Explorando el pensamiento artístico en la neurodivergencia: Implementación y evaluación de estrategias didácticas que posibilitan el desarrollo de algunas habilidades del pensamiento artístico con niños neurodivergentes en edad preescolar.

Abstract

Inclusive education, as a fundamental principle of the right to education, requires profound transformations in the pedagogical processes carried out in classrooms, particularly in those that welcome children with neurodivergent conditions. Neurodivergence, understood as the natural variability of human neurological functioning, encompasses conditions such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), among others, and presents significant challenges to traditional educational models that prioritize homogeneous and standardized approaches to learning. In this context, visual arts emerge as a privileged field for exploration, communication, and the holistic development of children, as they offer alternative means of expression that are particularly valuable for those who experience difficulties with verbal communication, sensory processing, or emotional regulation. Drawing on pedagogical approaches such as Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development, Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences, and Rogers’s Humanistic Psychology, it is recognized that art facilitates complex processes of thinking, emotional expression, social interaction, and identity affirmation. Thus, the implementation of teaching strategies based on visual arts represents a valid approach to strengthening meaningful learning and fostering artistic thinking in neurodivergent children by building on their abilities. However, despite regulatory and institutional advances in support of inclusion, structural and pedagogical barriers persist in teacher training, curriculum design, and the availability of adapted resources, limiting the full and equitable participation of this population in educational experiences. In particular, within the field of visual arts, there is a noticeable shortage of contextualized, flexible, and technically grounded methodological approaches that integrate cognitive and sensory diversity with the pedagogical objectives of arts education. This research project addresses this need and aims to design, implement, and evaluate inclusive teaching strategies in visual arts that respond to the specific characteristics of neurodivergent children aged 4 to 7 in an inclusive classroom at the Galileo Experimental Center. To this end, the study adopts a qualitative-interpretive approach, using case study and action research methodologies. It develops a series of intervention phases that include contextual assessment, the design of sensory, spatial, and kinesthetic activities, pilot implementation, analysis of results, and the formulation of pedagogical recommendations. The research is theoretically grounded in interdisciplinary contributions that integrate child development, neurodiversity, arts education, artistic thinking, and adapted instructional design. Its purpose is to demonstrate that art is not merely a means of aesthetic expression but also a powerful tool for inclusion, cognitive and emotional development, and educational transformation. This introduction provides an overview of the document, which is organized into chapters addressing the research problem, objectives, theoretical and methodological framework, design of the pedagogical proposal, systematization of the intervention process, analysis of results, and, finally, the conclusions and recommendations arising from the research and reflective process.