Beyond expression: structured art-based therapy and attention span in pupils with intellectual disability

Area of Science:

• Special Education
• Developmental Psychology
• Art Therapy

Background:

• Attentional deficits are a major learning obstacle for students with intellectual disabilities.
• Specialized interventions are often inaccessible in resource-constrained schools.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of a structured art intervention on attention span in pupils with intellectual disability.
• To investigate if disability severity moderates the intervention's effect.

Main Methods:

• A quasi-experimental pre-test-post-test control group design was used.
• Twenty pupils with mild to moderate intellectual disability participated.
• The intervention involved 24 art-based sessions; attention was measured using the Moss Attention Rating Scale.

Main Results:

• A statistically significant improvement in attention span was observed in the intervention group (large effect size).
• Pupils with mild intellectual disability showed higher attention scores post-intervention compared to those with moderate disability.
• The interaction between intervention and disability severity was not statistically significant.

Conclusions:

• Structured art interventions can effectively enhance attentional engagement in pupils with intellectual disability.
• This approach presents a feasible, low-cost strategy for teachers in inclusive, low-resource classrooms.
• Findings should be considered preliminary due to the small sample size and cluster design.