Written by Candice Burnett, C. DKATI., Professional Art Therapist and Concurrent Mental Health and Substance Use Clinician.
“If we are brave enough to share our artwork and stories, maybe others will, too.” This is one of many quotes that remain in my heart today.
My name is Candice Burnett, and I recently completed my post-graduate diploma in Art Therapy at the Kutenai Art Therapy Institute (KATI). As part of my capstone requirements for graduation, I co-created an art therapy workbook with five adults with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) entitled A FASD Story: Creating Space for Voices through Art Making. This art workbook illustrates and provides strengths-based art invitations alongside personal stories shared by the research group members during six art therapy group sessions.
A FASD Story is designed to be a supportive resource for individuals with FASD, caregivers or parents, support workers, or therapists. It endeavors to create a shared language through art that emphasizes and builds on the strengths of individuals with FASD through creativity, storytelling, and metaphorical meaning-making of their feelings and living experiences.
The Bookshelf
A bookshelf helps provide a stable, organized, and safe environment to preserve books’ condition. So, too, did I want to provide a contained and safe space for my co-researchers who were willing to embark on group art therapy and collaborate on a workbook for their community.
Before the group began, I considered these individuals’ quality of life (QOL) as it related to their living experiences with FASD and the impact art therapy might have on their daily lives. Using the affected brain domains, I connected the benefits of art therapy with the potential strengths that could be built upon within the art therapy sessions:
| Affected Brain Domain | Benefit of Art Therapy (Need) | Strengths Maximized (Goal) |
| Academic Achievement | Metaphor to support abstract concepts | Validation of their worldview |
| Attention | Consistent completion of the artwork | Feeling successful in the time spent |
| Cognition | Planning and processing artwork | Increased confidence in autonomy |
| Language | Art as a universal language | Express complex ideas non-verbally |
| Memory | Imagery to access unconscious | Empowered to interpret our memories |
| Executive Functioning | Small choices to complete artwork | Taking an active role in life decisions |
| Adaptive behaviour, social skills & communication | Making art, listening and being witnessed increases social interest and empathy | Deepens connection and yearning to be around others with shared experiences |
| Motor Skills | Pleasurable movement (cutting, gluing) | Enjoyable play |
| Affect Regulation | Colours, materials & symbols to express | Safe expression of emotions |
| Sensory Processing | Experimentation in a safe space | Safety for exploring change |
The Book
A book can hold invaluable insights, inspiration and new perspectives. So do individuals with FASD. As a therapist, I felt my responsibility was to create a consistent environment that allowed our research group to have a full experience within a safe space. Each week I would:
- reach out to each participant individually using their preferred means of contact and remind them of the time and day of the session;
- use this opportunity to learn about their day and current circumstances in life, which would better inform the art therapy session;
- chose an appropriate amount of materials that were presented in an organized fashion so as not to overwhelm the eye;
- set up the tables and chairs in the same way with the offering of some herbal tea;
- provide individual chairs to support any physical ailments and provide ease;
- have as much natural light as possible and dim any artificial lighting.
Providing this consistent and adaptable environment supported our research group in finding physical and emotional safety, allowing them to act as a source of regulation for one another’s shared experiences while fostering greater learning and an increased sense of self-compassion and empathy for themselves and each other.
The Pages of the Book
The pages of a book hold important text that guides the reader through their experience. Our research group took the same approach when creating A FASD Story. Prior to starting art therapy sessions, the research group members were invited to come to a brainstorming session to support their own art therapy goals and vision for the art workbook.
During brainstorming, the research group members expressed their desire for the creative process to support them in re-creating their thoughts and words into non-verbal works for art. They prioritized wanting support in emotional regulation, decision-making within their life domains, connecting with themselves and others, and, most importantly, communicating their voices to feel heard and share the value of art therapy with others with FASD. This insight provided direction for the art invitations that would become the art workbook.
The Text on the Pages
Just as the text on the pages of a book conveys the core message, knowledge or story, so too did the artwork and stories of their lives. These stories included both challenges and strengths.
Within the six art therapy sessions, the group members were empowered to choose what art invitation they would like to work on based on their living experiences. A FASD Story demonstrates what is possible when an inclusive space and a sense of safety inspire individuals to use their artwork and voices to share their stories of FASD. Perhaps most notably, this sharing of their experiences enabled the co-creators to connect with, relate to and achieve healthy outcomes for themselves and their community in a wholly self-determined way.
A final brainstorming session allowed the research group members to contribute their final thoughts on how this book would be most meaningful to others with FASD. The group members’ main message rang true throughout the entire process: “If we are brave enough to share our artwork and stories, maybe others will too.”
Closing the Book
We invite others to create their stories through art and experience the impact of acceptance, relatability, and belongingness through creativity, storytelling, and art-making.
Related Content
Found this blogpost interesting? We’d recommend checking out the following webpages:
- 2024 Art Competition – open to all Canadian residents with FASD.
- Donate to the FASD Lived Experience Leadership Fund – support people with lived experience to participate in research.
- Become a member of CanFASD – be the first to know about the latest FASD news.