Sarrah Morose

LEI 4724
Activity File 16
Activity Title: Decorating A Plain Cake
Citation: The Benefits of Baking Therapy | Mental Healthy. (n.d.). Retrieved March 11, 2016,
from http://www.mentalhealthy.co.uk/depression/depression/the-benefits-of-baking-therapy.html
The Psychological, Social, and Physical Consequences of Amputation. (2012). Retrieved March
11, 2016, from http://1solutionfocusedcoaching.com/2012/02/25/psychological-social-andphysical-consequences-of-amputations-by-roberta-cone-psy-d/
Barlow, D. H., & Durand, V. M. (1995). Abnormal psychology: An integrative approach. Pacific
Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Pub.
Fowler, S., & Fowler, S. (2007). Sensory stimulation: Sensory-focused activities for people with
physical and multiple disabilities. London: Jessica Kingsley.
Equipment: Plain cake, Food coloring, Icing sugar, Rosewater, Angelica, Mint leaves, Silver
balls, Chocolate sprinkles, Glace cherries, Large plate, Bowls, Spoons, Knife, Small Jug.
Activity description: This activity depicts the way to decorate a plain cake. The purpose of this
activity is to provide gustatory, olfactory, tactile experience. This activity also provides an
opportunity for expressing likes and dislikes as well as making choices. (Fowler, 2007). In order
to perform this activity, the activity leader will explain these steps to the participants:
1. Gather together in groups of 2 around a table.
2. Choose the shape of the plain cake desired and place it on a large plate.
3. Place the different decorations in bowls and pass around for participants to decide in
groups how they are going to decorate their cake.
4. Pour the icing sugar into a bowl by using a small jug.
5. Divide the icing sugar into smaller portions and add the different food coloring.
Participants will choose their colors as a group.
6. Participants decide whether or not they want to add the rosewater
7. Put icing on the cake and add the various decorations.
8. Participants decide in groups the decorations they want to choose and add on the cake.
9. At the end of activity, participants clean up by putting the decorations away as indicated
by activity leader, then, talk about whether or not they enjoyed the activity and what they
liked or disliked about the activity.
Leadership considerations: In order to conduct this activity safely, activity leader wants to be
knowledgeable about food safety and share the information with participants so that everyone is
aware of the safety to use when handling food with fingers. Activity leader may consider that
participants wear gloves while doing the activity. Participant wants to make sure the hands are
clean and ready to practice on gross and fine motor skills while working on decorations. Activity
leader will make sure participants are handling utensils with safety to prevent any incidents or
anyone cutting themselves. Activity leader wants to make sure participants do not put anything in
their mouth to prevent high blood sugar. Activity leader wants to assist as much as possible to
prevent dropping pieces of decorations on the floor, to prevent any incident if someone needs to
walk around. (Fowler, 2007)
Adaptations

Participants with Post Traumatic stress disorder: Individuals with this condition have severe
and long lasting emotional disorder that can occur after several traumatic events. It may have
been an exposure to an actual or threatened death, serious injury or violence to oneself or a loved
one. These individuals keep having recurrent, involuntary and intrusive distressing memories of
the traumatic event. They also have recurrent distressing dreams about the event. They experience
dissociative reactions for example flashbacks about the event. (Barlow& Durand, 2015). When
doing this activity with this population, activity leader wants to make sure, by asking the
participants how they feel about getting involved in this activity, that it is not bringing any
negative feelings instead of serving as therapeutic. For example the participant may recall
decorating cake with a loved one that is no longer here and it may become upsetting. The activity
leader wants to be sensitive about the emotional health of participants. By doing this activity, the
participants are able to relieve the symptoms of anxiety they feel every time they have the
stressful event re occur in their mind. They are able to transfer the negative feelings they
experience to the effort they use in decorating the cake. They are able to pre occupy their mind
with something instead of experiencing the events in their mind over and over. The benefits of
decorating a cake for this population include, relieving stress and anxiety, gaining new skills,
gaining new strategies in coping with the stressful events, more restful nights. (mental healthy,
2016)
Participants with amputation: When someone just had an amputation because of a medical
reason, the person may experience emotional and cognitive changes that include grieving,
depression, anxiety or poor body image. The person may experience physical pain as well as
distress and also a decrease in the quality of life.(Site for creative solutions, 2016). When working
with participants in this population, the activity leader wants to make sure that the table is at a
comfortable level for their wheelchair so that they can interact with their group members and
decorate without more difficulties. The activity leader wants to make sure that the participants
have their hands clean and assists them in doing so if needed. The activity leader wants to make
sure there is enough space in the room for participants who are using a wheelchair to circulate
around. The benefit of this activity for this population include sensory experience, opportunity to
enhance social skills, creativity skills, communicative skills, better strategies to cope with
condition, gain sense of control over choice and decision making for decoration, gain higher self
esteem, learning new skills, gain sense of self accomplishment. (Fowler, 2007)