Color drawings: a means of identifying problems in children

Between the ages of seven and nine years, the child develops a schema or way to draw his version of the world. Drawings are revealing in that they can help assess a child's behavior. Figure drawings are useful in determining general cognitive development, self-image, and level of maturity (Harris, 1963; DiLeo, 1973; DiLeo, 1983; and Koppitz, 1968). As the child progresses through developmental stages in perceiving and using color, she similarly progresses in her drawing abilities. Distinction, identification and aesthetic reaction to color are thus functions of the cortex; they are developmental and educational results rather than instinctual and reactive responses (Scott, 1969).