Marble painting is an art activity that severely handicapped students can participate in. A piece of paper, a few marbles and a box with a lid are all you need to proceed. The students shake the box to move the marble around, which creates a painting.
Dot painters, like Bingo markers, are a tool that allows students without much control to paint. Encourage them by explaining pointillism and showing them some famous paintings create entirely out of dots.
Finger painting is a possibility that offers self-expression. Severely handicapped students often enjoy the feeling of the paint. Offer one color at a time and allow the paint to dry in between color changes to avoid a muddy look. Display the art to build self-esteem and encourage more artwork.
Give your students a chance to create collages. A variety of materials offer sensory stimulation. Consider soft items, torn paper, packing peanuts, macaroni, natural items and even spices. The smells add a dimension to their art project.
Provide battery-operated scissors to help cut magazine images or colored paper scraps. Fat glue sticks or sticky paper allow even severely disabled students the opportunity to make collages. Although, some students may have to tell you where they want items placed. Help them, but let them decide how the finished piece will look.
Severely handicapped students may have the ability to thread large-holed beads onto pipe cleaners. Even one or two beads create a piece of wearable art that they can show off or give to friends as gifts. This project can be expanded for higher functioning students by showing them how to create patterns.