Human Figure Drawings in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Possible Window on the Inner or the Outer World

Abstract

Background: Tests based on human figure drawings (HFD) have captured the attention of clinicians and psychologists for a long time. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the performance of HFD of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) relative to typically developing (TD) controls. Methods: All children were asked to draw three human figures (man, woman, self-portrait) and were evaluated with a neuropsychological battery. HFD were scored according to the Maturity Scale, and correlative approaches testing maturity against neuropsychological scores were applied. Results: ASDs presented marked deficits in maturity. No significant correlation emerged for both groups between maturity and the theory of mind test. On the contrary, positive and significant correlations between maturity and the affect recognition test (AR) were found, with group-specific patterns. In TD, this result regarded drawings of others, but not self-portraits, while an opposite pattern emerged for ASD, whose sole maturity in self-portraits significantly correlated with the AR scores. Conclusion: These findings suggest that the use of HFD tests with individuals with autism may not be used in clinical practices. However, in basic research, HFDs could be used to highlight dependencies between drawing performance and neuropsychological features, thus possibly providing hints on the functioning of autism.

Art Therapy: A Complementary Treatment for Mental Disorders

“…(1) The main media of art therapy include painting, drawing, music, drama, dance, drama, and writing (Chiang et al, 2019). (2) Main contents of painting and drawing include blind drawing, spiral drawing, drawing moods and self-portraits (Legrand et al, 2017;Abbing et al, 2018;Papangelo et al, 2020). (3) Art therapy is mainly used for cancer, depression and anxiety, autism, dementia and cognitive impairment, as these patients are reluctant to express themselves in words (Attard and Larkin, 2016;Deshmukh et al, 2018;Chiang et al, 2019).…”

“…(3) Art therapy is mainly used for cancer, depression and anxiety, autism, dementia and cognitive impairment, as these patients are reluctant to express themselves in words (Attard and Larkin, 2016;Deshmukh et al, 2018;Chiang et al, 2019). It plays an important role in facilitating engagement when direct verbal interaction becomes difficult, and provides a safe and indirect way to connect oneself with others (Papangelo et al, 2020). Moreover, we found that art therapy has been gradually and successfully used for patients with mental disorders with positive outcomes, mainly reducing suffering from mental symptoms.…”

A critical appraisal of research in arts, health and wellbeing

“…(1) The main media of art therapy include painting, drawing, music, drama, dance, drama, and writing (Chiang et al, 2019). ( 2) Main contents of painting and drawing include blind drawing, spiral drawing, drawing moods and self-portraits (Legrand et al, 2017;Abbing et al, 2018;Papangelo et al, 2020). (3) Art therapy is mainly used for cancer, depression and anxiety, autism, dementia and cognitive impairment, as these patients are reluctant to express themselves in words (Attard and Larkin, 2016;Deshmukh et al, 2018;Chiang et al, 2019).…”

Feasibility and cross-cultural validation of an adapted social skills group training programme (KONTAKT™ CHILD) for Chinese autistic children: a wait-list RCT protocol

“…It seems plausible that approaches which consider the communication needs and preferences of autistic children will be more successful in obtaining their perspectives [18]. Further, applying validated non-verbal psychometric assessments, such as projective tests draw on visual communication styles (Draw-A-Person Test [DAPT], [19, 20]) and may be helpful in exploring autistic children’s mental states [21, 22, 23].…”

“…However, recent meta-analysis findings suggest that emotional self-awareness in school-aged autistic children is comparable to their peers despite the high heterogeneity between the included studies [14]. Furthermore, applying validated non-verbal psychometric measurements, such as projection tests (Draw-A-Person Test [DAPT], [15, 16]), may be conducive to exploring autistic children’s mental states [17, 18, 19].…”