Adaptation Project

SERP415
Lily Kanefield
The University of Arizona
 Alexs Can Do Profile
Alex is an eight year old and he is a second grade student, and he was born on March 1, 2008. He lives
with his mom and dad, and he has two brothers who he loves to play with and watch TV with. His favorite thing to
do with his brothers is cook dinner for their parents and surprise them with silly and creative recipes. He is very
close with his grandmother. He loves going on drives with her and sleeping over at her house. When he goes to his
grandmas the two love watching Chopped Junior together, because Alex loves cooking and eating. Alex loves
second grade he was very interested in his peers and his teacher. He loves being in the classroom with his peers
because he feels close to them and he is very personable. Alex is a wonderful addition to the classroom; he works
very hard to try to communicate even when he is frustrated.

Communication: Alex uses sign language and pictures as a form of communication. He is able to pick out certain
symbols with prompts from his teachers. Alex was able to show symbolic play and simple utterances according to a
developmental scale. He scored around a 4-year level when it came to single-word comprehension. Alex is able to
respond to certain responses from his teachers on certain topics and discussions. He is able to understand key
words when they are signed to him and can respond by nodding his head or saying 5-6 words per utterance. He
also uses gestures such as nodding his head for yes, shaking his head for no and pointing. He is able to show
when he is excited by laughing. He can say few words such as mama and no.

Motor (gross and fine): Alex has been observed to use about 50 signs, usually in one and two sign combinations.
Alexs signing clarity has dramatically improved over the past two years, likely due to his physical therapy
involvement. Alex has full mobility of hands, arms, legs, and feet. He is able to grasp small objects and manipulate
his hands to makes a wide range of pointing and hand motions. He is able to use both hands simultaneously. He
can walk to his lock, open the door open, and take out his grooming basket independently. Alex has low muscle
tone and does have dyspraxia, which is overall clumsiness in otherwise healthy children. He can walk to cubbies in
the school, but needs to hold on to the railing to maintain balance.

Sensory: Alex has passed a hearing-screening test and has typical vision. Using his vision he can locate objects
and their many parts. He loves eating gogurt, because he is able to eat it independently, his favorite flavor is
strawberry. :) He overall eats food very well with some assistance in utensil use, like with a weighted spoon and
fork.

Academic Participation: Alex is able to participate in a classroom setting when a teacher uses signs or pictures to
communicate with him. A schedule is recommended for Alex to teach him sense of time. One way to test this would
to show him a time and ask what the teacher and class are doing at that time. His favorite subject is science
because he is able to participate with the hands-on experiments.

Social and Peer interaction skills: Alex has interaction with his same age peers in the morning for 30-40 minute
periods where they do the morning group discussion (weather, calendar, lunch report. Alex is involved with verbal
prompts from the teacher to help create the calendar and weather for the day, while his peers can do so without
verbal prompts. Currently, he has low levels of social acceptance due to his challenges with verbal communication
as well as limited opportunities to engage with teachers and peers beyond one-two word replies, or short actions,
like putting the date on the calendar. He also relies on touch to gain someones attention.
 The Adaptations
In order for Alex to be able to prepare lasagna as independently as possible there are a few adaptations
that will be made to the normal steps of cooking this meal.

(ExampleActual Task Analysis is much more detailed)

The first step is that a task analysis will be written out for him, however, instead of only words on the task analysis,
they will be paired with pictures so that he is able to independently follow the steps.

The second adaptation that will be made is that one the recipe the amounts (i.e. cup, tablespoon) will be
highlighted with specific colors, then the those colored will match the actual measuring tool, so that he is able to
know the correct measuring tool to use in each situation. Along side that will be a circles that will represent the
amounts and the circles will be shaded in based on the amounts, this will help Alex begin to make connections
between these different sizes.
The last adaptation that will be made for this situation is that all the utensils that Alex will use will have a spongy
cover on the handles; this will help him grip the utensil and make it easier for him to have more specific motions.
 Rationale
Each of these adaptations were decided on, because they fit Alexs needs specifically and are going to
make it possible for him to be more self-sufficient. The task analysis, maybe the most important adaptation, allows
Alex to go step by step without any addition help. Although some verbal cues may be helpful from whoever is
supervising, because the task analysis is going to be paired with very specific pictures that not only tell Alex what
ingredients to use, but also what tools to use and where the tools can be found in the kitchen, he will not need help
to figure out how to follow these steps. The second adaptation is also very important for Alex, because measuring
cups can be very confusing for people, and it is very important that it is extremely clear which amount goes with
which measuring device, by having them color coded, it is not even necessary for Alex to know which cups he is
using, but in order to try and help him learn about the different amounts the circles will be along side the pictures in
the task analysis so that he can start to develop the relationship between the numbers and the physical amount.
Finally the third adaptation addresses a complete different difficulty that the other two adaptations do not address,
which are Alexs motor skills. The covers on all the cooking utensils will make handling and manipulating the objects
so much easier for Alex and this is very important during cooking. Dropping items could be upsetting for Alex, and it
could also be dangerous if he dropped something that was glass, contained hot materials inside, or were sharp.

Directions
In order to make this adaptations happen the first thing that Alexs grandma will need to do is buy all of the
lasagna ingredients and the holders for all the utensils and pots and pans. This is going to be the most expensive
part of the activity. She may already have some of the lasagna ingredients, but she will have to buy whatever she
does not have. She also will have to buy all of the holders either at a store or online. Then she will need to take the
task analysis for making lasagna and match pictures to each important word in the directions. This set although
time consuming will be so crucial to his success and will cost almost nothing, as she can find all the pictures on
Google and then can just print it out once she is finished making it on the computer. Once she has gotten all the
materials for the adaptations to be possible. Her job will mostly entail supervising Alex as he does this activity.

Materials:
Highlighters
Colored measuring cups (or post its/colored paper)
Task analysis with pictures (will need a printer)
Handle Holders
ALL materials for lasagna
 Instructional Plan
A. LESSON/ACTIVITYINCLUDING DESCRIPTION OF ENVIRONMENT:
Alex loves cooking with his grandma, so Alex and grandma are going to make a recipe from one of the episodes
they watched recently. The meal that they have decided to make is meat lasagna. During this activity she wants him
to wash his hands before starting to cook, follow the recipe for the lasagna, and then sit down and eat together. The
environment is the kitchen at her house, where he is very comfortable.

B. DESCRIPTION OF BARRIERS THAT ADAPTATIONS ARE NEEDED FOR:

The first barrier that Alex will face with this activity has to do with his communication skills. Alex uses some sign
language and pictures as a form of communication. However, he will not be able to communicate if he is confused
on certain steps of the process. Alex also can not read, therefore, reading recipes will not be possible for him. And
finally, he has some motor difficulties, so to manipulate smaller objects and mixing and performing other cooking
techniques could be difficult for him.

C. DESCRIBE THE ADAPTATION AND HOW IT WILL ELIMINATE THE BARRIER.

In order for Alex to make lasagna with his grandmother a few adaptations will have to be made. The first thing that
she is going to do is that she is going to print out the recipe, as a guide for herself. She is then going to adapt the
recipe with pictures so that Alex is able to understand the recipe independently. She will first make a sheet that has
every signal ingredient and tool that will be used in the recipe. She is will replace words such as pasta, cheese, mix
in bowl and cut. With pictures of pasta, cheese, a bowl, and a knife. Once this reference sheet has been made, she
will make a task analysis for Alex with words (even though he is not yet able to read them) and pictures, the word
and picture combination will help Alex start to make connections between the two. On the task analysis she will
have pictures showing each item, what to do with it, and how much of it to use. Then she is going to use different
colored highlighters to highlight the amounts on the recipe (i.e. cups, tablespoons, etc.) She is then going to match
those colors with a sticky note of the same color on the actually measuring device. In order to also made a
connection between the amounts and the measuring cups, she will use circles on the recipe to represent amounts,
for example, if the recipe said two cups, their would be two circles colored in (in the designated cup color), if they
recipe said tablespoon, their world be a circle shaded halfway (also in the color of the tablespoon color).

D. WRITE A MEASURABLE GOAL FOR THE STUDENT.

With vocal cues form his grandmother, Alex will be able to follow the recipe provided to him (with the adaptations)
and bake the lasagna independently.
With a picture oriented task analysis, Alex will be able to make sandwiches independently for his lunches with 100%
accuracy of the recipe 4/5 days of the school week.

E. GRADUATE STUDENTS ONLY

F. DESCRIBE THE SPECIFIC CONTRIBUTIONS MADE BY TEAM MEMBERS.
Peers: If this activity was performed in class, his classmate could assist him with steps or give verbal cues for him
OT: An OT may help Alex with stirring, cutting, and other difficult moves involved in cooking.
PT: A PT might help Alex with standing during this whole activity or other stretches throughout the activity.
Speech Language Pathologist: A SLP might help Alex try to pronounce some of the words of the foods he is
cooking or even help with signing the
Parent/Grandma: Will make sure everything is labeled and prepared for the activity, with all ingredients easily
available for Alex.
Teacher: Alexs teacher may use the idea of task analysis in other activities in the classroom, and even help him
make his own lunch so is continually exposed to following recipes in this form.
Adaptive PE: This could be incorporated to help Alex with overall strength and refined movements.
 G. TASK ANALYSIS
1. Wash hands (See task analysis for washing 45. Get a large bowl
hands) 46. Go to fridge
2. Walk over to oven 47. Get out ricotta, parmesan and eggs
3. Press Preheat 48. Go to cabinet
4. Preheat over to 375 degrees F 49. Get out salt and pepper
5. Go to cabinet 50. Stir together ricotta, parmesan, salt, pepper, and
6. Take out a large pot eggs
7. Fill the pot with water the way full 51. Go to cabinet
8. Bring the pot over to the stove 52. Get out 9 by 13 cooking dish
9. Turn the stove on high 53. Go to fridge
10. Let the water sit until it boils 54. Get out marinara sauce
11. Go to cabinet 55. Go to cabinet
12. Get out a box of lasagna noodles 56. Get out measuring cup
13. Pour the noodles in the boiling water 57. Pour sauce into measuring cup
14. Let the noodles cook for 10-12 minutes 58. Pour sauce into baking dish
15. Go to the cabinet 59. Get bowl of noodles
16. Get out oven mits 60. Top sauce with 3 noodles
17. Put on oven mits 61. Get bowl with cheese mixture
18. Take the pot off the stove 62. Cover the noodles with about 1/3 of the mixture
19. Turn off the stove 63. Go to stove and get vegetable mixture
20. Go to the cabinet 64. Cover cheese mix with 1/3 of vegetable mix
21. Get the strainer 65. Go to fridge
22. Put the strainer in the sink 66. Get out mozzarella cheese
23. Pour the noddles in the strainer 67. Get out 1 cup measuring cup
24. Get out olive oil 68. Top vegetables with 2 cups of cheese
25. Get out tablespoon measuring cup 69. REPEAT STEPS 47-61 TWICE
26. Pour 1 tablespoon of olive oil on the noodles. 70. Go to cabinet
27. Go to cabinet 71. Get out tin foil
28. Get out a bowl 72. Cover baking dish with foil
29. Pour noodles in a bowl 73. Open the oven
30. Put bowl aside for later use 74. Place lasagna in the over
31. Go to cabinet 75. Bake for 40 minutes
32. Get out skillet 76. Open the oven
33. Put skillet on stove 77. Remove the tin foil from the lasagna
34. Turn stove on medium heat 78. Close the over
35. Pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil in skillet 79. Bake lasagna for another 10-20 minutes until the
36. Get out shallots cheese is bubbling
37. Put shallots in the skillet for 4-5 minutes 80. Take out lasagna
38. Go to fridge 81. Let cool for 10-15 minutes
39. Get out garlic and zucchini 82. Go to drawer
40. Pour garlic, spinach, and zucchini in the skillet 83. Get out knife
41. Get wooden spoon 84. Cut slices of lasagna
42. Stir ingredients together for 4 minutes 85. Place slices on plates
43. Turn off stove 86. EAT!
44. Go to cabinet
87.
 88. Self Evaluation
89.
90. I think that this adaptation would work very well for Alex. With the pictures, color-
coding, step-by-step directions and verbal cues (when needed) I know he could be successful in
preparing meals independently. In order to make this adaptation the most effective it can possibly
be, and allow him to take the skills he will learn during this activity and apply it to his everyday life I
think it would be very important that his parents at home and teachers at school have pictures on
all the spices, foods, and tools in their kitchen so that he could get more comfortable using this
method, and eventually be able to follow recipes with no verbal cues, just pictures and a task
analysis to guide him. One thing that I think has to be taken into account that may not have been
directly discussed in my adaptation would be the use of ovens, knifes, or other unsafe activities. I
think that one thing that could help is that in the task analysis there is a picture of a flame next to
the oven and maybe a carton cut or a shape knife shown next to the knife picture. Because the
ultimate goal is that Alex will be able to cook and perform these tasks alone it is important that
safety is emphasized, so that if he is independently cooking there is no concern of fire or injuries.