THE CALLING CANVAS, WEAVING TOGETHER WORDS AND IMAGES: A NARRATIVE INQUIRY INTO THE CREATIVE VOICE OF STUDENTS WITH AUTISM PARTICIPATING IN A CREATIVE LUNCHTIME PROGRAM

The story of the Lunch Bunch includes a group of 4 students with autism, 1 student with a specific learning disability and their art educator/researcher as they ate lunch together and discussed creativity and at times made art. A chronological story of the Lunch Bunch was crafted utilizing narrative inquiry as the overarching methodology and methods borrowed from arts-based educational research, portraiture, and arts-based self-study research. An eclectic blend of methods was decided as the best fit to promote the students visual strengths and support their needs mainly in the areas of communication. This study was viewed and conceptualized through the lenses of social constructivist and disability theories from a strengths perspective. The researcher sought to craft a unique study that would bring the students voices forward, specifically for individuals who struggle with verbal communication, opening and co-constructing a space to learn from each other’s perspectives; while at the same time supporting their strengths in visual and kinesthetic learning allowing their voices to be heard through their preferred means of communication that could be through words, their artwork, or a combination of both. Through data analysis the major themes that emerged were space, creative expression, socialization, caring/time and trust. These themes speak to what the students themselves desire from creative experiences and non-traditional learning spaces. This narrative provides a more holistic understanding of the benefits of arts based instruction from the perspectives of the students. The students themselves, when given the opportunity, can provide powerful insights of imagining creative educational opportunities that build upon their strengths in innovative ways. This information when shared with all interested stakeholders can impact the improvement of programs and services for students in special education taking into account the perspective of those individuals most impacted by what takes place within schools