Tabitha Ostrout Meredith College THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ART THERAPY ON ATTACHMENT IN CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER

Art Therapy ▪American Art Therapy Association ▪Therapeutic, professional relationship Attachment ▪Bowlby (1973) and Ainsworth (1969) ▪Enduring emotional bond that connects two people Attachment in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) ▪Diagnostic Statistical Manual V ▪Deficits in social communication and interaction DEFINITIONS

Durrani (2014)  Art therapy is effective in increasing qualitative attachment Banks, Davis, Howard, & McLaughlin (1993)  Directed art therapy has a greater effect than self-directed Martin (2007)  Art therapy increases relationship skills if done correctly PAST RESEARCH

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of art therapy on attachment in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Participants who received art therapy would show gains in guardian- reported attachment levels HYPOTHESIS

Survey ▪Completed by guardians of children in the Meredith Autism Program (MAP) ▪Kinship Center Attachment Questionnaire ▪Pre and Post survey completed Participants (N = 2) ▪3 old male, 3 year old female ▪Formally diagnosed with ASD ▪Receiving ABA and DTT at MAP ▪Received art therapy twice a week for 20 minutes for 3 weeks from a student trainer ▪Treated in accordance with the “Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct” (APA, 2002) METHOD

The Kinship Center Attachment Questionnaire ▪Kappenberg & Halpern (2006) Questions ▪Positive and Negative Phrases Scoring ▪High and Low Scores MEASURES

Kinship Center Attachment Questionnaire

Significant difference between pre-survey and post-survey scores More attachment behaviors Hypothesis supported RESULTS

The participant showed more reported attachment behaviors after the art therapy than before Hypothesis that participants would show gains in guardian-reported behaviors after receiving art therapy was supported in the findings CONCLUSION

Research supported by Durrani ▪Art therapy increases attachment Findings by Banks ▪Directed art therapy increases social initiation Supported Martin ▪Purposeful art therapy develops relationship skills CONCLUSION

 Research those who are not in an ASD intervention program  Test additional participants to see any differences  Add art therapy to other intensive ASD programs  Survey other people that interact with the child  Teach art therapy techniques to parents FUTURE

Tabitha Ostrout Meredith College Acknowledgements Dr. Cynthia Edwards (Meredith College) Kathryn Dove (Meredith College) Meredith College Psychology Department QUESTIONS? THANK YOU