This study examined effects of group art therapy utilizing mandala patterns on the visual perception and social skills of mentally retarded children. The participants of this study were a single group of 6 students attending B special education schoo...
This study examined effects of group art therapy utilizing mandala patterns on the visual perception and social skills of mentally retarded children. The participants of this study were a single group of 6 students attending B special education school in the city of Busan. The group of 6 received 30 sessions of group art therapy, twice a week, each session 80 minutes from April 29th, 2010 to October 6th, 2010.
The instruments for this study were Marianne Frosting Development Test of Visual Perception (DTVP), Social Skills Rating System (SSRS), and Social Skill Behavior Scale. DTVP and SSRS were administered 4 weeks before and after the start of the therapy and 4 weeks after the end of the therapy. The score comparison of the two instruments was preformed, mainly with the raw scores. The frequencies of positive behavior were compared on Social Skills Observation Scale. Color change and work attitude were compared on mandala patterns.
The findings of this study are as follows. First, group art therapy utilizing mandala patterns made positive effects on the visual perception of mentally retarded children, specifically on Visual-motor coordination, Figure-ground perception, Perceptual constancy, Perception of position in space, and Perception of spatial relationships.
Second, group art therapy utilizing mandala patterns made positive effects on the social skills and social skill behavior of mentally retarded children.
Third, as the group art therapy utilizing mandala patterns progressed,
more patterns were colored, more variety was shown in color use, and color was used more beautifully and harmoniously.