Read Shruti’s story
I have always believed that every child should have a way to express what they feel, even when words are difficult.
While working with children on the autism spectrum, I saw that many children communicate and respond to the world in very different ways. Some found it difficult to express emotions verbally, while others struggled with attention, regulation or unfamiliar situations. Yet I also saw how naturally they responded to colours, textures and creative activities.
That experience made me wonder: could art become a simple, accessible way to help children pause, express themselves and engage with their emotions?
I began exploring this question through research into art therapy and wellbeing interventions for children, both autistic and neurotypical. What started as a curiosity gradually became a project on art-based interventions for children: using creative activity as a structured way to help children, both neurotypical and neurodivergent, to process and express what they’re feeling, then measuring whether it actually works.
Art for Wellbeing was born from that journey, with the hope that something as simple as creating art could give children another language for expression, connection and wellbeing.
Over roughly a year and a half, from an initial literature review to two rounds of field testing, I have moved from research to a working, tested intervention. I am now in the next phase: making the model digital, scalable and accessible to schools serving children across different regions and communities.