Who: Draw-a-Person can be used on children or adults of all ages.

 

What: Draw-a-Person is an assessment used to provide a projective profile of a child's personality or emotional or behavioral attributes.

 

When: This assessment can be conducted at any time. It is preferable to be used at the beginning of the screening process.

 

Why: This assessment provides insight into possible emotional or behavioral issues.

 

How:  The teacher is to give the student several sheets of unlined, white paper, and a sharpened #2 pencil. The teacher asks the student to draw a person. The child is allowed to draw anything; however if they draw a stick person, ask the student to draw a full figure person (keep both drawings).

 

After the child has finished the first person, ask them to take another sheet of paper and draw another person of the opposite gender. For younger children, the teacher may have to ask the child questions to determine the gender of the first drawing, and then prompt the student to draw another figure of the opposite gender. However, the teacher is not to tell the child to draw a specific person.