Art Therapy with Blind Children Creating for Me

"Would you like me to look at it with my eyes or with my hands? asks art therapist Susan Aach, addressing a visually impaired girl who has just completed a richly textured drawing. Aach's question embodies one of the central ideas behind a pilot program conducted in 1972 at the Western Pennsylvania School for the Blind and documented in this video. In essence, the program's young participants learn to see with their hands-or perhaps it's more accurate to say that they teach us how to envision an object by manipulating texture, bulk, fluidity, and other tactile qualities. They also learn how to set up and organize their own projects, leading to greater autonomy, self-confidence, and mastery of their materials."@en
"What can children with multiple disabilities do when given art materials and offered freedom to explore them? Using extensive footage from a 1972 pilot program at the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children, this program demonstrates ways of using art to work with visually impaired youngsters in both small and large groups. The children, who also have developmental disabilities, are shown enjoying the texture and smell of clay, finger paints, and other materials as well as the rhythmic motion of drawing with colored markers. The video reveals how adults can help children grow in independence, mastery of materials, and the articulation of their own ideas through art therapy."