School Arts Benefit All Students

Mainstreaming Special Needs Students

Children who attend our workshops bring with them a range of learning styles and capabilities. All children are “mainstreamed” into our residencies and workshops and each one thrives at his or her own level

Dr. Temple Grandin, is a professor of animal science at Colorado State University, a noted lecturer, best-selling author and an autism advocate. She was diagnosed with autism in 1950. She said, “My ability in art was always encouraged, and both my mother and my teachers encouraged me to draw and paint…”

Featured in our upcoming documentary, one of our Special Ed teachers, Mrs. Barbara Estrada recently told us how our programs have affected her students and their families. “The ideas, the philosophy, benefits the students in so many ways. Specifically my Journal drawing by a Secrets Of The Heart student.students who may have challenges in feeling empathy toward others, or difficulty socializing. Secrets of the Heart has really helped them uplearn these skills in a way where they’re not really aware of what they’re learning….It becomes a very natural way of learning about kindness and friendship outside of the classroom’s standard rules and expectations.”

She talked further about the effects of the parent component and interaction with families of her students. “The families specifically that I work with… where there may be a stage that the limitations that their children might have is what they may focus on. This helps them see beyond the limitations. That within their limits there’s so much more to them.”