What

Survivor’s supplies activity: identifying and retrieving bags left “by other survivors” with supplies (to be used in a subsequent activity.)

The aim of this activity is to have a group acquire supplies for a later activity within the game. It could be different elements of a snack to be prepared and eaten later, clues to be used in a later treasure hunt, tools required for a building task or anything appropriate for the game you are creating.

It will involve the use of observational skills, motor skills, social interaction, communication, reasoning and having lots of fun!

HOW

PREPARING THE PARCELS

Once the supplies to be included have been decided, the bags can be made (if pre-existing bags are not being used.) The cords may be used to seal the bags against bad weather or inquisitive wildlife, even if the parcels are not being suspended from trees.

If required the bags can be easily made from recycled plastic tarpaulin cut into rectangles, folded in half

and taped along two edges as shown.

A cord is then attached to the open end with a loop at one side and a tail on the other allows the bag to be closed (leave the tail much longer if the bags are to be suspended.)

Finally, once filled the bags can be sealed by rolling the open end down four or five times, threading the tail through the loop and pulling tight.

Once filled, the bags can be positioned; they could be placed along a routinely taken path, scattered within a reasonable radius or along a trail to be navigated. They may be very well hidden or placed in obvious, visible positions, depending on the group of players (see “Who” below.)

THE GAME

The game starts with an appropriate explanation of the task; the players need to know what they are looking for and a bit about how to find it!

The most appropriate explanation will depend largely on the players. Some may engage well with a pre-prepared audio or video recording from another “survivor” describing the parcels left behind. For others a simple storyboard with picture instructions would be more appropriate. (For more on scaling the activity, see Who below.) 

The parcels can be integrated with another activity such as a navigation task. Placing bags along a path to be navigated by a journey stick, a series of picture clues or any other technique is certainly possible and can be an effective way to save time if it is limited (again this will be more appropriate for some groups than others.) The players make their way through the environment, communicating as to which way to go, how to retrieve the bags and what the contents may be for.

This game ends when all supply parcels have been found and can then lead smoothly into the next game which may involve using the items that have been retrieved.

Why

This activity encourages players to practise and develop gross motor skills (moving through the environment) observation skills (locating the bags) reasoning (deducing how to retrieve the bags,) fine motor skills (retrieving and opening the bags,) and social interaction (doing all this as a team.)

Challenges in each of these areas may be addressed in an educational or clinical setting, and often one will be observed, assessed and addressed in isolation from the others (Keilhofner, 2008). While the evidence certainly supports the focus on one specific skill set at a time there is also great value in using multiple skills together in a “real world” setting (rather than specific therapeutic settings.) After all, weight lifting to build one specific muscle group at the gym each day is not the same as being physically fit enough to compete in a triathlon, build a fence or climb a mountain.

Although a Zombie Apocalypse is not a particularly realistic setting, the need to exercise multiple skill sets at the same time in completion of a large goal is something we experience in life outside therapeutic spaces (Sternberg, 2009). The activities and occupations we perform each day rarely stand alone; they often cross over in terms of multitasking, and even interact with one another. This game offers an opportunity to practise the integration of several skill sets simultaneously, and to practice in an environment where sensory stimulation may be integrated with the skills being used (Stonefeldt and Stein, 1998).

It is also an opportunity to expand players’ understandings of cause and effect, delaying the outcome and encouraging anticipation and working towards a goal that it slightly removed, rather than immediate. With a range of disabilities (most notably ADHD) the concept of working now in order to achieve a goal later on is not an easy one to grasp (Shimoni et al, 2010) but this game specifically provides an opportunity to experience a series of tasks, beneficial and engaging in their own right, which nevertheless provide materials for a later reward.

Who

Bear in mind the capacity of your group. Challenges are an effective way of developing new skills and are essential in keeping players engaged and excited, they must be scaled appropriately for the players in question (Maclaren and Roger, 2003). For example, a player with severely impaired fine motor skills will not benefit if confronted by fine cord tied in impossibly tight knots. In the same sense, a non-wheelchair-using player without visual impairment and with fairly advanced cognitive abilities would be bored following an obvious path lined with neon bags perched on branches at eye level. Considering the capacity of group members allows the activity to be scaled to the level of challenge most appropriate.

Below is a simple tool demonstrating the ways this game can be scaled according to different levels of capacity.

Sources used

Kielhofner, G., (2008) Model of Human Occupation: Theory and Application 4th edn. Philadelphia, PS: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins

McLaren, C., Rodger, S., ‘Goal attainment scaling: Clinical implications for paediatric occupational therapy practice’. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal. 50 (4), 216-224

Missiuna, C., Pollock, N., (1991) ‘Play Deprivation in Children With Physical Disabilities: The Role of the Occupational Therapist in Preventing Secondary Disability.’ American Journal of Occupational Therapy 45, 882-88

Shimonia, M., Engel-Yegera, B., Tiroshb, E., (2010) ‘Participation in leisure activities among boys with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder’. Research in Developmental Disabilities 31 (6) 1234-1239

Sternber, E. (2009) Healing spaces: the science of place and well-being.  Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press

Stonefelt, L., Stein, F., ‘Sensory integrative techniques applied to children with learning disabilities: An outcome study’ Occupational Therapy International, 5 (4), 252–272

Westendorp, M., Hartman, E., , S., Smith, J., Visscher, C., (2011) ‘The relationship between gross motor skills and academic achievement in children with learning disabilities.’ Research in Developmental Disabilities 32 (6), 2773-2779