Why Disability Art Deserves More Than a Hallway Display

Jenna Urban
Jul 20
3 min read

Updated: Jul 20

Let me start by saying: art isn’t just cute. And for disabled artists, especially kids in special education classrooms, it’s definitely not just some feel-good project schools pull out to decorate the hallway once a year.

Art is communication. Art is healing. Art is identity.

So why are we treating it like a charity case?

The Hallway Problem

If you’re a parent of a disabled child, you’ve probably seen it. The once-a-year “art week” where your child’s work gets pinned alongside their non-disabled peers. Or worse—their work is stuck in some back hallway, outside the special ed classroom, like a token acknowledgment: See? We let them participate too.

But participation isn’t the same as inclusion. And inclusion isn’t the same as empowerment.

Disabled children are artists. Not disabled artists. Not special needs art kids. Artists.

Yet, in too many schools, their creativity is treated as a sideline hobby. Not a valid form of expression. Not a tool for processing trauma. Not a strength worth celebrating. Just… something to fill bulletin boards.

And that’s the problem.

Art as Voice

Here’s the truth nobody tells you when your kid gets stuck with an IEP label: once people see “disability,” they stop seeing capability.

Art challenges that.

For many disabled children, especially those who struggle to communicate verbally or who carry trauma (like my son, Jack), art isn’t optional. It’s essential. It’s a voice when spoken words fail. It’s therapy when formal therapy falls short.

Every painting, every scribble, every abstract explosion of color—they’re telling you something. And as parents, educators, and advocates, it’s our job to stop looking past it.

The Emotional Tax of Being Overlooked

Let me get personal for a second.

I’ve watched my son come home from school after “art day” not proud, but deflated. Why? Because his work was hung up alongside work that wasn’t his peer group. He knew it. And he felt it.

The teachers saw his art as a pat on the head. He saw it as proof no one believed in his intelligence.

Let that sink in.

That’s the emotional tax of low expectations. That’s the quiet trauma of being dismissed.

What Schools Should Be Doing

Schools need to stop treating disability art like charity and start treating it like curriculum. Here’s how:

Dedicated, inclusive art classes—not just for neurotypical kids.
Art therapy integrated into IEPs—because art is communication.
Exhibits that center disabled artists, not sideline them.
Paid opportunities and showcases—yes, even for kids.

When schools invest in disabled students as artists, not projects, that’s when change happens.

What Parents Can Do

Here’s what I’ve learned as a parent: you can (and should) demand better.

Ask for art accommodations or therapeutic art to be written into your child’s IEP.
If your child’s school isn’t displaying their work with dignity and pride—call them out.
Start showcasing your child’s art outside the school system. Online. At local galleries. In your home. Teach them that their work matters.

And remember: their art doesn’t need to look like anyone else’s to be powerful.