Improvement is observed in the quality of the effects produced, but the same action must be repeated enough times to provide the opportunity to display improvement. The primary effect happens first and immediately. The effect is perceivable with a spatial fit that captures the person's attention.

Fabrics offer many subtle changes in surface appearances; colours, patterns and textures capture attention within ACL 5.2.

Pieces can be sewed, glued or ironed-on together, but the person will need a design to copy.

Covering flat surfaces can be applied to making note cards, coasters, calendars, book covers, placemats, table scarves, or pictures. Covering or picture frames is better than covering boxes (ACL 5.4).

The size of the pieces and the size of the covered surface influence how long it takes to get the project done.

A favourite of many people is sanding with the grain of the wood; some will happily sand for hours. Collections of tree roots and limbs or drift wood can be an inexpensive resource.

Sanding with the grain of the wood is where the idea for surface appearances got started. Below ACL 5.2, people simply do not understand what will happen when you put stain on after sanding against the grain of the wood. The surprise comes when they still do not understand after the connection is demonstrated to them.

Natural materials are an excellent source of surface appearances. The subtle variations in flowers, leaves, woods, rocks, sand, dirt and seashells can be incorporated into designs for ACL 5.2.

The following mosaics illustrate the difference between the jack-o-lantern design for ACL 5.0 and the alignment of seeds that may occur within ACL 5.2.

http://www.firstpalette.com/Craft_themes/Food/Seed_Mosaic/Seed_Mosaic.html

The person may be able to coordinate the movements for squatting, skipping, and hopping.

Refined eye-hand coordination can cause effects using a single finger to fit into a small space or a corner.

Materials and tools are selected and adjusted as they proceed to fit the desired cause and effect connection, as long as the effect is perceivable in the primary effects on surface appearances.

Most people do not have a history of painting or drawing designs. They appreciate pre-drawn designs such as colouring pages, paint by numbers, embroidery designs stamped on fabrics, iron-on designs or designs that can be traced. The internet makes finding designs faster and free, but family and friends tend to select designs that are too hard or simple. Skilled knowledge is usually required to find and select designs that capture and sustain attention for the desired amount of time.

Too Hard

The tools used should be hand-held and not power driven because the person's control of the power tool is not dependable.

Wet floors are a fall hazard that can be graded according to the materials used in the floor construction, drains, and bath mats.

Within ACL 5.2, the person usually pays attention to the wet floor when someone tells them to but does not anticipate a potential fall. Someone will probably need to tell then to use a grab bar, dry the floor with a towel and move slowly. They will probably learn a new, demonstrated procedure. The realistic goal within ACL 5.2 and 5.4 is learning to follow safety precautions independently within 4 to 6 sessions.

That rhetorical question captures the essence of the clean or cleaner discussions that can become dominate within ACL 5.2, i.e. clean freaks. The reason is simple; they can pay attention to and improve surface appearances. The problem can be that too clean all of the time annoys other people. The other problem can be the safety hazards in cleaning agents, which may be toxic fumes, poisons, or flammables.

The original surface appearance is made into an image to start a repeated process of comparing and evaluating cause and effect connections. Their actions are adjusted to cause different effects; multiple cause and effect connections may be observed during a progression. Each connection may be compared and evaluated with images retained for a few minutes in working memory. The final evaluation is a judgement made about the whole progression, which may be stored in long-term memory.