Expressive arts in Education and Therapy: a Special Encounter

Abstract

In this paper we sustain the importance of Expressive Arts in Education and Therapy, and highlight its relevance in the context of Special Education and/or Inclusive Education. As evidence we present two researches conducted in this field: The first study investigates the impact of a multimodal methodology of Expressive Therapies in children/adolescents with aggressive behavior (in a school context). Aggressive behavior, pro-social disposition and other emotional, cognitive and behavioral dimensions were evaluated. The second study presents an intervention through expressive arts with children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. This work was developed in a Specialized Autism unit