Welcoming Adults with Developmental Disabilities

into the Magic of the Museum, Safely and Respectfully

Fine Arts for Fine Folks

(A joint project of the Come Read with Me program for adults having developmental disabilities and North Texas SNAP – Special Needs Assistance Partners)

Basic information about people with developmental disabilities:

· You don’t have to have experience with the special needs population to work well with them. All you do have to do is honor them and truly believe they can learn.

· Learning and development may be out-of-sync with the “norm”, however, just because a person may not be ready to learn something at age five does not mean that the person will never be developmentally ready to learn the information.

· To be an effective teacher you must be willing to engage your lives with theirs. They often need the personal information you may give to have the ability to see how the information you present fits into their lives. Abstract information is very difficult for them to grasp, so your experiences give it concrete meaning/evidence.

· Having a consistent contact is good. Everyone feels more comfortable when greeted by a familiar place, especially when visiting a unfamiliar setting.

· Our folks are by nature, people pleasers. They like to be cooperative, so you will find them eager to participate and happy to obey rules. If there is a problem, most likely it will be as a result of confusion, or misunderstanding directions... or simply forgetting. Rules given meaning are more memorable.

· Experiences are those of an adult, but development of artistic skills maybe just beginning.

· Honor the disability; you wouldn’t ask a blind person to see. Recognize oddities as being signs of neurological differences, rather than someone just trying to be “weird”.

· Our fine folks are not afraid to be seen for who they are. Like their faith, their reaction to art and music is also direct, pure and often, simple. They don’t try to impress you with their knowledge so you will get honest answers, many times new insights.

· Try not to make assumptions about what our students may know or not know. Many are well- traveled so have had many opportunities to learn and experience life in other settings. They may surprise you at the breath of information they might have about a particular subject or artist. Because neurological development can cause lows and highs in abilities, it is likely you will meet a true savant in your classes. Other students may have an obsession about a particular type of art, music or artist. They may become fanatical about learning everything about them.

· Most of our folks enjoy history, geography and biographical information. Fiction, which requires imagination, is much more difficult for them because it requires the use of a different part of the brain. Our hope is that through the study of the arts, underdeveloped or stagnant areas of the brain will be stimulated, thus improving over-all brain function.

· By providing the opportunity to do various levels of artwork, you will be allowing cognitive function to be enhanced. We have learned that many adults can begin at the beginning again in reading, math, study of music and fill in holes along the way (areas they were not yet developmentally ready to understand at an earlier age. As that occurs, many times they can reach a higher level of function than they previously had.

· Many of us learn in layers. They may only be able to process one part of a piece at a time. (just the content, just the color, just the size or the place in which it is viewed)

· We all learn in a variety of ways (seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, smelling). Most of us incorporate more than one modality (or way of learning).

· Our people are usually very tactile learners. Many of us need to touch something to be able to understand it. Our folks often put their hands on the computer screen to understand what it says so they will naturally reach out to touch that which is of interest to them. They would love a post card or image of the large picture they are seeing… that way they could be touching it.

· In a museum, there are several ways to protect the artwork and still have it be something which is enjoyed and understood by our folks:

1. Be clear about what they may touch and what they may not touch.

2. Clearly indicate the distance to be kept from the piece.

3. Tell them why they can’t be touched (oils and other things on our hands that can’t be seen, etc.) Our students are quite respectful of caring for things of value. This explanation will help them remember the rules.

4. Give them something to hold. (It helps ground them as well as gives them activity for their hands – helps with tics, etc.)

5. Give a visual clue for instruction, i.e. a consistent sign for “no touching, please”, “hands down”, etc. The book, The Joy of Signing is a great reference book for American Sign Language.

• Assure them that learning about art is a process, something they will be learning throughout their lifetime. It isn’t like learning to add or subtract. It isn’t a skill, with a right or wrong answer, but rather an expression of life.

Tips from Fine Folks:

• Be welcoming. We recognize your genuine hospitality by your friendliness. By taking time to listen to us as well, you show your vigilance in caring and educating us.

• If you can’t understand what we are saying, it is okay for you to ask us to say it again. You may also ask one of our teachers or our classmates if they may help you understand the message. The other students are generally accustomed to the different speech patterns. We will all learn to better understand one another as time goes on.

• When conducting a class or giving a tour, please give us time to process your information. We may understand and learn much more than people often think we can, however, we usually need extra time to process the information you have given us. Please give us “think time”. We’re very adept at encouraging others to slow down and enjoy each moment. Impatience (whether it is ours or yours) usually either stops the process of thought or frightens us.

• Explain exactly what you need for us to do. A visual signal to accompany the verbal clue is quite helpful. A few simple words of American Sign Language could help us remember rules and be used with other visitors, too.

• Many of us have special perception problems so we need clearly define terms. Having a mark where you would like for us to stand, for instance, is very helpful.

• Tell us exactly what to do if we get lost or confused about we are. Tell us how to recognize, “safe people”.

• Showing by example is a good teaching method, it works well when giving instructions.

• Giving us the heads up so we may go over new information ahead of time is helpful. We may be uncomfortable asking questions during a tour or a formal class.

• You may notice unpredictable skills or knowledge. Teaching adults with developmental delays is sometimes similar to teaching children but sometimes it is quite different. Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it! We’re fun to teach!!!

• Repeating information we learned in an earlier tour or class is helpful. New information, just as new habits take time to establish and remember.

• Explain the reasons for having rules or why artwork was produced in a particular way. It will help us remember the facts.

Security staff:

• Approach them with a smile. It’s the universal sign of “Welcome, may I help you?”.

• Be specific about what you need for them to do (rather than “Step back”, you might say “Stand here, please.”)

• If they appear to be frightened or lost speak gently, do not touch them, unless they have touched you first. Some are sensorially defensive. (What feels like a gentle touch to you, may feel like a hit to them.) Neurologically they may not process touch as most people, do.

• They are fascinated by you and your authority. Because they have had special attention by police officers through Special Olympics, they will be expecting you to be their friend as well.

Docents and teachers:

• Identify what the plaques beside each picture are saying. Most like facts far and above fiction, so they appreciate knowing names, dates, style, period, etc. Relate eras to other events, i.e. wars, when their mothers were children, when another artist was also painting, etc.

• Use technical names, but tell them the meaning. They love expanding their vocabulary! They want to know what you know.

• Give the proper pronunciation and spelling for each artist. Invite them to say the name with you.

• Be willing to listen and wait for them to formulate their ideas. They are wonderful teachers. By allowing them to speak and express something, it allows them another way to integrate the information into their minds, and will also give you feedback to see if they understood what your presentation intended to convey.

• Engage them in the art. Tell your favorite thing about the picture, then ask theirs. Ask how they feel about a picture, then give them time to process your question. You may find you need to give them an example of an answer, or try restating the question.

• Music and art are great tools to use toward cognitive development as both are multi-sensory and appealing to people with developmental disabilities. Ideas and concepts learned through music and art tend to be more likely to be remembered. Certainly information tied in with music or a visualization can often be retrieved more easily by a person with a developmental disability.

• Having someone right beside the painting to read along with them, or give them the gist of the plaque would be good.

• If asking a question such as: “What is the name of the artist that painted ___? “

Answer: “His/her name was (give initial sound of name).” By providing the fist of the sentence or answer, it helps them get started with the right answer and also builds their confidence in using their new information. Sometimes they have trouble coming up with a "whole sentence" answer right at first, this approach acts as a "jump start" for some folks....

• Having several docents or volunteers in the group is a good idea, especially if trying to include our folks with the general public. Our folks will have lots of questions!

• Be prepared to adapt your explanation according to their questions.

• Remember the mission is to keep their brains engaged in a growing direction, but you have to start your study with information they already understand. Then you may move forward into new ideas. Linear growth is what we want to encourage.

• Giving analogies is a good way to answer individual questions. “This is like…”

• Don’t assume they can or can’t read something. Just read it aloud anyway, but point out the artist name and name of piece and other words they will find in the future “cubist”, etc.

• They are not afraid to be seen for who they are. Like their faith, their understanding of life is simple and pure. This genuineness also effects their feelings about art work and how they experience it. They don’t try to impress you with their knowledge so you will get honest answers, many times insights that you may not have known. My readers are among the best teachers I ever have had.

A museum is like a beautiful church. Both are built for the masses, both intending to provide a person the ability to learn more about themselves through connecting to another’s mind. Like magnificent churches with wonderful stained glass windows, museums may tell the stories of others through a means of visual cues. We may not all read written words well, but a picture or a sculpture may be enjoyed using the understandings we each bring into the setting. . When life is difficult, there should be some places which remind us of beauty and serenity. A museum may feed our souls or frighten us. Your ability to help us learn to navigate in your surroundings is a gift you may share.

Prepared by Martha Kate Downey

Director of the Come Read with Me Program for adults with disabilities.

817-283-4114

mk@mkdowney.com

www.mkdowney.com

To learn more about the program or to schedule an event, please contact:

Amy Beerwinkle

Director of the Fine Arts for Fine Folks program

abeerwinkle@yahoo.com

817-763-9365