"We were going to learn about art. We were going to learn about art history; and we were going to learn about people and cultures, time, and how we work through our own individuality and differences."

To make the experience complete, she determined that parents and siblings of the special-needs children should attend the classes, when possible.

Laurel Cannon Alder, a mother of three "normally developing" children, has been attending Kindred Spirits since the first class in 2003. She felt the experience of interacting with disabled children would be good for them.

"My kids," said Alder, "feel absolutely comfortable in the situation, where they are interacting and getting to know kids of varying abilities."

One important aspect of the class for Alder is that "Alison doesn't talk down to anybody. She doesn't talk down to the children; she doesn't talk down to the adults. You take it at whatever level you can absorb it. We can't presume, especially with these children with special needs, what they can or can't absorb."

"Alison is a fabulous teacher," said Natalie Greene, whose 4-year-old daughter Celina has cerebral palsy. "She reaches those kids exactly where they need to be reached."

According to Greene, Perreault-Steubing helps the kids create art by using their bodies in ways they never thought possible. "It's so great because it's an art class where anything is right," Greene said. "Anything is good; it doesn't have to be one way."

Rachel Coleman and her daughters attended their first class last winter. Leah is 7 and deaf; Lucy is 3 and has spina bifida and cerebral palsy.

"I was excited about it for my girls, because it puts them both in a learning environment," said Coleman. "It puts them both in a situation where they get to contribute in their own way. And for my girls with their disabilities, it's pretty hard to find that all in one place."

On April 29, KS (the class participants pronounce it "KISS") began its spring class embracing music: "Sight, Sound, Texture, Color and Vibration." (For six weeks — four times a year — KS holds classes.)

To prepare for the class, parents and children got together the week before to create and decorate a soundboard that would allow students with hearing disabilities to feel the vibrations of the music.

Summer session, "The Special Utilitarian Object," will offer children opportunities to explore the practical art in everyday life, within the typical home and the special-needs home. KS participants will create functional objects that meet their individual need and are aesthetically valued.