Art therapy for children with disabilities: four effective techniques

Theoretical foundations of socialization of children with disabilities

Most often, socialization for a child with disabilities is much more difficult than for ordinary children.
A specific difference between the new generation of Federal State Educational Standards is that the result of the education of a child with disabilities is considered in the ratio of personal, meta-subject and subject-related educational results. Personal results include mastering the competencies necessary to solve practice-oriented problems and ensuring the formation of social relationships in various environments, as well as the formation of motivation for learning and cognition.

Meta-subject results (learning actions) include mastered universal learning actions (cognitive, regulatory and communicative), which form the basis of the ability to learn, ensure the mastery of interdisciplinary knowledge, the acquisition of cognitive experience and the implementation of various types of activities.

Subject results are associated with mastery of the content of each subject area, are characterized by the acquired experience of activity specific to the subject area to obtain new knowledge, and also evaluate achievements in the acquisition of knowledge and skills and the possibility of their application in practical activities and life.

The result of mastering the basic educational program by children with disabilities is “the introduction of the child into culture.” In this case, the child’s socialization will depend on the so-called “life competencies” formed during the learning process.

Competencies are considered as potential, psychological new formations: knowledge, ideas, programs (algorithms) of action, systems of values ​​and relationships, which are then revealed in competencies as personal characteristics. Mastering competencies means becoming a full-fledged member of society, being able to take responsibility for one’s own actions and showing interest in learning.

Competencies have a complex composition:

cognitive - knowledge that children acquire; activity - skills and abilities that a child can put into practice; reflective - transformation of new knowledge into skills

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HIA I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII types and their interpretation

Decoding categories of disabilities in education

The pedagogical decoding of types of disabilities is set out in the Federal Law on Education of the Russian Federation.
He describes the specifics of the categories of “special” schoolchildren and the special conditions for receiving education for each of them. Developmental features are diagnosed by PMC. These include vision, speech, and musculoskeletal disorders, mental retardation (MDD), intellectual development disorders, behavioral and communication disorders, including ASD and ADHD, and complex developmental disorders. If confirmed, the PMPK recommends specific special conditions for the child’s education.

Decoding the categories of disabilities in medicine

A medical decoding of the categories of disabilities is given in the “International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health of Children and Adolescents. ICF-CY" of the World Health Organization. She defines disorders as problems in the development of physiological and (or) psychological functions of the body (mental, sensory, speech) and its structures (nervous, digestive, endocrine, cardiovascular, immune, respiratory systems), their significant deviations and loss. Forms of violations also include delays and delays in the development of children and adolescents.

The ICF-CY defines 5 levels of violations in percentage terms (from 0-4% - with no or minor violations, to 96-100% - with absolute ones) and 4 levels of delays, taking into account that delays may disappear. Impairments and delays are recorded by codes assigned to body functions and structures, learning and application abilities, social relationships and environmental influences. The classification is published on the WHO website.

The summary table “Classification of children with disabilities” on the site rosuchebnik.ru provides a more detailed description of the features of all categories of disabilities.

OVZ according to the Federal State Educational Standard

Types of disabilities according to the Federal State Educational Standard are determined in accordance with the options for adapted basic educational programs (AOEP) for “special” students.

• deaf, 4 options AOOP NOO
• hearing impaired, 3 options
• blind, 4 options
• visually impaired, 3 options
• with musculoskeletal disorders (LODA), 4 options
• with mental retardation (MDD), 3 options
• with severe speech impairment (SSD), 3 options
• with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), 4 options
• with mental retardation (intellectual impairment), 2 options(3)

The Federal State Educational Standard recommends educating such children in inclusive schools and Centers for psychological, pedagogical, medical and social assistance (PPMS). PPMS centers are most often organized on the basis of correctional schools and are gradually replacing them. At the same time, correctional schools of 8 types continue to fulfill their mission. Let's get acquainted with the categories of their students.(2)

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I category. Hearing-deaf, deaf children without speech

Children with profound, persistent bilateral hearing loss: those who lost their hearing early, those who were born with hearing impairments, or those who lost their hearing before speech development. They do not perceive speech and cannot master it on their own. They need special training to talk. Such children perceive the world through sight and touch. Their thought processes are based not on speech, but on images and actions. Therefore, they have difficulty identifying causes and effects, properties and relationships. Their attention and memory are characterized by instability and low capacity due to fatigue.

In teaching speech, special acoustic and sign language equipment plays a major role. And although speech remains undeveloped, dominated by words denoting objects and very few words describing qualities and movement, they can still speak. Even if he makes mistakes in sounds, replacing words with similar sounds.

Children communicate with each other using gestures and try to transfer such communication into the world of hearing, imitating various objects and their signs with gestures and facial expressions. Sometimes this is perceived as aggression, and an equally aggressive response occurs. This is one of the reasons why children with deafness have low self-esteem.

II category. Hearing impaired children

Children with partial hearing loss, hearing loss and varying degrees of speech underdevelopment. Children who have retained residual hearing and independent speech. They continue to accumulate vocabulary.

The development of their mental and cognitive processes depends on how early they lost their hearing. The retained low level of auditory perception creates the illusion that one can rely on it, but the information received is greatly distorted.

The main task in teaching them is to develop visual perception and teach them to concentrate on the lips of the speaker, while simultaneously teaching them to read. As a result, the stability of attention will increase and visual memory will begin to develop.

Unlike deaf children, hard of hearing children have high and even inflated self-esteem, since any slightest achievement is perceived by the adults around them as an incredible success.

III and IV categories. Visual impairment (considered together)

Blind children, including those born blind and blind before the age of 3, visually impaired and late blind, with strabismus and amblyopia.

Blind children perceive the world around them exclusively by hearing and touch, and have increased vibration sensitivity. Retaining residual vision through vague and distorted images. This way of cognition impoverishes thought processes and interferes with their integrity. Children have difficulty determining the distance and location of not only objects, but also their own. As a result, they do not have clear, confident judgments.

Training for this category is based on creating a polysensory experience: the missing analyzer is replaced by the activation of others. First of all, through speech. But it must be taken into account that visually impaired children acquire speech skills later than their healthy peers, their vocabulary is poor and spoken words do not always coincide with real images. Any verbal description for them requires tactile exploration.

Studying develops their unstable attention, which does not have a target orientation. Its volume, concentration and arbitrariness increase. The same is with memory, primarily verbal-logical.

Blind and visually impaired children can be conflict-prone, unrestrained, and have no goals. But communication, joint educational and work activities with visionary peers develop their independence and competitiveness.

V category. Severe speech pathology

Children are mute, with phonetic-phonemic underdevelopment of speech and impaired pronunciation of individual sounds: alalia, aphasia, dysarthria, rhinolalia. With alalia, normal hearing and intelligence are preserved, but due to organic lesions of the speech areas of the brain, speech development is disrupted. Agrammatisms appear, difficulties in reading and writing appear, and vocabulary decreases.

Aphasia is characterized by the destruction of already formed speech when the motor or speech center of the brain is affected. In the first case, speech is completely absent or is preserved in the form of separate phrases and words with pronunciation defects. In the second, the differentiated perception of sounds and words is disrupted. The child ceases to understand what is said to him, but normally perceives non-speech sounds.

Dysarthria and rhinolalia are problems with pronunciation. With dysarthria - due to insufficient development of the speech apparatus, with rhinolalia - due to anatomical defects in the structure of the organs of articulation. As a result, all mental processes suffer, with the exception of logical, semantic and visual memory.

Learning takes place through the development of motor skills with the help of gymnastics, rhythm, and music. As a result, stable cognitive interest and adequate self-esteem are restored.

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Adapted program for children with disabilities

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Inclusive education for autistic children

VI category. Musculoskeletal disorders

Children with cerebral palsy, congenital and acquired deformities of the upper and lower extremities, flaccid paralysis of the upper and lower extremities, paresis and paresis of the lower and upper extremities. Lack of movement prevents them from perceiving reality through vision and kinesthetics. They have more developed verbal thinking compared to visual and effective thinking. The system of forming concepts and abstractions lags behind.

There are often problems with hearing, leading to a decrease in auditory memory and auditory attention. There are alalia and dasathria.

It is useful for such children to combine education with feasible work activity. It teaches them to switch attention, reduces lethargy, and gives them a sense of importance.

VII category. Children with mental retardation

Children with the possibility of intellectual development, but a slow pace of mental processes, high exhaustion, difficulty in assimilating knowledge: mental underdevelopment, mental retardation, damaged mental development, deficient development, distorted development (RAD, ADHD)

Common problems are slow, inconsistent perception, and delayed verbal and logical thinking. It is difficult for them to analyze and generalize. As a result, speech suffers, lacking clarity and logic.

Children with mental retardation are characterized by involuntary impulsive behavior and infantilism combined with a low level of cognitive processes, including memory and attention. The causes of infantilism lie in problems of the endocrine and nervous systems, and a delayed pace of mental development.

When training, it is necessary to take into account their physiologically determined fatigue, frequent changes in activity and passivity. If they are given interesting tasks that do not require mental strain, and if an atmosphere of calm and goodwill is created, they show results in solving intellectual problems that are close to the norm.

VIII category. Deviation of intellectual development.

Children with profound underdevelopment of cognitive processes. Most often in the form of oligophrenia (congenital mental defect syndrome) of 3 types. Only children with retardation and mild correctable mental retardation are capable of learning.

Although their perception is distorted, difficult to reconstruct and does not have sufficient meaning, and the level of thinking is very low, they master speech, albeit with grammatical and phonetic errors. Children learn to write, read, and count. But the main form of work with them is labor training and, subsequently, assistance in finding employment.

Regardless of the category of disabilities to which the child belongs, Russian inclusive schools, primary medical education, and correctional schools create all the conditions for their “special” students “to receive, without discrimination, quality education, for the correction of developmental disorders and social adaptation”
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Art therapy in working with children with disabilities

Art therapy (from the English art - “art” + therapy) is a direction in psychotherapy and psychological correction, based on the use of art and creativity for therapy.
The art therapy method in correctional work allows you to get positive results:

1. Provides an effective emotional response, gives it (even in the case of aggressive manifestation) socially acceptable, permissible forms.
2. Facilitates the communication process for children with disabilities who are withdrawn, shy or poorly oriented towards communication.
3. Provides the opportunity for non-verbal contact (mediated by the product of art therapy), helps to overcome communication barriers and psychological defenses.
4. Creates favorable conditions for the development of arbitrariness and the ability to self-regulate.
5. It has an additional impact on the child’s awareness of his feelings, experiences and emotional states, and creates the prerequisites for the regulation of emotional states and reactions.
6. Significantly increases personal value, promotes the formation of a positive “I-concept” and increased self-confidence through social recognition of the value of the product created by a child with disabilities.

The goal of art therapy is not to create an object of art, but to work with one’s own self, with the inner world of a person.
She focuses not on the result, but on the process. That's why you don't have to have creative skills to go to art therapy or become an educational psychologist who practices this technique in his work. The art therapist must be empathic - it is extremely important for him to feel the state of the child who comes to the appointment. The specialist must be prepared not to use directive methods of behavior. It is important to be nearby and observe, to carefully follow the child, without imposing your vision of the world, without driving him into a framework.

What problems can be treated with art therapy?

1. Increased self-esteem and self-confidence.
2. Reduced stress levels.
3. Overcoming depression and anxiety disorders.
4. Overcoming age-related crises.
5. Resolving family conflicts.
6. Improving communication skills.
7. Self-knowledge (processes that help you better understand your life goals and desires).
8. Processing psychological trauma.
9. Overcoming phobias.

Principles of interpretation in art therapy

1. The principle of detail. We pay attention to every detail in the art therapy process: color combinations, lines, details.
2. Understanding the context. Analysis of internal and external factors: the degree of psychological protection, the child’s worldview.
3. The importance of phenomenological research. Attention is directed to bodily sensations - what a person experiences during art therapy.
4. Recognition of polysemy (content polyvalence) of images - we explore the work that happens during an art therapy session. Feelings, sensations, emotions, memories that arise in a child.
5. Revealing problematic psychological material with simultaneous attention to the author’s internal resources is important to show a person what potential he has.

“In art therapy there is no concept of “right” and “wrong”. It's not important to be able to draw here. The only important thing is how a person experiences his emotions during a session, how he conveys them in his work.”

Stages of art therapy

1. Preparatory stage. If you are working with a child with disabilities, it is important to meet with the parents and discuss the methods you will use.
2. The main stage is working with the child.
3. Formation of a system of psychotherapeutic relationships and the beginning of the child’s visual activity.
4. Strengthening and development of psychotherapeutic relationships and the most productive visual activity. What paints, pencils, plasticine or other materials does the child want to use? Give him a choice.
5. The final stage (termination).

“Art therapy is not the same as creativity. When we draw, we relax, relieve emotional stress, but art therapy is a loop into reality: the product of a child’s creativity must be put into words. You discuss every detail of his work, examine and study it with your child.”

Methods of art therapeutic process

1. Isotherapy - drawing with paints, pencils, finger paints.
2. Color therapy (chromotherapy) is a direction that uses the influence of colors.
3. Bibliotherapy (fairytale therapy) - reading fairy tales, retelling them, composing your own stories in which the main character is the child himself.
4. Sand therapy.
5. Water therapy.
6. Game therapy.
7. Drama therapy is the act out of negative situations that may appear in children’s lives through dramatization.
8. Dance movement therapy.
9. Puppet therapy - the use of theater and finger puppets.
10. Phototherapy is a relatively new field, dating back to the 1970s. It evokes a whole range of emotions, especially in children with disabilities.
11. MAC therapy - psychotherapeutic sessions using metaphorical cards.

Summary of educational activities for children with disabilities. Share your kindness

Summary of the educational activity “Share your kindness” for preschool children with disabilities
Goal: to develop in children the skill of establishing good, friendly relationships with each other and the ability to play friendly with peers, to cultivate a culture of behavior, positive relationships between children. Objectives: Educational: • create a joyful and emotional mood in children; • cultivate a sense of goodwill, the need for friendly relationships; • contribute to the unity of the children's team. Educational: • expand ideas about kindness and friendship; • develop the ability to make peace after a quarrel; • activate your vocabulary: ask for forgiveness, make peace. Developmental: • develop cognitive activity; • expand and activate the vocabulary on the topic. Equipment: phonograms of the songs “On the Road of Goodness”, “What is Kindness”, a safe candle, a tree of Kindness and Friendship, pictures depicting good and bad deeds, a kindness screen, a “Sun” application (for each child), a “Kindness” clearing, a magic “Mirilka” chest, paper hearts, tablets with speech material. Progress of the lesson: Children enter the group to the music “Walk the path of goodness.” Educator: Let's say hello. You know that it is a good sign to give greetings to everyone in the morning. Let's do that too. To the red sun... Children: Hello! Educator: Clear sky... Children: Hello! Educator: Adults and children... Children: Hello to you from the bottom of my heart! Educator: You need to start every new day in a good mood. And so that the mood is good and cheerful, let's stand in a circle and pass on to each other that spark of warmth and love that lives in our hearts. Feel how kindness passes through our hands, from palm to palm. (We take a lit (safe) candle in our hands and pass it to each other.) Look how the spark was lit from our hearts. Let her accompany you throughout the lesson. Let's smile and wish each other good morning and a joyful mood. Children: Good morning. Educator: Children, please sit down on the chairs. Look what we've grown? Children: Tree. Educator: But for some reason the tree has no flowers. Do you want it to bloom? Children: Yes. Educator: To do this you need to be kind and do good deeds. Game-exercise “Choose good deeds” (children choose pictures and divide them into good and bad deeds). Educator: What is the boy doing? Children: Breaks the tower. The little one is crying. Educator: Is he doing well or badly? Children: Not good. Educator: What happened to grandma? Children: Fell. The boy lifts his grandmother. Educator: Is he doing well or badly? Children: Okay. Etc. Educator: What great fellows you are, now you know what is good and what is bad. And a flower blossomed on our tree (D). Game "Put the puzzle together." Educator: Children, and now each of you will collect cards with good and bad deeds. Place cards with good deeds on the right, cards with bad deeds on the left. Well done! So the second flower bloomed (O). "Screen of Kindness" Educator: We have our good deeds on the screen, let's look at them (helps the baby, washes the dishes, wipes the flowers, picks up the trash). Children, are you good or evil? Come to the kindness screen and show what you are like? Children: (children come to the screen and select the desired emoticon). Educator: Now we know that you are all kind and another flower has bloomed on the tree (B). "Let's give our guests a smile." Educator: Let's give our guests a little warmth and smiles so that everyone is in a good mood. What is this? (Sun). We'll put on a smile. (each child has a picture of the sun without a face; children glue their eyes, nose and mouth to adhesive tape). Educator: Everyone turned out to be a good sun, show the guests how the sun smiles. Now the fourth flower has bloomed (P). “Meadow of Kindness” The song “Kindness” is playing (Spanish gr. “Barbariki”) Educator: And now I invite you to the clearing of kindness, this is a magical clearing, when you stand on it, you become kinder, more affectionate. Children call each other affectionate names. Educator: Another flower has bloomed. (ABOUT). What a good mood we were all in. Let's take a little rest. A physical education moment about friendship accompanied by a song about Funtik. Educator: Another flower has bloomed (T). Guys, look, our tree is coming to life, how many flowers have already bloomed. Game "Mirilki". Educator: So that there are even more flowers on the tree, let's not quarrel and offend each other. Sometimes, kindness falls asleep and it happens that the kids quarrel a little. What then should we do? How to awaken kindness? Children: We need to put up. Educator: How can you make peace? Children: Hug each other, ask for forgiveness. Educator: Or you can play “Mirilki”. This is a magic box, it has holes for our palms, extend them to each other and say magic words. Children: Make up, make up, don't fight anymore. Educator: Kindness will awaken and in our group there will again be peace and friendship between all the children. The last flower has bloomed (A). Educator: The flowers made a word, let's read it. Children: KINDNESS. Educator: Today we talked to you about kindness. Let's look again at good deeds and deeds. (children watch a video clip for the song “Kindness”). Dear adults, we want to give you a piece of our warmth and kindness, extend your palms to us. Children give away hearts they made with their own hands. Educator: See you again!

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Summary of a game (integrated) lesson on environmental education for the 2nd junior group. A summary of the GCD in the junior group on traffic rules. A synopsis of the GCD on social and communicative development for the 2nd junior group. A synopsis of the GCD for physical education in the second junior group.

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Art therapy techniques

Mandala technique

Goal: decoding (diagnosis) and correction of the child’s emotional state.
Materials: A4 or A3 sheets, drawing tools, blanks in the form of a circle, laptop or PC. The technique is very informative and resourceful. This is a gentle way to diagnose a child’s condition. A unique self-portrait of an individual that will tell you about your relationship to yourself, to the world and to others.

Rules for working with children

1. Give your child the right to choose from a set of blanks the mandala that is closest to his mood.
2. Invite your child to independently choose materials for work and colors.
3. Practice using background music—quiet, meditative music in the background.
4. Do not interfere with your child's work without his consent. Remember: we follow the child, stand a little to the side and watch him. We can conduct a dialogue with him, ask: what is happening now? what do you feel?
5. Do not make evaluative comments about the work. What the child did on his own is the information that will help you see his condition and problems.

Problems that can be solved using the Mandala technique

1. Enrichment of the emotional and figurative sphere of children.
2. Reducing anxiety, overcoming fear and uncertainty, increasing self-esteem.
3. Development of artistic thinking, fantasy and imagination.
4. Mastering visual skills.
5. Development of artistic and creative activity.

Age characteristics

• 1–2 years. Drawing in an empty circle (at this age color and shape are important). Together with mom, we draw with safe finger paints (three primary colors: red, yellow, blue).
• 3–5 years. Coloring ready-made mandalas of the child's choice and drawing your own. You will need a set of pencils (at least 12 colors), gouache, colored pastels, sanguine and charcoal, and work with colored sand.
• 6–7 years old. Coloring ready-made mandalas of the child's choice and drawing your own. You can already use more complex watercolor paints in your work.
• Later, children, teenagers and adults enjoy drawing with colored pens, ink, and a simple pencil.

Progress of the lesson

“Look at the magic circle! You can color it the way you like."

Meditative music plays and the child works in a calm environment. Children, as a rule, color the mandala from the center to the periphery, this is a way of relaxation (adults and teenagers should ideally color the mandala from the periphery to the center). There are no clear rules here; working with a mandala is creativity and intuition. At the end of the work, ask your child to come up with a name for his magic circle, which will be a code for understanding the image. If desired, you can color the background and cut out the resulting image.

“Now spin the magic circle, look at it from afar, admire it. Find him a place in the room."

During the lesson, ask your child if he likes what he drew.
If yes, then this is a resource state in which the child is comfortable to stay. This means that he draws inspiration and new positive emotions from his work, he likes that this opportunity has arisen - to create. And if the baby is not satisfied with his creation, the circle can be changed, cut or torn. At the end, don't forget to thank your child for a good job. If you wish, you can write a story for the resulting picture. Which feeling is greater, which is less? Why don't you like your drawing?

“Observe all the changes in the child, record the information in a notebook. This data will help you understand what psycho-correction program to use with your child in the future.”

Color Meanings

Red
is a symbol of vital energy, strength, self-confidence (if there is too much of it, then self-confidence or even aggressiveness),
Orange
indicates ambition, high self-esteem, as well as difficulties in communication.
Yellow
is a sunny color, often used in mandalas by people of art, it symbolizes creativity, adds optimism, joy, promotes the development of creative potential, and successful new beginnings.
Green
is a symbol of renewal and may indicate the strength of parental feelings, ability and willingness to raise children (if there are too many, overprotection).
Blue
- fortitude, calmness, endurance, prudence, developed intuition.
Blue
is a symbol of friendliness, compassion, and responsiveness.
Purple
- in the mandala indicates that a person strives for harmony; this shade inspires and purifies.
However, if the center of the mandala is colored purple, this may indicate a strong connection (if not complete dependence) of the author with his mother. Brown
is the color of the earth, it is rootedness, practicality, the desire for stability and security.
Black
is the color of mystery, shadow, darkness.
Its presence in a mandala drawing may indicate a depressive state, emptiness, loss of support and faith in life. White
is a protective color, a symbol of purity and spirituality, but if there is too much of it, this may indicate a lack of energy in the author of such a mandala.

Diagnostic points

1. How does the child complete the task (immediately or after thinking about it)?
2. What elements does it use and in what quantities?
3. From what part of the circle does one begin to build a mandala?
4. How symmetrical is the pattern?
5. What colors does he use?
6. Does he make adjustments to his work (what, how often)?
7. How much does it fill the inner space of the circle?
8. How does the central part of the mandala relate to the outer circle?
9. How does the job end?

Interpretation

1. General composition and color scheme.
2. The presence of a center and boundaries; color, shape, structure, sequence of the image.
3. Asymmetry.
4. Signs of the stages of the “Great Mandala Circle”.
5. Analysis of the symbols used.

Phototherapy technique

Goal and tasks:

• develops creative abilities;
• broadens the mind;
• helps to notice what is happening around;
• teaches you to live “here and now”;
• destroys stereotyped thinking;
• increases self-confidence;
• allows you to understand your inner world;
• eliminates anxious thoughts, fears, and depression;
• relieves nervous tension;
• helps to distract yourself;
• improves relationships with loved ones.

Materials: camera, smartphone, flash card, laptop or PC.

“With phototherapy, we allow the child to create their own product, work with complex technology and take greater responsibility for their actions.”

Main goals

1. Enrichment of the emotional and figurative sphere of children.
2. Reducing anxiety, overcoming fear and uncertainty, increasing self-esteem.
3. Development of artistic thinking, fantasy and imagination.
4. Mastering visual skills.
5. Development of artistic and creative activity.

You can work with this method with children of different ages, starting from three years old.

Main functions

1. Updating
   - associated with the ability of photography to revive events from the past and work through the emotions of experiencing those events with an educational psychologist.
2. Stimulating
   - when creating and viewing images, different sensory systems are activated: vision, tactile sensitivity, kinesthetics, etc.
3. Deconstructing
   - freeing a person from false attitudes and meanings.
4. Meaning-forming
   - helps a person see the meaning of his actions and experiences.
5. Reframing
   is creating photo collages to change the meaning of what happened.
6. Protection
   - building a distance from traumatic events or unpleasant situations that happened in the past.
7. Holding
   - photography can keep feelings from unconsciously breaking into reality, and at the same time they can be calmly studied.
8. Expressive-cathartic
   - repeated, deeper experience of the child’s feelings.

Main groups of phototherapy methods

• Group A.
  Development of memory, attention, thinking, fine motor skills.
• Group B.
  General topics. Contains techniques that help the awareness of feelings and emotions, and also promotes their outburst and expression. This includes techniques for self-discovery, for the disclosure of internal resources, improving the ability to self-control, etc.
• Group B.
  Self-perception. It contains techniques that help you explore your own “I” and your inner world.
• Group D
  - contains techniques and exercises for pair work.
• Group D
  - includes techniques for collaboration between participants, allowing them to solve a number of problems in much the same way as in group D.
• Group E
  is a set of techniques combined with each other from the previous paragraphs.

Exercises Using Photos

Goal: reconstruction of the problem field, formation of existential skills, self-expression, enrichment of life experience, activation of all sensory systems of the child, overcoming sensory deprivation, formation of motivation for self-development and self-realization.
Approximate topics of the photo marathon: “My anxieties and fears”, “Spring... Awakening”, “A thousand and one paths to the future”, “Meanings and values”, “Songs of the soul”, “Confrontation”, “Hell and heaven on earth”, “ My reflections”, “Parade of fantasies”, “I am in the world and the world is in me”, “Thirst for growth”, “Dreams”, “In search of God”, “Light and shadow”, “People and masks”, etc.

Work format:

• individual;
• group.

Progress:

1. The child (or group) is asked to take pictures on a given topic throughout the week. This could be a scene staged by a child or a group, or a spontaneous photograph of an episode from life or an event that corresponds to the theme. If necessary, the territorial border of the photo trip is specified.
2. A title is given to the finished photographs. Each photograph is reviewed and discussed. When working in a group, teenagers break into pairs and exchange pictures. The task of everyone in a couple is to understand what their partner wanted to convey in the photograph. At the end of each marathon, a thematic exhibition is held.

“Mobile photo report” technique

Goal: re-experiencing an event in order to react to it, obtain an emotionally positive resource, search for new meanings, relieve psycho-emotional stress associated with events of the past or present, build a life perspective.
Sample photo marathon topics: “One day in the life of my family”, “First day of vacation”, “One day in my life”, “One day in the life of my class”, “Change at school”, “Hurray, disco!” , “Exam”, etc.

“The technique will help you see relationships in the family, see what kind of emotional space surrounds the child. The technique can be used both for diagnosis and for correction of the condition of children.”

Work format:

• individual;
• group.

Progress:

1. The teenager is asked to take a series of photographs. This should be a photo chronicle of the event specified by the topic.
2. The printed photographs are arranged on a piece of Whatman paper according to the chronology of the event. Each photo must have its own frame and name. Then the author presents his photo report.
3. When working in a group, photo reports can be viewed and discussed.

Technique "Art and Photo"

Goal: social identification, development of variability of thinking, obtaining an emotionally positive resource, searching for new meanings, relieving psycho-emotional stress associated with rejection of certain traits of one’s personality and the personalities of parents, developing interest in oneself, increasing self-esteem, correcting parent-child relationships.
Necessary materials: paper or cardboard, oval-shaped cardboard blanks, scissors, paints, brushes, a glass of water, glue, pencils, markers, crayons, colored paper, foil.

Work format:

• individual (child and parent);
• group.

Progress:

1. The child is asked to draw a favorite animal or fairy-tale character on a piece of A3 paper. Moreover, initially he needs to give out blanks made of cardboard in the shape of ovals. These were supposed to be the “faces” of the heroes; they were not painted. While drawing, children take turns pronouncing those qualities of the selected animals or characters that they like.
2. Then you need to cut out ovals and get blanks for photographs. Then you can insert faces into the cut out ovals and take pictures.
3. Exchange drawings with parents and take photographs again. Discuss the photographs.

“Parents will be able to take a fresh look at their child - they will see a personality capable of creativity, self-fulfillment, feeling, sensing and expressing their emotions. And children, in turn, will discover childlike spontaneity in their parents.”

MAC therapy

Metaphorical association cards (MAC) are a special type of art therapy based on the principles of projective techniques.
What is important is not the meaning initially put into the picture by the psychotherapist, but the emotional response of each client to the picture he comes across. Projection is when we assign to something outside the properties of what is inside us. This is how cards allow you to see the inner world of a child.

Principles of working with MAC

1. A psychologist or psychotherapist never argues with what is happening to the child. And, thus, returns to the child what he has very little - power, confidence. Working with cards, he looks, he sees something, he makes some associations - the child acts as an expert.
2. Maps are not a means for making a diagnosis and drawing up a conclusion, but a source of information about a person.
3. There are no right or wrong cards, no right or wrong choices. You shouldn't draw straightforward conclusions from your clients' choices, and you certainly shouldn't evaluate them.
4. There is no clearly defined sequence of actions, questions that must be asked in a certain order. Moreover, there is no strict correlation of this or that type of cards (material) with this or that issue.

Article:

Exercise 1. “Rolling the Ball” A great way to give children a sense of cohesion and belonging to a group is to gather them in a circle. If you add a song or rhyme, the feeling of togetherness increases. Even something as simple as rolling a ball from one child to another appeals to such an important aspect of relationships as the ability to give and take, which is necessary for comfortable communication with other people. Progress of the exercise. 1. Form a circle with the children. Ask them to carefully take each other’s hands and chant with you: Hands together, let’s stand in a circle (join hands). Hands together, let's stand in a circle. We are all together in this circle (hands joined). We are all in this circle together. In our group, in our group, We all hold hands. 2. Form a tighter circle and sit down. Take out the ball and tell the children that you will slowly roll it to each other. When the ball falls into the hands of one of the children, everyone must say his name in unison. That child then rolls the ball to another until all children's names have been called. After the names of all the children have already been named, you can repeat everything from the beginning. Let's complicate the task. Create a melody for your rhyme and try singing it. If you are playing with older children, the child who receives the ball can say the name of the child they received the ball from. You can also name the names or describe the clothes of one of the children to whom the ball rolls. If desired, this rhyme can be used any time you gather children in a circle. Exercise 2. “Magnet” Ask to gently and carefully touch the “magnet”, the role of which is played by one of the children. For those who are uncomfortable with the physical contact that this activity involves, try to come up with another activity that is similar in meaning. Progress of the exercise. 1. Ask the children to stand in a circle and hold hands. When the music starts playing, the children begin to dance in a circle. When the music stops, you call the name of one of the children. Everyone immediately opens their arms, runs up to this child and carefully touches him (he is a “magnet”). Remind children to touch gently and gently. 2. As soon as the last child touches the “magnet”, turn on the music again. Everyone again stands in a circle; they join hands and everything repeats again. 3. Continue this game until each child has become a magnet. Making the task more difficult Instead of touching the “magnet,” the rest of the children can surround the child, holding hands and singing: Hello, Lera, hello, Lera. How are you? How are you? Hello Lera, hello Lera. Will you sing a song with us? Immediately after this, turn the music back on and continue playing. Exercise 3. “Paper Man.” If there are more than 10 children in your group, make several “paper people” and place them nearby. Progress of the exercise. 1. Gather the children in a circle and say that you would like to give them the opportunity to work together and make a very unusual paper person. This person's body will consist of drawings made by all members of the class. Each child chooses which body part they would like to be. One child could be the left arm, another the right leg, another the head, etc. 2. Have each child lie down on the wrapping paper so you can trace their chosen body part. Ask the children to cut out their names from paper and glue them to the corresponding body parts. Children can color their body part with paints or crayons. Then the body parts should be fastened using tape or a stapler. The finished “Paper Man” is hung on the wall for everyone to see. 3. Take the opportunity to discuss a number of physical differences in children in your class: hand size, foot size, length of arms, legs, etc. Let's complicate the task Glue the body parts onto pieces of foam plastic, and then fasten them together. You will get a “statue - a portrait of a group/class.” Exercise 4. “Sound waves.” In this game, be prepared for real nonsense. Laugh with your children. If children don't understand that the "sound waves" are supposed to go in a circle, explain to them what it means to do things one at a time. Progress of the exercise. Gather the children in a circle and say that you want to see if the children can copy sounds. Stand in the center of the circle and make a simple sound. Ask the group to repeat it in chorus, after which the “sound wave” goes in a circle - all the children take turns repeating this sound. Then ask a willing participant to make a different sound that the group can repeat in chorus. After this, ask the children to make a “sound wave”. 2. Repeat with others as well. Each time the sequence is the same: the child makes a sound, the whole group repeats it in chorus, and then the sound wave goes in a circle. Making the task more difficult To make the task easier for the children, ask them to pass the ball around in a circle. As soon as the ball falls into the child’s hands, he must repeat the sound and pass it on to the next one. With older children, you can send two “sound waves” into the circle at once in opposite directions. The sound wave can be replaced by a wave of body movements, using each time one part of the body: arms, legs, feet, etc. Exercise 5. “Magic pocket”. Exercise means communicating an idea in a way that allows other people to understand you (either verbally or through gestures). The transmission of ideas through communication is an extremely important part of social life, whether we are trying to make friends or resolve a conflict. Progress of the exercise. Tell the group that you will pretend to take something out of a “magic pocket” and perform some actions with the item you took out. And then you ask them to guess what the object is. Take the items below from your “magic pocket” and perform different actions with them. Each time, ask the children what thing you got: Task: you take out a hammer, try to hammer in nails and hit your finger. Task: take out and peel a banana. Task: take out a ball and throw it. Task: take out and eat a sandwich. Task: take out scissors and cut a sheet of paper with them. Assignment: take out a glass, pour water into it and drink. Now ask the children to take turns taking something out of the “magic pockets” and perform various actions with these imaginary objects in front of the group. Will other children be able to guess what these objects are? Let's complicate the task. In order to complicate the task, you can take several objects out of the “magic pocket” at once. For example, items needed for table setting or some kind of game. Try to “expand” the image of the objects you take out so that you can show the children a car or a boat. Exercise “Penelope Pig's Gift” The story should be accompanied by sound effects. As you tell the story, say your comments while the sound effects repeat on a loop. Progress of the exercise. Place the children in a circle. Talk to them for a few minutes about taking turns telling things. To illustrate this, have the children in a circle take turns saying their names, starting with the one sitting to your right (point to him). After everyone has said their name, ask the group to take turns repeating the sound you make with your hands. Make the sound by rubbing your palms against each other. When this sound goes around the circle, ask the group to continue making this sound, you will not make another one, which will also then go around the circle. When the sound returns to you, begin to clap your hands softly. Children should continue rubbing their hands together until you start clapping. Do not continue this task until the children understand the principle of picking up and repeating a sound transmitted in a circle. Once the children understand what is expected of them, place your hands on your knees. When everyone stops clapping, start telling the story. Feel free to add or shorten it. “Once upon a time there was a pig named Penelope. One day the Rabbit invited her to his birthday party. The pig was very happy. She worked and worked until she sewed herself a beautiful new dress. On Rabbit's birthday, she put on this dress, took a gift wrapped in beautiful paper (carrot jelly, which he loved very much) and left the house early in the morning, because she had a long way to go. While she was walking, the wind began to blow (start rubbing your palms against each other). Penelope looked up at the sky. “Oh, it’s probably going to rain,” she thought. The pig hugged the Rabbit's gift closer to her and continued walking. (Continue the story until the sound returns to you. Then start snapping the fingers of both hands). Oooh, it's starting to rain! The pig walked even faster. “I don’t want Rabbit’s gift or my dress to get wet,” she said. “Please stop raining.” (Continue until the sound comes back to you, start clapping your hands softly). But the rain came harder and harder. Penelope's dress began to get wet, and the Rabbit's gift became more and more wet when the Mouse caught up with the pig. He had an umbrella, and he opened it over the pig so that it would not get wet. (When the sound returns to you, start snapping your fingers again.)

Literature.

1. “Learning to live in peace.” — A guide to the development of social skills in children of preschool and primary school age. – M.: 2005