Rawley Silver, Ed.D., ATR-BC, HLM
Books The Silver Drawing Test and Draw A Story, Assessing Depression, Aggression,and Cognitive Skills
Art can be an invaluable means of communication. It can bypass language impairments and allow for the expression of thoughts or feelings too difficult to communicate with words. In The Silver Drawing Test and Draw a Story, Rawley Silver draws on her years of experience using therapeutic art with hearing-impaired children, stroke patients, and others with learning disabilities or emotional disturbances as well as students with no known impairments. The book’s original art assessments use stimulus drawings to elicit responses that provide access to fantasies and attitudes toward self and others, while also testing for the ability to solve problems and convey ideas. It assesses three fundamental structures from which reading, math and all branches of knowledge are said to be generated - concepts of space, sequential order, and class inclusion. It is based on the premise that cognitive skills can be evident in visual as well as verbal conventions, and that these skillls can be identified, assessed, and developed through drawing. In addition, the assessments have served to identify children and adolescents at risk for violent behavior and/or masked depression. Thoroughly updated from Silver’s earlier works, this new book includes techniques for assessing aggression and depression that may lead to violence in schools and suicide among children and adolescents. It also addresses important gender and age differences, incorporating new information and updated studies by mental health practitioners in Russia,Thailand, Brazil, Australia, and other countries as well as the U.S.A. It also provides art procedures for developing cognitive and creative skills. Silver has provided an invaluable resource for assessing emotional, cognitive, and creative content.  Aggression and Depression Assessed Through Art; Using Draw-A-Story to Identify children and Adolescents at Risk
Recently, Dr. Rawley Silver began investigating the use of her Draw-a-Story Test(DAS) as a screening technique to help identify children and adolescents at risk for harming others. Previously, she developed the DAS assessment to identify those at risk for harming themselves. The book examines the responses, fantasies, and histories of students who have been aggressive and compares them with students who have not, and includes over 90 drawings by aggressive and depressed students. The findings are based on a sample of over 200 students aged 8 to 19 in experimental and control groups. Using both quantitative and qualitative research, the book presents significant differences between aggressive and non-aggressive groups. In addition, chapters by Dr. Silver and her colleagues compare subgroups and individuals across genders and cultures.They also analyze changes and consistencies in emotional states. Building on a pilot study, this book provides procedures for administering the test and assessing emotional content, self-images, and the use of humor, using rating scales that range from strongly negative (1 point) to strongly positive (5 points). The use of DAS as an early indicatorof potentially violent or suicidal behavior has wide-ranging implications and provides a tool that can be used to identify and treat children and adolescents at risk. Test booklets may be downloaded at no charge at: www.routledge-ny.com/testmaterials.htm Order online at www.routledge-ny.com Routledge ..... Formerly a Brunner-Routledge Title 2005... 203 pages ..... ISBN 0-415-95015-5, $34.95, paperback  Art as Language, Access to Thoughts and Feelings through Stimulus Drawings
“Dr. Silver explains that the book originated from her years as an art therapist and educator working with children who experienced auditory or language disorders or other communication deficits. The author uses actual case examples and illustrations to explain how children blocked from communicating verbally are able to create a parallel visual dialogue.” --NAEA News, A Publication of the National Art Education Association.  Developing Cognitive and Creative Skills Through Art, Programs for children with communication disorders or learning disabilities
“How and why readers can use art procedures to assess and develop cognitive skills and emotional strengths. This third, revised edition updates research studies using the procedures.” --American Journal of Art Therapy “For many years, Dr. Rawley A Silver has shared with us her knowledge and experiences as an artist, educator, therapist, and researcher….We have waited for years for a book containing such a wealth of objective and quantitative information on this subjects. The waiting has been well worth while.” --The Arts in Psychotherapy  Three Art Assessments
Published in 2002 by Brunner-Routledge, N.Y.C. and Great Britain. ISBN 1-58391-352-1. Review by Linda J. Pfeiffer, Ed.D. ATR-BC, Chairperson, Clinical Art Therapy Dept., Miami-Dade Public Schools: Through decades of research and practice, Rawley Silver has further professionalized the field of art therapy by providing a sound basis for art evaluations as a valid instrument for assessing cognition and emotionality... With the recent increase in school violence, identifying troubled students has become a priority. Bullying, depression, and suicide are all too common... --The Arts in Psychotherapy, 30 (1) 2003 |
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