Origami in Education and Therapy

When a child is faced with a piece of blank paper he/she has an urge to write or draw on it, but very rarely does the child use the paper itself as a creative medium. Paper folding, known by its Japanese name – Origami - is the only technique that uses a manipulation of papers without any other materials and thus considered by many as a non-threatening activity.

Origami can be defined as the art of creating recognizable objects by mean of folding a sheet of paper. In contrast with other forms of art, where one must be naturally gifted to be creative, Origami can be learned by almost anyone. In recent years, Origami has been used by educators and therapists in many applied setting. Teachers have discovered that Origami is an activity that fits ideally into interdisciplinary and multi-cultural programs.

Therapists have found that origami has a modifying affect on their patients, and they often use it as a diagnostic and therapeutic tool. 
Paper folding combines the advantages of being instructive and attractive. It appeals to the creative, inventive and constructive abilities of children. Friedrich Froebel (1782 – 1852), the German educator and founder of the kindergarten, who dedicated most of his life to the exploration of the learning process of young children, realized that a game for children is an educational tool of a great value. Origami in that sense has the characteristics of a game. It is an enjoyable activity that follows certain rules, it involves emotions, it excites, entertains, and at the same time teaches through doing. To the unsuspecting child, the transformation of the flat sheet of paper into a three dimensional form, using only two hands, seems almost magical.

In this learning by doing activity, (in which co-ordination and motor control play an important part), there is a continuous interaction of the action and thought process. Children watch how each fold leads to a more advanced one and how together they all progress to create a life-like pliable material, which they, the children, duplicate or, use their creativity to form a new one on their own. In that aspect, Origami is a method of “active research”. There is a gradual progression, a sequential order, research into new relationships of folds, and creative possibilities which encourage the advancement of new ideas.

Paper folding provides the children with a multi sensory hand on approach, which is particularly beneficial to children with learning difficulties. The child is exposed to speaking, listening, seeing, observing, touching and doing. In the process of learning a new model and duplicating it on his own, the child has an opportunity to improve multiple cognitive skills in an enjoyable way. A partial list of these skills includes: visual sequential memory, ability to follow directions (visual or auditory), eye hand coordination, spatial perception and fine motor skills. The child also develops associative thinking skills, improves patience, concentration and attention to details.

Paper folding can be used as a technique to achieve vital academic objectives. One of the most obvious applications is mathematics. Origami provides a highly engaging and motivating environment within which children extend their geometric experience and the skill of spatial visualization. With its richness in mathematical topics, students literally manipulate the concepts that they are learning. Origami demonstrates the fact that mathematics is a subject that can involve exploration. When a student, for example, folds a piece of paper in half and opens it out again, the nature of one half is shown to him/her.

When he/she is asked to open the paper and to fold each edge to the middle line, he/she is gaining an appreciation of the nature of one quarter. Students enjoy mathematics when it is combined with Origami. It seems like a game for young children to unfold a model and identify the revealed triangles, rectangles, and other geometric shapes. At the same time, seeds of geometric thinking are implanted. The activity remains in their conscious memory. When later on they develop the ability to think in the abstract, they will associate it with the time they spent playing with math. Symmetry, proportion, right angles, 60 degrees angles, bisections of angles, fractions, mathematical proofs and a host of other endless math concepts can be presented with Origami.

Since the art of Origami is based on a language of symbols, another natural educational objective that can be applied through Origami is reading. Reading is based on association of symbols and sounds. Origami is based on association of symbols and actions. Some reading specialists contend that while students are involved in folding papers, they are developing essential reading skills in three main areas: perceiving a sign as a symbol, recognizing it and interpreting its meaning. By the virtue of the children’s desire to produce a three dimensional model teachers can use Origami to reinforce reading. This medium is especially helpful when dealing with children with language based disability for whom reading is a struggle. Teachers are constantly faced with the difficult task of finding new appropriate and exciting ideas to motivate these students to read. The eagerness to complete an Origami model reduces their resistance to reading since they will not be able to produce successful results unless they try to decode new words and understand new vocabulary. In this way children are working toward a realistic and concrete goal set by and for themselves, rather then working to earn the approval of a teacher or a parent.

Origami lends itself to the development of the concept of sequencing. Experienced teachers are used to seeing children who lack the understanding that certain things need to be done in a certain order. Writing a story, where there is a beginning, middle and end is one example. Origami helps the children to construct the concept of “first thing first” If the children are trying to fold an origami model without carefully watching and listening to the verbal instructions, or following the sequence of steps, they will not be successful in producing the results they are aiming for. The model rather then the teacher will tell them they have not gotten where they wanted to 

Origami and children with learning disability

Learning disability is an invisible disorder that affects people’s ability to either interpret what they see and hear or to link information from different parts of the brain. These limitations extend to schoolwork and can cause difficulties with spoken and written language, coordination, self-control, or attention. Such difficulties can impede learning to read, write or do math. Children with learning disabilities usually score average or above average on I.Q. tests. Many of them demonstrate a superior ability in art or academic areas, which are not affected by their disability. Some very eminent people have found learning difficult: Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Winston Churchill and Nelson Rockefeller, just to name a few. Professionals have longed accepted the idea that these children can indeed learn, though somewhat differently from their peers, and referred to them as having learning differences. For many children, learning differences do not only mean struggle with academics. Learning differences, in many cases, affect a child's social competence and prevent him from having successful interpersonal relationship. Many of these children exhibit low self-esteem and a high level of anxiety.


Origami as a teaching tool for the learning disabled

Children with learning disability often have difficulty in delaying immediate gratification. They become frustrated or anxious with projects that require a long time to complete, and expect to see results right away. Origami makes this possible. Unlike other manipulative craft activities, there is no glue or paints that need to be dried. The results are enjoyed almost at once. Mistakes do not show up one’s disability in such a way as to cause embarrassment and are not a permanent symbol of failure, since all they need to do is to flatten the paper and start anew. This gives Origami a neutral or non-threatening status.

A feeling of self-worth - the knowledge that you can do something, is a critical part of the learning process. Children with learning disabilities often come to think they are incapable of learning because of their ongoing difficulties. Martha Lady a learning disability specialist from North Brunswick NJ, emphasizes that the self esteem component is as important as the learning skills “Most learning disabled children stopped succeeding in educational setting because they had difficulties so they stopped trying. They won’t attempt something that’s challenging because the assumption is that they’ll fail. If you give them successful experience, one that they can take pride in, something that they successfully learned, they won’t be scared to attempt something else new. Origami takes the phobia out of attempting. Yes, they may fail, but they can fix their mistakes and try again. Origami gives them permission to take risks. The child is doing something that not everyone can do. Most things that a learning disabled child can do – that other can’t – do not get the respect of other students. Here is something that is admired”.


When a child is pulled out from class to receive special services such as therapy, or any type of intervention she may feel a sense of inferiority to the rest of the class. Returning to class with something special to show her classmates may bolster her self-image. This is especially important in pre-teens, where peer opinion is more important than adults’ comments. Origami offers individuals with learning disabilities a way to fully discover their own self worth. It helps them change their self-evaluation of doubt and low esteem into feeling of pride.

By examining how a patient folds, clinicians can informally use Origami as a diagnostic tool and make necessary referral for psychological testing. The process of paper folding requires the use of several different cognitive and motor skills. Deficits in any of these psychological tasks may result in difficulty finishing an Origami model. A clinician can use Origami to identify strengths and weaknesses such as verbal and visual memory, attention and concentration, sequencing verbal reasoning, visual perception, gross and fine motor skills. The non-threatening nature of Origami can be used to facilitate the therapeutic process. Using Origami in therapy establishes rapport between the therapist and the child. Being an activity that can be tailored to the skill level of the patient, helps the patient feel a sense of competence and accomplishment. Origami can serve as a medium through which conflicts are symbolically represented. It can reduce the resistance of adolescents, many of whom feel that they are too old for play therapy, but not yet ready to verbally discuss their problems. It can also provide an alternate medium for those with communication problems. 

Many folders have found Origami to be an inherently relaxing activity. Therapists who are knowledgeable in paper-folding, have been using Origami as a stress-reducing technique for themselves. At a conference on Origami in Education and Therapy, which was held in N.Y.C. on June 2002, Dorothy Kaplan, an educator and experienced folder, said: “The use of Origami in Education strengthens the intellectual skills. The use of Origami as a therapeutic tool strengthens the spirits. Recreational Origami makes us happy. Origami has enriched my life for 32 years. I owe it a debt of gratitude”.


Please post your comments below, in no less than two paragraphs, about what scenario of your life (such as yourself, friends or family) could be or could have been improved with the use of origami as a therapeutic or diagnostic tool