Know the person: understanding clients and how to interact
The person you work with is called a client (or participant). Before any activity, find out: age, health and what they can or cannot do, allergies and fears (pollen, dogs), culture and food rules, and what they enjoy. Ask the person and the carer, not only guess.
Interaction skills: greet kindly, use simple words, speak slowly, listen, give choices, praise effort and never force. Keep the person safe and respect privacy. Watch for signs of tiredness or discomfort, and stop if needed.
Exchange activities and evaluation
Exchange activities are friendly activities where people meet around plants or animals: school children and elders planting together, a village flower show, a petting visit. The goal is joy, talk and friendship. Plan the place, time, helpers, safety and a simple task for everyone.
Evaluation means checking how it went. Use simple tools: a smile scale from 1 to 10 before and after, a headcount, short notes, photos with permission and comments from the client. Ask: did they enjoy it? Was it safe? What do we change next week?
Therapeutic activities
Therapy is different from fun activities. In horticultural therapy a trained person uses gardening tasks to reach a health goal, such as better hand movement, calmer mood or more speech. In animal-assisted therapy a trained team and a trained animal work toward a health goal. Therapy has a written goal, steps, records and review.
Tasks should match ability: sowing seeds (fine movement), watering (routine), harvesting (reward), arranging flowers (creativity). For animals: only calm, healthy, trained animals, with clean hands before and after.
Safety, kindness and rules
Keep tools safe and plants non-poisonous. Check allergies. Keep animals healthy, vaccinated and relaxed, and let them rest. Wash hands after contact. Respect the person: ask consent and never share private details. If unsure, ask a trained professional.
Try it at home
With a family elder or friend, sow a few bean seeds in a cup. First ask what they like and any worries. Plan a 10-minute task. Rate mood from 1 to 10 before and after. Write one change for next time. Then use the 3D slider to see how repeated sessions can lift mood.
Key formulas and definitions
- KPDC: Know the person, Plan, Do, Check
- Change in mood = mood after - mood before
- Therapy = trained leader + health goal + record + review
Worked examples
1. Mood was 3 before a garden session and 7 after. What was the change?
7 - 3 = 4 points up.
2. An elder is allergic to pollen. What would you do?
Choose low-pollen plants such as foliage plants or herbs, work outdoors with good airflow, and ask the carer before starting.
3. Name one exchange activity and one therapeutic activity.
Exchange: children and elders plant seeds together at a garden day. Therapeutic: a trained therapist uses seed sowing to improve an elder's hand movement, with goals and notes.
Common mistakes
- Starting an activity without knowing the person's health or allergies.
- Calling every garden activity therapy. Therapy has a trained leader and a health goal.
- Not checking afterwards, so you never learn what helped.
- Forcing a person who does not want to touch an animal or plant.