Abstract:

Τhis study examines a psycho-educational, arts-based program designed to help children with mild intellectual disability express, represent, and understand aspects of their relationship with the paternal figure, an area that remains notably underexplored despite its developmental significance. The program was implemented at the University of the Aegean within a community-care framework and involved 15 children with mild intellectual disability (7 girls and 8 boys, aged 7 to 10 years), 15 volunteers, two assistants, and one researcher who was responsible for designing, implementing, facilitating, and systematically documenting all activities. Multimodal narrative stimuli were used throughout the program, including illustrated stories, images, collage materials, music, sensory and experiential exercises, drama play, and short video excerpts depicting paternal themes. Data were collected through participatory observation, children’s artistic and expressive products, verbal and nonverbal behaviors, and detailed field notes. Thematic analysis showed that the children developed internalized and symbolically meaningful representations of the paternal figure, expressed emotions through artistic, dramatic, and multisensory channels, experienced varying degrees of closeness, admiration, distance, or ambivalence toward their fathers, and gradually demonstrated stronger interaction, communication, and self-expression within the group. Overall, the findings underscore the value of integrating paternal themes into psycho-educational practice and suggest that multimodal, arts-based approaches provide an emotionally safe and developmentally appropriate context that enables children with mild intellectual disability to explore complex relational content and articulate their emotional experiences.

Keywords:

Paternal figure, mild intellectual disability, emotional expression, children’s representations, psycho-educational program.