|
|
 |
 |
| Sunday, 5 October 2003 |
 |
|
 |
Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
October 10 is World Mental Health Day : Drawing them out The 13-year-old girl went into the psychologist's office for testing to
determine which type of school would be best for her. It's normally a Although the parents apparently had been unaware of their daughter's psychological state, the psychologist realised immediately that the girl needed more than academic guidance. "It was very clear that this girl was in tremendous pain", he said, "when prompted to draw a person, most normal children will do just that, even if it's just a stick figure. A mask indicates a tremendous amount of stuff that's being hidden". Children produce reams of drawing with subjects as diverse as themselves. Not every picture tells a tale, but instead of tossing the latest rendering into a storage bin, parents might want to take a closer look at what their child has sketched.
The tool is especially useful for children between 3-12 who won't use or don't have the vocabulary to explain what's going on inside their heads. "At least half the time, children draw something that parents didn't know about," says Dr. Suzanne Dixon, a paediatrician in Great Falls, and author of "Encounter's with children", a book to help clinicians better understand parents. Dixon, who presented a seminar on the topic at the American Academy of Paediatrics in Chicago, is hoping to spread the word about the usefulness of children's drawings. "It's a marvellous record a child's cognitive and emotional growth" she said. In fact, she recommends that paediatricians make drawings part of a child's medical record to mark his or her development. She asks her own patients, at their yearly appointments to draw either a picture of themselves or what is called a kinetic family drawings - members of household doing some activity. Then she asks them what is going on in the picture. It's the youngster's explanation of the drawing, as well as how often a particular object or style appears, that is key to determining the significance.
When a cat is just a cat There are a lot of ways in which you can look at children's drawings - it is important that we should not over interpret the drawings. A 6-year-old drew a figure of a woman from the back, with her face obscure. The School Psychologist said the depiction was an obvious sign of rejection by his mother and other women in his life. The worried parents sought a second opinion, when questioned the boy, the student said, it was a picture of his teacher drawing on a blackboard. He had trouble drawing faces so he purposely drew her from the back. A perfectly innocent explanation. Threatening drawings But sometimes, violent drawings are more than a reflection of what a child has seen and reveal dangerous tendencies. Two years ago, the Supreme Court in Massachusetts ruled that a student's drawings showing him shooting his teacher legally can be considered a threat. Teachers should be concerned when students draw disturbing images. Throughout the year, the kindergarten boy drew almost nothing but extremely detailed demons, monsters and devils. The parents said since the child's birthday was near Halloween, he simply liked the holiday and spooky images associated with it. The teacher called in the School Psychologist the following year, though, after the boy was asked to draw a portrait of himself and turned in picture of a boy with a smoking gun pointed at his head. The teacher said the youngster, who was suicidal and had behaviour problems, got counselling. Look at the context
But the symbols usually are only important in the context of the child's realm of experience, says Cathy Malchiochi, an art therapist in Salt Lake City, Utah and author of "Understanding Children's Drawings". She says individual elements - a long neck or missing fingers, for example - mean little by themselves. "I think there's a story that needs to be rooted out", she says. "But I would never make that kind of connection without further investigation. What's more reliable is how the child describes the drawing." In addition to what's in the picture, analysts look at what the family is doing, where individual members are placed in the picture, their size and position, and omitted or distorted members. A child who draws himself as a tiny dot, for example, usually feel bad about himself. A ladder in a picture can show tension and precarious balance, while fire can mean an intense need for warmth and love. Some figures are not so easy to decipher though; may be your son placed a drum in his picture because he likes music, not because he's angry. To find out, parents should question their kids about why they did. An occasional "negative" object usually means nothing, especially when children are drawing "free style" and not being asked to draw themselves or their families. A therapist should not read too much into a single, isolated picture. If everything else is okay in the child's life...take the drawings at face value and leave them alone. Parents should not overreact if their children turn out an occasionally outrageous things. Items that show up again and again, however, could be a sign of trouble. Parents should be on the alert "if the theme of a series of drawings is things that are unusual with respect to what a parent knows of his child's environment. Drawing private parts Drawings that could cause angst, even if they don't show-up often, are renderings of genitals. It is common for four to six year olds to draw genitals on their figures because at that age they are interested in sexual differences. Some families get really upset by that, but they should not. Just say, you have drawn a boy. I can see his penis. Apply correct labels so it doesn't become a forbidden topic. Perhaps the drawings are simply a sign of a burgeoning awareness - but most therapists get worried when children 5 or younger draw lots of pictures with genitals in them. When pre-school children are very sexually oriented, it's often a tip off that they're being sexually abused. Parents should question their children about why he or she drew a picture with those specific details. Children who answer in a straight-forward manner about the images in their pictures probably are fine; those who are evasive, seem defensive or worried that you saw it might be suffering from some kind of physical or emotional problems. Parents with concern about any of their child's drawings should first talk to a paediatrician; if the doctor discerns a problem, he or she might then refer the child to a therapist or other counsellor. Otherwise, parents should treat the creations as treasured works of art. Hang them around the house or collect them in folders or bins. Of course, the scars of paintings, crayon, scrawls, marker blots and other art work quickly pile up but don't throw anything without permission from the little artist first. Get a folder and when it gets full, ask them what they want to throw away. You can't save everything always and forever. - A.W. Abdul Kany, D.C. Psy |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security Produced by Lake House |
straightforward analysis and, as part of it, the psychologist asked the
middle-schooler to draw a picture of herself. "She produced a drawing
that was the most unbelievable horrifying, demonic mask." - It had an
angry, frightening quality".
How and what a youngster draws can provide insight into what a child is
thinking and feeling, say psychologists, teachers and paediatricians.
For example, a child who includes a scribbled cat in her illustration
might be including Fluffy because the feline is considered a family member
- but watch out if your child draws an angry-looking sharp-toothed beast -
it might indicate a conflict with her mother.
Analyzing children's drawings is not a new psychological tool. As early
as the 1920s behaviourists realise that a picture might indeed be worth a
thousand words and many agree about the interpretation of various
components.
