you are invited to join in the discussion of this
article based on any of the above question(s): just click on the
question, read the previous comments and add a new reply. You may also
enter a new discussion topic on this article - see bottom of this page.
Thematic forum(s) in which this article is being discussed:
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND CULTURE OF PEACE
LATEST READER COMMENT:
The philosophy behind the AIKYA Recreation Centre is explained as follows by its founder, Parvathy Viswanath:
Children
with disabilities, because of their unique emotional and
psycho-educational needs, stimulate the creative talents of parents,
teachers and professionals who work with them.
Art as a
therapy is used as a medium to help the child express his innermost
thoughts and feelings. Usually the art therapist lets the child
express his creativeness uninhibitedly by making the environment as
non-threatening and safe as possible. The child is encouraged to let
his guard down and empower himself through self-exploration and
interpretation. There are no fixed standards or goals, nor are there
models, rules or standards. The emphasis is on the process and not on
the end product.The therapist acts as a facilitator and does not expect the child to adapt to a given environment. Instead the environment is brought to the child.
This way, the child's pictures tell us more about the child than words can. Any drawing, whether it is casual scribbles or painstakingly detailed drawing, given us insights that help with intervention. The child's feelings are revealed by their choice of colours.
It is up to the therapist to interpret the drawings and gather insights into the child's anxieties and fears. The difference between teaching art as a therapy and a skill is that, in the latter, the child is consciously made to follow certain techniques and perform towards an end result. The goal in teaching art as such is not to understand the child's feelings but to get him to master the skill.
The child is made to experience various textures, craft materials, papier mache, paints, clay and so on. Activities like weaving, clay modeling, drawing, finger painting and sculpting help the child become calmer and increase his attention span. Far many children, language is a barrier and art helps them transcend this barrier. The rhythmic patterns needed for some activities can soothe those with sensory difficulties.
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