ATE has had the priviledge of beginning new partnerships with many local schools; such as Delcastle Technical High School, the Meadowood School. The college School, and The John G. Leach School along with the University of Delaware. These new partnerships had lead to many exciting art collaborations between all the various schools.
We began the program by implementing a foundation for learning about physical and intellectual disabilities. The program was designed so students at the high school would increase their knowledge, comfort and respect for individuals with disabilities. Sonal Cercena educated students from Delcastle about her disability, cerebal palsy, and gave them the opportunity to ask questions on how it is like to live with a disability. Sonal is working with the Delcastle Digital Media Department, under the direction of Gary Phillips, to create our new Art Therapy Express educational website. By creating a foundation for learning about disabilities we believe students will more fully engage in their class projects that support ATE while increasing their acceptance and understanding of disability. Best Buddies Delaware will provide additional education to forward friendships between students with disabilities and their non-disabled peers. Delaware Assistive Technology Initiative (DATI) will also provide assistive technology education and guidance to empower the Delcastle students in designing, then creating their own assistive technology that assists individuals with disabilities in creating art.
Utilizing creative solutions Delcastle students design and create adaptive technology to be used by students to increase the accessibility of the art medium. The Carpentry students will work side by side their disabled peers to build tools that facilitate their artistic self-expression. With the support of the Carpentry classroom instructor (Tom Gamber) students have designed easels that move and tables that rotate with the touch of a switch. These switches are activated by the student’s hand or elbow. Our new adapted technology allows ALL students with physical disabilities to access the art.
The Digital media students from Delcastle have also contributed to these new collaborations. Angel VanBennekom along with Jessica Tice, created a 3 minute disability awareness introduction DVD that explains the ATE program.
The Production and Imaging students will design, cut and assemble frames for our culminating art show/auction.
The Delcastle students of the Cooks and Bakers have extended their culinary skills in several collaborations. Their first contribution was in hosting the ATE "Kaliedoscope" art studio's Open House and catering the entire event. Next, during the Girl Scout Troop #786, "Friends with Disabilities" halloween party, the cooks and bakers sponsored various activities; such as, caramel apple dipping, marshmallow ghosts, and cupcake decorating. In December of 2009, ATE held their first "Inclusion" holiday party with the college school and the Meadowood school. The cooks and bakers volunteered stations for this event which allowed everyone to work together to create amazing gingerbread houses, very edible gingerbread men, awesome marshmallow snowmen and each had the opportunity to decorate a box top foe the Delaware state trooper for Delcastle's cookie distribution.
The immediate impact is on the students from Delcastle High School. These students are from a “regular” education high school and have little interfacing with students that have such profound disabilities.
Art Therapy Express programs create learning opportunities for local colleges. Under the direction of Dr. Cynthia Paris, University of Delaware students in the Student Association for the Education of Young Children and the Student Council for Exceptional Children provide volunteer support and internships. Students from the Meadowood school and the college school developed new friendships as they created a 15' x 30' back drop using wheelchair rollers and other adaptive equipment for the play "It's not mean to be green". They also designed re-usable bags to sell for their admission to the play.
Students with physical and intellectual disabilities from The Meadowood Program, The John G. Leach School and Delaware School for the Deaf have taken part in guided studio tours of the Delaware Art Museum galleries and outdoor sculpture garden with non-disabled student peers by their side. Our tours concluded with an art project created with their “new friends” in the Delaware Art Museum art studios. One hundred students also attended the Philadanco dance performance at The Grand Opera House. The above partnerships strengthen the ways in which art is presented to create multisensory, rich experiences for all student participants. Student volunteers are utilized to provide program support and peer friendships.
