Jen Harris, 4, cleans her paintbrush at the Saturday Morning Art Program after creating an ink blot. Harris spent the morning creating art with her three siblings and mother, Leann Harris.
MSU students, faculty and staff with children who fall within the autism spectrum met Saturday at The Art Museum at MSU, inside Kresge Art Center, to work on arts and crafts that a local coffee shop will display in March.
Cappuccino Espresso Cafe, in Williamston, displays different artwork from members of the community each month. The shop will display the artwork completed Saturday by Special Needs Kids during the month of March.
Special Needs Kids, a group of about 50 members from MSU, was developed by the Family Resource Center because of the desire for an organization of this nature on campus, said Leann Harris, administrative assistant in the Family Resource Center.
Harris’ 6-year-old son, Joe, falls within the autism spectrum.
“We all have special-needs kids, so our lives are spread pretty thin,” she said.
Esther Onaga, a family and child ecology professor, said it is important for her son Scott Fergus, 22, to participate in the Saturday Morning Art Program.
“(Scott) has a desire to be alone with the TV and video games,” she said. “It is a comfort for him. This program is important because it gets him to do different activities and socialize.”
Special Needs Kids’ second Saturday Morning Art Program wouldn’t have been possible without volunteer art education students, Harris said.
Volunteer and art education senior Amanda Ossipove said having experience working with children who fall within the autism spectrum is important because of the No Child Left Behind Act, which requires all students be involved in the classroom.
“This is a good opportunity for what we are going to be doing later because we will probably be working with (special-needs children),” Ossipove said.
The children created tinfoil reliefs, mosaic tile collaging and ink blot painting with help from their families and volunteers.
“To have (your child) be comfortable and part of a community is every parent’s dream,” Onaga said.
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