Sharing the power of art this World Autism Acceptance Week

05 April 2024

In my role at Imperial Health Charity, I spend time delivering creative sessions for patients and staff across our hospitals.

I’m particularly interested in using art-based approaches to accommodate and support autistic patients and patients with learning disabilities in the healthcare environment, which is often busy, noisy and fast-paced.

Art helps me to switch off at times of overstimulation. It allows me to centre myself and channel my thoughts and feelings in a way that feels authentic for me.

With art I find there aren’t any unspoken rules or societal norms, anything is possible!

"With art I find there aren’t any unspoken rules or societal norms, anything is possible!"

Lauren Humphries, Arts Engagement Coordinator

Currently, I’m working with patients who are referred by the learning disability and autism team.

I deliver creative and sensory engagements at the bedside tailored to people’s interests, access needs and learning styles allowing patients to play, create, and share using non-verbal methods.

Activities have included handling materials and objects with different textures, mark making through painting, drawing, sculpting, printmaking and collage.

Based on these sessions, I’m developing a creative toolkit for autistic people and people with learning disabilities to use in the hospital.

This toolkit will aid communication, provide grounding techniques and help patients process the hospital’s sights and sounds.

Part of this toolkit will include an activity page for patients to share what colour they feel like if it is difficult to describe using words.

I'm proud to be sharing the tools I've learnt to support other autistic people and people with learning disabilities while they're in hospital.

Art has always been a fantastic way to ground and express myself, and I look forward to sharing this with patients.