In adaptive sports, traditional equipment like skis and bicycles are altered to fit someone who needs it so that they too can access and enjoy the sport. Instead of equipment, Angel Boy Art in Brattleboro alters paintbrushes and other mediums to create art therapy for kids in need.
Founder Sara Vitale joined VPR to talk about the organization.
What is Angel Boy Art?
“Angel Boy Art is a non-profit organization that my family founded in 2006, inspired by our 9-year-old son who has a nervous system disorder. It’s all about adaptive art and that includes physical, cognitive, emotional and social things that we work on with kids in home for free.
"I did quite a bit of mentoring in art therapy at Shriners Hospitals for Children in Springfield [Massachusetts] and have been very fortunate to be able to keep busy finding kids that need these in-home art therapy services and be able to provide free access and just volunteer my time and my skills.”
On the common misconception about art therapy
“It’s a growing field, but I think there’s a pretty wide misconception about what art therapy is. It’s not just about painting about feelings, there’s much more that goes into it. We do a lot of DBT and CBT work, which is really helpful for the kids that are struggling emotionally.
"It actually all started because my own son has a nervous system disorder and he absolutely hated his stretches when he was just an infant. Strapping paintbrushes onto his hands and holding up a canvas while he was being stretched really took his mind off the stretching." - Sara Vitale, founder of Angel Boy Art
“It actually all started because my own son has a nervous system disorder and he absolutely hated his stretches when he was just an infant. Strapping paintbrushes onto his hands and holding up a canvas while he was being stretched really took his mind off the stretching, and he started loving his therapy after that and we just knew it was something we could expand and bring to other kids.”
On adapting art for therapy
“We started from the very beginning finding really creative, adaptive toys that could provide benefits in the art therapy itself but also be really fun for the kids. For example, we use a lot of feathers. Those are great for kids who don’t have a whole lot of strength because they can really make a big impact with the feather and the paint. On the other hand, we use things like toilet brushes, which allow us to progressively build in more strength into the exercises by repositioning the child’s grip on the brush, because the further back you hold it the heavier it becomes.”
On Angel Boy Art’s funding
“We are funded mostly by grants and donations. Our online galleries have a very low commission for the artists, it just allows us to pay for the website ... We have all types of mediums; professional and amateur art from children and adults, paintings, pottery, bracelets – just about any kind of medium you can imagine, even poetry and short stories.”
The underlying concept
“Typically, what I do is try to find projects that really speak to the goals of the care team that’s already in place. For example, if I was working on cognitive skills, we would do art focused around social interaction, eye contact, expressing feelings, expanding vocabulary.
"If I was working on cognitive skills we would do art focused around social interaction, eye contact, expressing feelings, expanding vocabulary."
“The really underlying concept ... is we allow the artwork to become an escape for the kids, so when they are a little bit too stressed or when it becomes a little too hard to talk about a subject, they have a means of escaping into the art that’s still healthy and directed towards goals, but without the kids realizing they are working towards goals."
Vitale’s goals for the organization
“My greatest wish for Angel Boy Art is to see the public really engage with us in what we’re trying to do. A big part of our mission is breaking down stigmas that people have regarding kids and adults with special needs and we do projects that are aimed at bringing people together. Hands-on experience with people with special differences really makes it easier to understand the situation and breaks down a lot of the stigmas in a much faster way than just looking at the art online.
“So that would be my biggest wish, to see more people really engage with us and come out to our projects and support us."
