Activity Title 1: Gauze Soft Sculpture

Source:
Hart, R., & Rollins, J. (2011). Therapeutic Activities for Children and Teens Coping with
Health Issues. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.
Equipment: Pencil, paper (cut to size of gauze pads), large gauze pads (2 per person),
straight pins, large plastic darning needle, fabric scraps, scissors, fabric glue, yarn,
cotton balls.
Description of Activity:
The activity will begin by having the therapist explain to the participants that they
will be creating their own sculptures using gauze pads. The therapist will pass out a
sheet of paper to each participant. Once each participant has a sheet paper, the
therapist will instruct the participants to make a pattern by drawing an outline of an
object, person, or shape on the paper. The participants will be provided with scissors to
cut out the outline they created to make a pattern. Each participant will receive 2 gauze
pads and they will place the pads together, matching all four corners. The therapist will
demonstrate to the participants how to pin the patter they created to the gauze pads
and then they will cut out the gauze pads by outlining the cut out they created.
Participants will decorate their gauze pads with fabric scraps and yarn; the decorations
will be glues on to the gauze pads. The therapist will show participants how to thread
the darning needle with yarn and sew their two pieced of gauze together, leaving a 2inch opening. Participants will receive cotton balls and they will push cotton balls
through the opening, making sure they extend to all the corners. Finally, the participants
will sew the opening close. Once everyone has completed their sculpture, the
participants will sit together and discuss the reason for the their design on the sculpture.
The therapist will continue the discussion by asking participants what they thought of
the activity and if they enjoyed it.
Leadership considerations:
This activity is best performed in groups of 8-10 participants and would usually
take around 1 hour to complete. The activity is best performed in an indoor environment
because of all the arts and craft material required for the activity, if it was outdoor
environment the materials could get lost. The therapist will begin as a moderator by
explaining the activity to all the participants. Once the activity is explained, the therapist
will hand out materials required to create the sculptures. The therapist will guide
participants step by step through out the project to make sure everyone gets the
sculpture done correctly. During some parts of the activity such as the decorating part,
the therapist plays the role of supervisor. When the participants are required to use the
pins, the therapist need to be careful no participants gets hurt. The pins can be very
sharp and stab a participants finger. To avoid any accidents, the therapist will be in
close contact with all participants during this part of the activity. Once the activity is
complete, the therapist will have all participants get together and lead a discussion with
them. The topics of discussion will be based on the activity and the participants needs
and interests. During this activity there are multiple of safety hazards to be attentive to.
Before hanging out any scissors or straight pins, explain to participants that these
materials can be very dangerous and to be very careful. The therapist will demonstrate

how to use the materials correctly. If any participant is acting irresponsible with the
materials, remove materials from participants and provide assistance to complete the
activity.
Adaptations:
*Participants with Multiple Sclerosis:
Participants with multiple sclerosis have what is a progressive disease that
affects the central nervous system, which includes the brain and spinal column. The
results of the damage that multiple sclerosis bring are numbness and tingling of hands
or feet, weakness of lower extremities, loss of voluntary movements of muscles, loss of
vision in one or both eyes, and facial numbness. Participants may also develop
cognitive problems and affective disorders, which result in personality changes, memory
loss, and decreased planning and organizational abilities (Datillo, 2012). To facilitate the
activity for participants it is recommended that the light inside the facility is adequate to
maximize vision (Rodriguez, 2015). This will help participants trace and use the pins
with much more ease. Participants may experience numbness on their fingertips, so it
may be hard to grasp the pins, needle, and scissors but the therapist can assist them
during these portions of the activity. The numbness of the finger does not always occur,
so only provide the additional assistance if necessary. Participant may also experience
weakness and loss of voluntary movements of muscles, participants should rest their
elbows on the tables to give them more motion to their wrists and hands (Make Your
Home, n.d.) and it make it possible to complete the cutting, sewing, and tracing portion
of the activity. The skills of people with multiple sclerosis vary from time to time because
of exacerbations and remissions, so therapist must be prepared to deal with fluctuations
in performance and behaviors of participants. Some participants may be required to use
a wheelchair during the time of exacerbations and then later be able to walk with
assistance during the time of remission (Datillo, 2012). When participants are using the
wheelchairs, provide adequate space for them to move around.
*Participants with Upper Limb Amputations or Congenital Absences:
Participants usually have missing upper limbs for these two main reasons. One
reason is that they could have been born with portion or most of their limb missing or a
person with their entire limb could have experienced some trauma or infection that
results in the need to remove a portion of their upper limb. Some participants wear
prosthesis, which is an artificial body part (Datillo, 2012). There are many different kinds
of prosthetics, and with technology on a climax prosthetics are capable of having a
sense of feel (Modular Prosthetic Limb, n.d.). The prosthetics allows participants to
engage in fine motor skill activities, but working with prosthetics is not as fast as working
with a persons own arm. These participants require longer time in activities and they
are not to be rush. These participants have a mass of physical and psychosocial
challenges including modifications in body image and lifestyle, changes in self-concept,
impairments in physical functioning, and pain (Desmond, n.d.), so to rush them it would
make them feel bad and insecure. For the participants that do not have any upper limbs
or any prosthetics, the activity will need multiple modifications. Assuming that the
participant is missing both of his/her upper limbs, using the straight pins and darning
needle will be very difficult. The therapist can replace these materials by using fabric

glue and a block instead. The therapist or the participant (using their mouth) can place
the block on top of the two gauzes so it wont move and allow them to use their mouth
to trace the second. Always promote active participation because many of these
individuals have loss a sense of mobility, so working with missing limbs helps increase
mobility is the different settings (Datillo, 2012). The portion of the activity when cutting
the gauze, the participants can instead use a cheese slicer (Hughes, 2013). The
participants can maneuver this equipment using their chin to push down and cut the
gauze. To stuff the sculpture with cotton balls, the therapist can assist the participants
by having them hold down the actual sculpture and then the therapist will stick the
cotton balls inside. The participants use the fabric glue to complete closing the
sculpture. These participants required lots of assistances but try to allow participants to
do as much as they can on their own.
Adaptations References
Dattilo, J. (2012). Learn About People, Inclusion, and Disability. In Inclusive Leisure
Services (Third ed., pp. 385-485). State College, PA: Venture Publishing.
Desmond, D. (n.d.). Coping, affective distress and psychosocial adjustment among
people with traumatic upper limb amputations. Department of Psychology, John
Hume Building, National University of Ireland, 1-3.
Hughes, L. (2013, October 1). Linda's One Arm Web Site. Retrieved November 1, 2015,
from http://www.toysrbob.com/onearm/.
Make Your Home Work for You When You Have MS. (n.d.). Retrieved November 16,
2015, from http://www.webmd.com/multiple-sclerosis/guide/multiple-sclerosisadapting-your-home
Modular Prosthetic Limb. (n.d.). Retrieved October 31, 2015, from http://www.j
huapl.edu/prosthetics/scientists/mpl.asp.
Rodirguez, D. (2015). Adapting Your Home for Multiple Sclerosis. Retrieved November
15, 2015, from http://www.everydayhealth.com/hs/multiple-sclerosispictures/adapting-your-home/#10