Did you know?
Around 10 per cent of the world's population, or 650 million people, live with a disability. They are the world's largest minority.
While it is true that people with disabilities need a tad bit of extra attention, you need not be fussing over them every single moment of their waking time. Keeping them busy with activities will ensure they are entertained and eventually be capable of standing on their own feet. Art and craft has the ability to mold a person in innumerable ways, this includes building confidence levels and serving as an opportunity to express oneself without any restrictions.
The best thing about keeping people with disabilities occupied with crafts is that you give them an opportunity to create something new. This in turn helps build their morale and zeal to live a fun-filled life. By teaching them arts and crafts you do not restrict them but on the contrary help them overcome life's challenges. Let's take a look at what such individuals can do using a little help from you of course.
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Engaging in Beading
Engaging adults in bead work seems to be quite an activity by itself. You need to provide them with beads and strings and allow them to create beaded curtains or jewelry. It will take a lot of patience on your part when training them to sequence the beads in the right manner, but it will be worth the effort in the end.
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Creative Toys
Instead of giving cardboard boxes for recycling, you can cut it up and convert it into something creative. Distribute rolls or strips of cardboard to the adults along with glue. Allow them to create animals or anything that catches their fancy. Do encourage their creativity, and boost them to create more decorative pieces.
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Crafting with Clay
You can consider teaching them pottery, with time they are sure to master the skill. If not, continue to encourage the adults to make clay toys that can be sold in the market. You can start by asking them to roll and paste thus creating designs on the exterior of clay pots.
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Converting with Fabric
Keeping adults busy with fabric is a fantastic idea indeed. You can get them to transform pieces of fabric into rag dolls. Rag dolls as you know come in different sizes, and creating them will be a fun activity for them.
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Reusing and Recreating
Creating greeting cards from waste material always has been a fun activity not just for children but adults as well. I bet they will enjoy this activity that will keep them occupied as well as satisfied. Besides, handmade cards sell like hot cakes in the market, thus proving as a source of income for them.
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Playing with Mache
Converting
paper mache into masks and decorative items seems to be a pretty good activity to indulge in. You can get them to create bowls, figurines, and toys using paper mache. Do remember to provide them with different paper mache and paint to bring out their creativity.
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Paper Birds
Little birdies adorning the house plant add to the aesthetic value, don't you think? provide them with strips of paper and glue and help them create different birds sitting pretty in their nests. These can be used to create unique curtain dividers or used as decoration pieces around the house.
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Dramatic with Origami
Teach them the basic origami folds, this will help them create flowers and eventually pretty bouquets. There is no limit to what you can do with origami, and starting of with simple flowers makes sense.
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Redecorating with Paint
Household items can be transformed to give it a whole new look. Look at this pretty drum for instance, a little bit of paint and imagination have breathed life into it. Give them the freedom to come up with ideas to redecorate things around them.
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Rustic Decorations
There's lots you can do with a few dried twigs and some decoration items. Provide the adults with the material and guide them to make rustic decorations like the one shown above. These decoration items are sure to draw attention at the local market.
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Bedazzling Plants
A little bit of wires and beads and stones can be crafted into dazzling trees that can be used to decorate homes. All you need to do is drill tiny holes into the colored stones to pass the wires through. Do remember to give them tongs to twist the wires into place.
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Raking Memories
How about getting them to pin down things they like and create a unique scrap book. You can encourage them to take pictures or simple sketch them into the scrapbook to make it interesting. If nothing else, a scrapbook will help them relive their fond memories.
All of these activities are sure to help these adults to give a direction to their life. Once each of these skill is mastered they can turn into steady sources of income for them. Encourage them to pursue it with patience and do remember to be patient yourself.
