Healthcare Training Institute - Quality Education since 1979


Section 21
Color Pattern Cards

Table of Contents | NCCAP/NCTRC CE Booklet | Administrator Post Test

Materials and Construction
Cut two to four pieces of corrugated cardboard approximately 6" x 6".  Glue light colored construction paper over your cards. Then use your gallon milk bottle caps to trace circles in colors corresponding to your gallon milk bottle cap colors.  If your caps are red and blue, you would trace and cut out red and blue circles.  Then glue these circles to your 6" x 6" Color Pattern Cards.  Use clear contact paper over the surface of your Card to provide added durability.

Your dot patterns can vary from a simple two-dot design to nine dots.  Use your imagination regarding patterns.  My cards consist of two dots side by side; three dots in a row; four dots in a square; a right triangle shape with one dot, two dots, and three dots; and so on.  Each card has approximately a 50/50 ratio of red to blue, or whatever color, you are using. 

How to Introduce Color Pattern Cards
The way to introduce this activity to your resident is to say something like, “Ernie, I’ve got a game for you to play today.   Would you like to play a game?” Always assess the resident’s understanding and willingness to go along with this or any ST® Activity.  If he seems to be receptive, offer him a cap.  To further assess alertness, observe whether your Ernie takes the cap, or if you have to place it in his hand.

Then say, “Take the cap and put it on the dot.”  Initially, do not request that Erinie places the cap on the corresponding color.    If he seems to get the idea, place a second cap in his hand and make the same request.  Down the line, ideally, you would place the Color Pattern Card in front of Ernie and several caps.  He then would place the caps on the dots. 

Adaptations Based Upon Level of Assistance Given
To adapt the difficulty of Color Pattern Cards vary the amount of instruction you give to your Ernie. 

Adaptations Based Upon Changing the Materials
Another way to increase the level of difficulty of Color Pattern Cards is to increase the number of dots on the card .  So an Initial Care Plan Goal might be…

Adapting the difficulty can also be achieved by asking your resident to match the appropriate color dot with the cap. 

Approaches for Color Pattern Cards could be…

Work Surface Reminder
Notice the angle of your Ernie’s elbow related to the over-the-bed-table or work surface. This simple observation and adjustment of work surface height can greatly assist Ernie’s SUCCESS.  Ernie will probably not be able to tell you that he is having problems with the angle of his hand to the work surface.  You need to observe this and adjust accordingly.  This adjustment of the work surface height and/or angle would then be included in the Approach.

Residents with whom to try Color Pattern Cards

Culture Change Implementation: Place Color Pattern Cards in labeled Activity Project Bag left in resident’s room for CNA, volunteer, etc. use.