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Colour Therapy and the Child with Special Needs
Introducing an element of colour therapy/chromotherapy will add to the interest and ambiance of a Dance and Movement Therapy session. We are all aware, unless we are color blind, of its' presence in Nature and the Man Made World. There are associations with gods, priestly vestments, people's characters and distinctions between professions and trades. Without light there is no life. We don't need to go into the scientific complexities of light. Suffice it to say that it is part of a spectrum of radio waves. Red is the slowest and longest, blue the fastest and shortest. It seems that the human eye is capable of distinguishing 2,000 tints and shades and 1000 hues. There are increasing numbers of documented experiments showing the effects of light and colour on the human body. Soviet Russian scientists claim that colour therapy with red light increases muscular activity, blood pressure, respiration and heart rate. Blue has the opposite effect reducing blood pressure and being helpful in cases of insomnia. Blue light is used in hospitals to treat jaundice in new born babies. It is said to be a good colour therapy for children when teething or infection upsets them. It also leads to a decrease in blood sugar and seems to help in some cases of eczema. There has been some very interesting and hopeful color therapy work carried out with children with special needs . At San Bernardino County Probation Department in California aggressive and violent children are put in an 8 foot by 4 foot enclosure painted bubble gum pink. Apparently after 10 minutes or so of this colour therapy the children calm down, stop rampaging about and usually fall asleep. The effect appears to last for some time. Even the colour-blind are apparently tranquilized by pink rooms! The Sunfield Childrens Home at Stourbridge, England treats disturbed children through colour therapy or chromotherapy as it is also known. Rudolf Steiner Waldorf Schools have from their earliest beginnings been acutely aware of the importance of the arts and colour therapy in education. Class teachers in such schools paint classrooms to reflect the "soul mood" of the children at their particular stage of development. The first year classroom is always red. The classroom therapy colours change as the pupils progress through the school. Natural light changes during the day. Artificial light is static and does not have the same effect on us. In fact it can make us tired and tense. It is no surprise to me that people in industrialized nations are rediscovering the healing, soothing, softening effects of candlelight.We instinctively understand the power of colour therapy to influence our mood. When we feel "blue" we look for colours to cheer us up. On the other hand when we are angry we seek cool colours to help us dissipate this emotion. Colours are used to express certain qualities. Someone may be described as "red-blooded" or as having a "yellow streak" meaning the person is a coward. We talk about someone being a "greenhorn" if they are inexperienced or being "green with envy". Black has a particularly bad press. We have "black magic", "black despair" as just two examples. Colour therapy doesn't just have an effect on our mood it is becoming ever clearer that it also influences our physiology. RED is reputed to be good for the muscular system and left cerebral brain hemisphere. YELLOW cleanses the blood stream, stimulates the lymphatic system and energizes the alimentary tract. ORANGE is good for mental exhaustion and rheumatism. GREEN is said to help with asthma, hay fever, laryngytis and malaria. BLUE treats hysteria, and lessens nervous excitement. VIOLET aids epilepsy. Parents, I am not for a minute suggesting that you try and give your child colour therapy treatment. That requires a specialized, properly trained practitioner. I am just suggesting that it might be halpful to try and incorporate colour and fragrance into your Dance and Movement therapy sessions. There are many ways of doing this - the most obvious ones being clothing and accessories. You know your child and will think of numerous ways of introducing this element into your sessions. I found that children sometimes became so fascinated by the colour of the objects that they were supposed to be dancing with that they were unable to move. At the time I found this slightly akward as it held up proceedings. On reflection these children perhaps knew what they needed better than I did. Linking into colours deepens our sensitivity to the world and its peoples. Do try and incorporate it into your dance and movement sessions! One therapy which I shall not mention in these web pages is Art Therapy. This is because it is a very powerful therapy which needs trained practitioners. Making encouraging comments about your child's paintings and drawings is very different to the deep level analysis which an art therapist would undertake. Also it does not really lend itself to being combined with Dance and Movement therapy on a regular basis. IF YOU WOULD LIKE FURTHER IDEAS HOW TO INTRODUCE COLOUR INTO DANCE THERAPY SESSIONS SUBSCRIBE TO MY NEWSLETTER. HELP YOUR SPECIAL NEEDS CHILD THROUGH IMPROVISATIONAL DANCE - is an instantly downloadable e-book written by an experienced Dance Movement Therapist. She aims to encourage the parents of children with special needs to act as Dance Movement Therapists to their children.
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