I’m pleased to share that I’m now a member of the Canadian ADHD Resource Alliance (CADDRA) made up of physicians, psychologists, allied health care professionals, and researchers interested in ADHD. CADDRA’s education, guidelines, advocacy, and research will help me better support people with ADHD.
People of all ages come to art therapy with big issues disrupting how they would rather live their lives, and many either know they have ADHD or think it’s a possibility. That’s why I joined CADDRA. Relationship troubles, addictions, anxiety, low self-esteem and self-worth, dangerous or difficult behaviour, not doing as well as expected at work or school can all be part of the ADHD experience.
Art therapy is engaging and helpful for people with ADHD because creativity:
- is a physically active process
- exercises executive functioning (like the process to create a collage!)
- planning, organization, starting tasks, focusing, managing time, problem solving, and controlling emotions
- does not rely on words to communicate
- externalizes emotions and experiences
- anchors strengths-based accomplishments in the object that’s made
- sense of self-mastery
- improved self-awareness and understanding
- a concrete record of progress
- provides tools for self-regulation and stress relief
- strengthens fine and gross motor skills
I’m looking forward to weaving what I learn through CADDRA into my art therapy practice.
Kids with autism often have strengths in the areas of non-verbal reasoning, creativity, imagination, and spatial relations. They can tap into these strengths through art therapy while being supported in other areas such as communication, social skills, motor skills, and self-regulation. Check out the documents below for more information about how children and youth with autism can benefit from art therapy.
UPDATE: Saskatchewan Health now allows families to use their Individualized Funding for art therapy. To be reimbursed for art therapy costs, children/youth need to be recommended for art therapy by their consultant or mental health staff at Autism Services Saskatoon, an Autism Service Provider or by a regulated professional within a school division, the Saskatchewan Health Authority, or the Athabasca Health Authority.
The list of approved services is reviewed annually. Art therapy becoming an approved service would mean families could contact Saskatchewan art therapists directly without needing a recommendation from a service provider.
To express your support for art therapy becoming an approved service, send a message to autismregistry@health.gov.sk.ca
Many friends and family over the past few years have been confronted with a cancer diagnosis and treatment, so I decided to go through the American Art Therapy Association’s outcomes-based research bibliography for information about art therapy’s efficacy for cancer patients. The articles I found are listed in the attached pdf file for those of you who are also interested. A Google search of “cancer and art therapy” will also bring up many, many examples of art therapy in cancer treatment.
Dianne Shannon Art Therapy 