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Vocational Skills Kit (age 16-19)

Instruction Manual
Introduction

This kit is developed for clients who has cognitive dysfunction, specifically, these population
listed below can benefited from using this kit to increase their vocational skills:
Human genetics and or development (e.g. pervasive developmental disorders, down

syndrome, learning disabilities, mental retardation, autism)

Neurologic disease injuries, and disorders (e.g., traumatic brain injury)
Mental illness (e,g,. schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder) (Giles

et al., 2013)
This kit is developed to address some of the effects of cognitive dysfunction/impairment that
inhibit clients to participate the workforce. These effects includes:
Inability to formulate, plan, and execute a process without structure, initial support, or

guidance.
Short-term memory impairments so they may not return phone calls if they did not

write the information down or remember who they spoke to, they may forget to follow
up on tasks, or they may not be able to apply information to similar tasks.
Visualspatial impairments leading to misunderstanding written instructions or

needing guidance on attending to the entire work environment, especially if they have
visual neglect or impairment.
Decreased insight, attention, problem solving, and sequencing so they miss vital

information due to inability to focus on work, distractions in the environment, a general

lack of understanding of what is needed to complete the task, and the inability to
focus on more than one thing at a time (Purdy, 2012).
During the developing of this kid, three frame of reference were used to support the
effectiveness of the intervention: Model of Human Occupation, Motor learning, Sensory
Integration and Cognitive Disability,

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This kit is organized into 4 categories: crafts, clerical skills, organization skills and
numerical/math skills. In 1959 Slager lecture, Wegg identifies 4 classifications of jobs most
commonly request OT work evaluation, use this as a guideline I identify some jobs that are
commonly taken by clients of age 16-19 group and develop this kit to addressed skills that are
crucial to these jobs requirement (Paulas Special Education Resources, 2010).
Crafts

There are five craft activities included in this kit: wooden project, crochet, stitch, sticky mosaic
art and 3D cardboard art. The various choices of crafts provides practitioner with options to
choose from to fit clients interest to increase clients volition. The colorful materials and
various textures offer diverse sensory input. Making crafts is important to clients with
cognitive problems, during the process of making clients need to use skills such as
understanding and remembering instructions, attending to tasks, maintaining body position,
visual discrimination, specific movements of fingers and joints, and communication, all of
these skills are important vocational skills.

How to use
Each activity has written instructions, practitioner
can determines whether to include the
instructions or provide additional verbal and
tactile base on clients client factors.
Variations
:
For clients with higher function, wooden

project kit contains materials from two different

projects, best for freestyle creating. Stitch and
crochet kits can be used for freestyle creating
too.
Practitioner can demonstrate how to do it

first and then ask client to repeat what the

practitioner did, this can train clients memory.

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Practitioner can ask the client to verbalize how and why she/he did the crafts to

encourage client to express themselves.

Problems addressed:
Sensory issue
Fine motor skills
Attention span
Problem solving
Memory
Creativity
Visual perception
Body position
Verbalization

Clerical skills: mailing

This intervention contains three different kinds

envelopes: bubble wrap envelopes, bigger size
envelopes, normal size envelopes, stamps, and a
pen. Mailing is one of the most common clerical
works, using this materials practitioner can teach
and practice with clients to do this work.
According to motor learning frame of reference,
through repeatedly practice and receiving
feedback can help clients to learn the task and
generalize the skills in certain task to other tasks.
How to:
Practitioner demonstrate the process of mailing
including: folding document, puting document
into envelopes, sealing the envelopes, writing
address, putting on stamp to clients and ask client to repeat.

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Variations:
Practitioner choose different size of document, and ask client to fold the document

into appropriate shape for the envelops and ask client to choose the appropriate size
envelop.
Practitioner choose random objects from the kit and ask client to choose appropriate

envelop for the objects.

Practitioner can stop during the demonstrate and ask client to finish next.

Problems addressed:
Memory
Spacial awareness
Problem solving
Sequencing
Writing

Organization Skill

This intervention contains an organizer and an

planner. Time, money and items organization
skills are crucial to every job, this kit can be
used to practice these skills. This activity is
also based on motor learning frame of
reference, through practicing, clients will learn
categorization and handwriting.
How to:
Practitioner asks the client to collect her/his or
her/his parents receipts and business card (or
photocopies of them), and ask the client to put
the receipts and business into different spaces

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of the organizer. Then, practitioner can ask client to record information on the receipts
and card into the planner.
Variations:
Practitioner can ask client to sub-categorize different receipt.
Practitioner can provide calculator (included in this kit) with the client, so the client can

calculate how much she/he spend during the week.

Problems addressed:
Categorization
Reading comprehension
Writing
Awareness to details
Calculation

Numerical/Math Skills:

This intervention includes two activities/games,

and contains dices, calculator, price sticker and a
money bag contains different values of coins and
three one dollar bills. These two activities/game
are decided for higher function clients who are
able to do jobs that involve handling money and
simply calculation. These activities can be used
to teach clients to understand the concepts and
value of money, and to do basic calculation using
a calculator. These activities/games are ideal for
group intervention because it can create
competition and stress, practitioner can use this
opportunities to education clients to manage stress.

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How to:
1. Using the price stickers and the money bag to teach clients the handling changes:
practitioner shows a sticker to the client and asks the client to pick coins that match the value
Variations:

Practitioner can role play with the client, stick the sticker on object in the kit, for

example, the pen. Practitioner then pretend to be the customer, and give one dollar to
the client and ask for changes.
In a group intervention, practitioner shows the price sticker to 3-4 clients, and clients

compete to find the coins to match the value.

2. Using the dices and calculator to teach clients to use calculator to do simple calculation.
Practions roll the dices, and the client calculate the numbers follow the rules.
Variations:
Practitioner can set different rules for the dice, for example white dices are for

addition, and blue dices for multiplication to increase the variety of the game.
In a group intervention, practitioner roll the dices to 3-4 clients, and clients compete to

come up the correct answer.

Problems addressed:
Calculation
Stress management
Memory
Social interaction

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References
Giles, M.G., Radomski, M.V., Champagne, T., Corcoran, M.A., Gillen, G., Kuhaneck,
H.M., . . . Wolf, T.J. (2013). Cognition, Cognitive Rehabilitation, and Occupational
Performance.
American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 67.
https://
www.aota.org/-/media/Corporate/Files/AboutAOTA/OfficialDocs/Statements/Cognition
%20Cognitive%20Rehabilitation%20and%20Occupational%20Performance.ashx
Paulas Special Education Resources. (2010). Retrieved from
http://www.paulabliss.com/vocational.htm
Purdy, S. (2012).
Returning to Work With Cognitive Impairments.
American Occupational
Therapy Association.
http://www.aota.org/about-occupational-therapy/professionals/mh/cognitive-impairmen
ts.aspx
Wegg, L.S. (1959). The Essentials of Work Evaluation.
1959 Eleanor Clarke Slagle Lecture
.
https://www.aota.org/-/media/Corporate/Files/Publications/AJOT/Slagle/1959.pdf

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Source of Materials
Except for the dices, money bag, and the pen, all the materials are from Dollar Tree.
Dices is from Toys R us.
The pen is from Staples.