Media: Printmaking
Population: Children with neurodevelopmental disorders
I had a small piece of scrap linoleum that I cut into simple shapes with an x-acto knife rather than carve into them. Depending on their age and clinical history, I would not let children cut the linoleum as it can be a safety risk and for those with bodily trauma, a potential trigger. I might instead let the child draw on the linoleum with a pen or marker and cut for them in a collaborative effort. I do not have ink pads so I just used some acrylic paint instead. It was fun for me to play with the shapes to experiment and make designs but also recognizable figures such as a cat (middle) and a person (top).
Thapliyal & Kotnala (2019) recommends play therapy for children with neurodevelopmental disorders as it helps them to express themselves and better understand themselves and the world around them. These mini stamps emulate play therapy in that there is a degree of exploration and fun to them. Additionally, there is no wrong answer for what can be made with them, though for children who need structure, prompts should be provided. While I was initially upset that I did not have an ink pad, the paint provided some sensory experiences and allowed me to mix colors on the surface of each stamp without accidentally ruining an entire color. Play therapy within art therapy is quite popular as children tend to project during play and art-making, so this combination of both could lead to interesting results. The use of symbols could become significant during this process.
Shapes, colors, and other aspects of this activity can easily be modified to fit a child’s developmental and cognitive level. My stamps were rather tiny and some children without fine motor skill development could have found them difficult to use, while others may have enjoyed creating fine details with them. Paint might be too messy of a medium, so markers or ink pads could be used. Additionally, I could have glued dowels or cardboard to one side of my stamps to create a handle of sorts, which would make them easier to use.
References
Thapliyal, G., & Kotnala, S. (2019). Play Therapy for Children With Neurodevelopmental Disorders. In S. K. Gupta, S. Venkatesan, S. P. Goswami, & R. Kumar (Authors), Emerging trends in the diagnosis and intervention of neurodevelopmental disorders (pp. 264-280). Hershey, PA: IGI Global, Medical Information Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global).