Getting serious about keeping people happily occupied requires serious attention to preparation time. When a person is occupied, they want to be doing something, not watching someone else flutter about doing the preparation work before they can get started. For the person who is conducting the crafts group that means the details should not dictate how time is spent during the group. Organising the details takes great planning. Here are some tips for ACL 4 groups that we learned along the way.
A storage cabinet in a remote area can have supplies that the therapists can transport to a crafts group that can be located anywhere. Liquid glue and wood stains require access to a sink, and those projects can be stored on a separate shelf as a quick reminder.
The supply cabinet will need to be locked in a craft group area to stop the supplies disappearing. When the person is functioning in ACL 4 Low, they are not likely to search for a closed cupboard whereas others functioning in ACL 4 High and higher will hunt for the supplies.
The tool side of the cabinet uses a shadow board for a quick tool check.
This is mass production of evaluative activities in a short-term psychiatric hospital.
Button jars are too confusing within ACL 4. Sorting the buttons for them and cutting the cups down so they can see inside to the buttons are environmental modifications that eliminate the confusion.
Control of liquid glue requires planning on your part. Keeping the bottles in a tray that is easily transportable helps when getting them in and out and when refilling the bottles.
Keeping the wood stains and brushes together saves steps. Since they cannot be depended on to wash the brushes clean, gather them in a plastic jar and wash them yourself after the group.
Pre-cut everything for the ACL 4 Lows who do not understand the one-to-one correspondence necessary to use a ruler.
Thread needles ahead of time and do not be surprised to find yourself handing out longer and longer threads.
Buy reading glasses in the hope that some people will use them to thread their own needles.
I once saw a person on skid row wearing reading glasses that read "Return to OT" in red nail polish.
Bulk packages of die cut shapes are cheaper but labour intensive. Small containers controlled by the group leader are essential to prevent chaos and waste. They can be used in ACL 4 Low to make notecard size projects.
Stickers that arrive mounted on sheets of paper are easier to store and faster to set up. The expensive details are usually ignored within ACL 4 Low.
