Jose Raez

LEI 4724
Activity: Cake Walk
submitted by Kelly W Shivel of The Inn at Wyngate on June 08, 2003 Link:
http://www.recreationtherapy.com/tx/activegames.htm
Size: 10-20
Equipment: Pictures of cakes cut out of magazines and glued to poster board (number each cake
on the back such as 1 through 40), Cupcakes (enough for each resident to win one), one 6 inch
cake,cake decorating candies, boombox, cd or tape of upbeat music, hat made from the top of a
cake carrier.
Objective: Objective is to have residents use cognitive skills, minimal mobility, and to have fun.
They should gain self-esteem in knowing they have the ability to remember things. Great with
those with low to high level cognitive abilities
Description: On the day before the "Cake Walk" have residents prepare cupcakes and decorate
them, Make one 6 inch cake that is a little more decorative. On the day of the "Cake Walk"
arrange seating in a circle. The AD is the official "Cake master". Start off by passing on the 3060 pictures in the circle from one resident to another, the cake master plays music and turns it off
at any given time. The resident holding that particular cake has to name a type of cake, event
where cake is eaten. If they answer any of these questions they keep that cake and another cake
picture is circulated and the process begins again. This is done until all cakes have been
distributed and all residents have had a chance to "win at least one paper cake." The numbers
written on each cake are also on slips of paper and the "cake master" puts these into their hat and
pulls out a number. The number that matches one a resident is holding is the winner of the larger
6 inch cake. Present the winner with their larger cake. Then all the cupcakes are passed out.
Adaptations: Cerebral vascular accident: This occurs when a portion of the brain is deprived of
blood. The leading cause of CVA is hypertension. Individuals who have a CVA may experience
aphasia, which is a difficulty in processing language. Receptive aphasia occurs when a person
can no longer understand written or spoken language. Facilitator should use gestures and write
down key words in order to facilitate communication, as well as making sure they use
redundancy. Instead of saying a type of cake or where one may eat it, these individuals may act
out the types of events. For example, they can mime blowing out the candles in order to denote
a birthday party.
Alzheimers: This disability is defined by memory loss. This may lead to problems in
communication, safety concerns, and behavioral problems. Individuals can often remember
things that happened many years ago, yet they may not remember what they did minutes ago.

One possible adaptation is to have the person talk about what events they ate cake at. For
example, they may be asked to talk about an important birthday (16th, 18th, 50th), or weddings,
baby showers. This activity can act as a reminiscence activity.