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March is National Youth Art Month (YAM) and we're celebrating it with a focus on art in the lives of young people with disabilities.
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Artist Residency Reflection
By Amy-Beth Rice
When I left my art teaching position in 2014, I was elated at the idea of spending chunks of time alone in my studio. I had worked at a great school, but like many new teachers, especially in the inner city, my first couple of years in the classroom left me ragged and emotionally drained. However, when you have an ability and have worked hard to cultivate it, I believe you should teach others your skills or your unique gifts will leave the earth with you. Teaching multiplies what is within us into the world. This thought haunted me as my alone time in my studio felt increasingly meaningless without any kind of student.
I was connected to Borderless Arts’ Artist Residency program and did my first residency in 2016. The objective of this particular residency was to give students in special education classrooms real-world experience creating an on-brand artwork for a large corporation under the direction and leadership of a local professional artist. READ MORE >>
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Teen with Autism Teaches Himself Piano
This 13 year-old nonverbal teen with autism has been a music lover, and specifically Beethoven, since he was a little boy. Pathfinder's Cecilia Melo-Romie met with his family to assist them in applying for the Family Support Program. With the money they got from Family Support they purchased an iPad which he uses as a communication device; he has also used it to teach himself to play piano. Better Options Tn gave him a piano and now listen to him play the Beethoven he loves! Thank you Better Options and Luis Sura for making this possible for him!
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Call Pathfinder! 
By Karen Mevis
CALLER: Hi, I’m Trish. A friend of mine’s daughter has special needs and I think music therapy might help her. She’s 4 and has a developmental delay. I remember seeing some videos about how music impacts young children when I was in college. Are there any music therapy places around? They live in Smyrna.
And I have another question: although we don’t all have disabilities, I am involved in an effort to enhance and build our team where I work, and I was leaning towards a project facilitated by an art therapist. I’ve done something similar in the past with an organization, but I’m new to Nashville, and I don’t know where to start. But we are also going to be working with folks in several West Tennessee offices, so the artist would not have to be in Nashville. Do you have any suggestions? READ MORE for Pathfinder's response!
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