finally tonight using art to bridge connections A team of students at Stockton University recently held an access to art workshop pairing them with special services students on a creative project in an effort to boost self-esteem and social interaction outside the traditional academic setting The results well they speak for themselves Raven Santana has the story Regardless the arts provide opportunities for everybody at different touch points 40 Stockton students spent the afternoon engaging one-on-one with 40 students from Atlanta County in grades 3 through 8th each with different disabilities during an art therapy workshop called Access to Art Access to Arts is providing opportunities for schools uh in a formal setting like this but also working with going right to where the individuals are at So we're partnering with like the CARES we're partnering with Oceanside Family Success Center in Hamilton We're going where the people are at because often times it's a challenge for individuals to actually transportation to get to site So this we're bringing it to them Michael Kagno executive director of the Noise Museum of Art shared that the program has created 100 workshops across Atlantic County for individuals with a range of disabilities made possible through a $70,000 grant from the Atlantic Center for Independent Living We are partnering with our students from the disability minors program and partnering them with students from the Atlantic uh county school of special services and they are going to be creating a beautiful sculpture out of aird dry clay of an osprey Why an osprey the osprey is indigenous to this area but is also Stockton's mascot They're basically just letting me know where to put them And I think not going to lie I kind of think I'm doing better than they are Um Austin do you why do you like art so much um because it makes me feel calm Faculty and staff emphasized that the event was focused on promoting inclusion and accessibility for all regardless of background or identity To ensure a welcoming experience they took steps to making sure that the automatic doors worked making sure that the bathrooms were accessible Uh in addition to that we did a lot of prep work The students considered how they could create social stories and task analyses to assist the students with being able to prepare to come here We also had a lot of sensory considerations in terms of providing the students with rubber gloves if maybe they had some sensory aversions uh with having to touch clay and things like that So yeah we definitely prepped a lot and we created this inclusive uh activity where our students and students with disability can work together We actually discuss about universal design for learning which is creating an environment where range of learners can be supported and the these are the discussions we have in class about accessibility and accommodation Janna Muscone a teacher in the autism program at Atlanta County Special Services School works primarily with high school students who are severely disabled and mostly non-verbal She says the program helps reinforce the skills they focus on in the classroom This isn't a very common uh event for us So there's a lot of planning that goes involved um before um we can even decide if we're equipped to uh keep the kids safe A lot of our students this is one of their superpowers as we say So our students can't necessarily speak um but they can often draw and and and create art like you wouldn't believe And Stockton University students I spoke with say the event is a great opportunity for them to learn how to advocate and support students who have disabilities We have a couple of tools available in case they are like they have physical needs We have scissors and paper and we have gloves in case they are like very sensitive to certain materials My sister struggles with special needs She's done that throughout her whole life She's a big inspiration to me and I think getting to see some kids and help them through their journeys will be really impactful Both students and staff here at Stockton say they hope to turn this art therapy into an annual experience For NJ Spotlight News I'm Raven Santana