NAEAnews. “SPECIAL NEEDS,” February, 2002, Vol. 44 (1) p.13.

This column comes to you before the NAEA convention in Miami Beach so I would like to share information about both Exceptional Education/ Special Needs presentations and the Special Needs in Art Education Issues Group business meeting. And, I would also like to share some thoughts about South Beach located near our conference hotels.

It is fitting that the first scheduled Exceptional Education presentation will be given by Barbara P. Suplee, a driving force for the Special Needs Issues Group. Many in Los Angeles will remember Suplee collecting petition signatures at the Binney & Smith reception. No stranger to a proactive role, she has long been involved with the concerns of teachers and special education students with learning disabilities and brings her personal experiences to her presentations. Her session, “Working with the Angry/Acting Out Student with Learning Disabilities” is scheduled for Friday, from 1:00 to 1:50 p.m.

Susan D. Loesl, adaptive art specialist and art therapist for the Milwaukee, Wisconsin Public Schools, has extensive experience with students who require special adaptations of materials and equipment. Her methods incorporate high and low tech adaptations, many of which she developed herself. “Her presentation, “Hey! Adaptive Strategies That Work” is scheduled for Friday, from 1:00 to 1:50 p.m. Unfortunately, people will have to choose between this presentation and the one above. (Can this time conflict be avoided in the future?)

The first ever business meeting for the Special Needs in Art Education Issues Group will be led by Barbara P. Suplee with support from Mary Lou Dallam, Janet S. Fedorenko, and Beverly Levett Gerber. Goals for the meeting include discussing and charting the direction for the Special Needs Issues Group and the election of officers. Please plan to attend and to share your ideas and concerns. The meeting is scheduled for Friday, from 3:00 to 3:50.

Mary Lou Dallam, Pennsylvania State Art Consultant, will provide an update on the laws that impact special education students in the art room. Her presentation, “Legal Implications of Working with Special Needs Students: Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA)' is scheduled for Saturday, from 5:00 to 5:50.

People lucky enough to visit Providence, enjoy its spectacular river walk and experience Barnaby Evans' Water Fire event, have already seen some of Peter J. Geisser's teaching. His students, from the Rhode Island School for the Deaf, made ceramic tiles and taught hundreds of school children to make their own ceramic tile designs. Geisser decorated the pavilion near RISD buildings on the river walk with the tiles made by all the students. His topic at NAEA will be “Teaching Art to Deaf Students” and is scheduled for Monday, from 8:00 to 8:50 p.m.

“Who Cares? Why Care? A Case for Differentiation in Inclusive Classes” will be presented by Doris M. Guay, Kent State University. Guay's extensive research and writing about special education students in the art room provide both insight and direction to those attending her presentations. Guay's session is scheduled for Tuesday, from 11:00 to 11:50.

Look for still more special needs related presentations under categories other than Exceptional Education. For example, Amelia C. Joynes will be discussing self image and alternative forms of self-expression for at-risk adolescent students.

Since our conference is in Miami Beach, I would like to reminisce about what is now South Beach. Like many others from the northeast, I have relatives who long ago moved to south Florida for the warmth. Over many years of visits I have observed the changes that radically altered Ocean Drive, now the center of boutique hotels, restaurants, and an active nightlife.

My introduction to this area predated all this action and if anything, was noted for its inaction. Shabby apartments and run down buildings were home to the elderly people who sat quietly on chairs lined up in rows facing the beach. There was little people watching to do because few wanted to come to this beach section that had become a drug entry point. The neighborhood needed help.

Today, those elderly folks would have a field day people watching all the models and their photographers and crowds of elaborately dressed or undressed people from all over the world. Once shabby hotels have been painstakingly restored to their unique Art Deco designs. Porches once filled with rows of chairs are now restaurants with lines of people waiting for tables.

The lower end of South Beach once had run-down boat sheds. It was not a place to walk at night. That same area is now crowded with tall residential buildings and restaurants with valet parking and long, long waits. No one thought this once derelict area could be saved, let alone transformed into a national tourist draw. Thank goodness for visionaries.

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