UDL & Images

In class yesterday, I realized how important images are to students with learning disabilities. While this seems like a relatively simple concept, I hadn't really given much thought to it before! Not only does it makes me realize that I should have incorporated more images into my first project, but I hadn't considered how images are just as powerful as text (if not more so) at conveying a message to learners. Since schizophrenic students often struggle with paying attention and staying on task, reading long passages in a textbook is one of the hardest things for them to do. This is where images would come in hand. While I briefly mention a schizophrenic artist in my first project, I thought I would show an example of his art in this entry (see above).

David Marsh is a schizophrenic artist who credits his artistic talent and creativity to his disease. In fact, studies have shown that people with mental illnesses (like schizophrenia) have a creative advantage because of their ability to continually absorb outside stimuli. Unlike people who do not have a mental illness, schizophrenics do not possess "latent inhibition". In other words, they are incapable of censoring the information they receive. In terms of art, they then have the power to translate this uncensored and raw information from their environment into their art.

(source: http://www.healthyplace.com/Communities/Thought_Disorders/schizo/news/creativity_mental_illness.asp