NAEAnews. “SPECIAL NEEDS,” February, 2003, Vol. 45 (1) p.11.

Terrible winter storms, lots of ice and too much snow, closed schools and brought everything else to a crawl (all this before winter officially started). We should be thankful that the NAEA Convention will be in Minneapolis, a city that knows about snow. (They plug in their cars overnight and don't even think about dropping car keys in the snow!) Instead of slogging through slush and piling on heavy layers of anything warm, we can walk through the city without dampening a toe. Hopefully, by April, spring will know how to behave, but we are still in luck. Minneapolis' Convention Center is connected by the Skyway System, a walkway to the adjacent hotel which is connected to nearby shopping malls (the Mary Tyler Moore throw your hat in the air kind) that are connected to restaurants which are connected to office buildings (with interesting lobbies), etc., etc. While a bit maze-like, it is a wonderful way to walk around without freezing everything.

Since the 2003 NAEA Convention is just around the corner, this column will highlight sessions covering a wide range of topics about students with special needs. First, kudos should go to the person/s or program/s responsible for scheduling the 900 NAEA sessions (truly an astonishing task). Of the sixteen Special Needs related sessions, only two time conflicts will require choices between presentations. Minimizing conflicts really does help. It can be thoroughly frustrating to discover that sessions most relevant to your teaching are scheduled at the same time. Last year, at Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), of hundreds of time slots, the arts related session I most wanted to attend and the CEC Special Interest Group meeting for Teachers of the Arts were scheduled at the same time.

Here is a brief run-down of the 2003 NAEA Special Needs presentations. On Friday, look for the following five presentations. At 9:00 a.m., “Murals – Investing in Success,” will be presented by Amelia Joynes. At 11:00 a.m., Susan Loesl will describe and demonstrate “Adapting the Art Experience for Students with Physical Disabilities.” At 4:00 p.m., there is a time conflict between “The Harlem Horizon Art Studio” described by Alice Wexler and “Special Programs, Special Students: Art, Students, and Teachers in Non-traditional Settings” a research presentation by Julia Kellman with Patrick Fahey and Priscilla Lund. At 5:00 p.m. Beverly Levett Gerber will present “”Walking the Walk, Understanding the Talk: Students with Mental Retardation in the Art Room.”

Saturday brings three presentations: 11:00 a.m., “Teaching Art and Special Needs,” a Higher Education focus presented by Priscilla Lund; 3:00 p.m., “Tactile Art Text for Special Learners,” described by Joyce M. Centofanti; and 5:00 p.m., “Breaking Down Barriers,” a presentation by Patricia Barbanell that focuses on technology.

Sundays' six meetings and presentations begin at 11:00 a.m. and end at 5:00 p.m. At 11:00 a.m., Debbie Robinson will offer a hands-on demonstration, Create Homemade Adaptive Tools.” There is another time conflict at 2:00 p.m. that will require a choice between Dennis L. Taylor's presentation, “Sam and Carle: Students with Disabilities” and “Teaching All Students” presented by Kathryn Rulien-Bareis. At 3:00 p.m., Judith Fowler's presentation “Meaningful Connections with Art Therapy” bridges art education and art therapy. Please plan to attend the two Special Needs Issues Group Business meetings scheduled for 4:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. Sunday.

No Special Needs in Art Education related presentations have been scheduled on Monday. Two sessions are scheduled for Tuesday. At 8:00 a.m., Barbara Hirokawa addresses “The Healing Power of Art” and at 10:00 a.m., Barbara P. Suplee will present “The Lessons Learned from Student Teaching Teens with Learning Disabilities and Other Special Needs.” The variety of presentations should address a wide range of teaching practices.

SED/Arts Organization   |   SED/Arts References   |   NAEA Special Needs Issues Group   |  CEC Special Interest Group for Teachers of the Arts