Children with very limited abilities can be placed next to an overhead projector with a container of colored plastic shapes. Aim the projector at a blank wall. Students can place or point to the shapes and colors they want to see projected. While this is not an art project that produces a permanent result, it does allow students to put together colorful pictures and immediately see the results.
Make your own colorful images by cutting shapes out of acetate or cellophane. Laminate these to make them sturdier.
Project the image onto a large piece of paper. Let the students paint what they see projected on the paper. Try squirt bottles of paint or sponges dipped in watercolors for painting.
Incorporate music into your art class for more sensory stimulation. Have students paint to the sound of a thunderstorm or sounds of the ocean or rain forest. The sounds can often inspire more movement than a quiet space, as well as giving the students incentive to express their emotions.
Create musical instruments from cardboard tubes, waxed paper, rubber bands, rice or beans and stickers. Cover one end of a cardboard tube with a square of waxed paper that is slightly larger than the hole. Securely place a rubber band around the tube to hold the waxed paper. Fill 1/3 of the tube with rice or dried beans. Put a square of waxed paper on the open end and secure with a rubber band. Let the student decorate the outside with stickers. Shaking their instrument to the beat of the music brings movement, art and music together.
Make bell bracelets with a strand of elastic, beads and bells. Look for beads and bells with wide holes for stringing. Tie one bead to the end of a strand of elastic that has been cut to fit around the student's arm, with about 2 inches to spare. Alternate stringing beads and bells onto the elastic. Tie a knot to finish the bracelet.
Clay provides tactile stimulation and helps build strength in a students hands. Let the student pound or squeeze the clay. Press objects into the clay to make patterns and new textures. Use baking supplies like cookie cutters, a garlic press, forks and a potato masher to manipulate the clay in different ways.
Experiment with different varieties of clay. Some clay is more pliable than others. Show the students how to roll out snakes with the clay or make small balls. Let them create animals, faces or abstract sculptures.
Blend two colors of clay to make a new color. Hand out a piece of yellow clay and a piece of blue clay. Show them how to mash the two together to make green. Do the same with red and yellow, and red and blue.