Art and communication difficulties at P level 5

At this P level there are additional challenges in developing the expertise to choose and use tools and resources. This will require understanding its name and the context in which to use the tool.

Read the suggestions for children with communication difficulties and numeracy at P levels 4-5 as they also apply to art and design.

You can:

• Let the pupil enjoy the creative process without the necessity to depend on communication for outcome. Offer choices of tools and resources. For example ‘There is a thick brush (show the pupil) and a thin brush (show the pupil) which would you like to use? (hold them both out). Would you like to try them to see what they are like?’ Then support their choice.
• Try using sensory input to help with their choices, such as music, pictures, smells, textured materials or a combination of these. The communication from music, for example, is unspoken and can be a powerful motivation. Try ‘programme music’ which is music that describes something. An example is Ma Vlast by Smetana, which is made up of six descriptive pieces, one describes the journey of a river (Vltava), and are great for creating atmosphere. Other suggestions are Debussy’s La Mer (the sea), Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf, Sibelius’ Finlandia and Elgar's Cockaigne Overture In London Town.

Now you might like to look at:

• Art and design and communication difficulties P level 4
• Art and design and communication difficulties P level 6