Q&A: Cooking With Disabilities

[Marlene]

Judith, how lovely to hear from you! I've been meaning to try the no knead bread for a while now. I'm glad it worked for you and you're baking again!

[Dana]

I wonder if, those of you that we know have disabilities, or loved ones who do, know how much we cheer for you when we hear of these triumps. Sometimes we think we may have issues, but when we hear that your or yours have made such strides, our petty problems pale in comparison, and we are truly humbled. Thanks so much for sharing. We love hearing about you.

[snowangel]

Big news!

Heidi not only carried her lunch tray to her table today (again, with only a carton of milk and the silverware -- yes, they use the real stuff in our district), for the very first time ever, she didn't tip the tray so much that her carton of Kemp's very best chocolate milk didn't tip over, and she used a fork.

She also ate red food!

And, she used the shaker for the sprinkles for the Valentine's cookies appropriately. Figured out that "righty tighty, loosy Lucy" and knew which end holds the holes.

Let's hear it for peer pressure and repetition! THey work hard on cooking skills in her classroom, and although she has learned how to open the dishwasher, getting the dishes in is another storey, but she has learned to love taking the wet clothes out of the washer and putting them in the dryer.

We are about to move to a voice box for her, somewhat similar to the Big Mac, but with two choices of things to say.

[Kouign Aman]

Thats some serious accomplishment. Congratulations to Heidi! ( and you).

editted to add: I've been reading thru the course, preparing for the future and out of general interest. It strikes me that Part II is also a great primer to teaching very young children kitchen skills, which I can use now. Thanks.

Edited February 14, 2007 by Kouign Aman (log)

[snowangel]

It's been well over a year since an update on Princess Heidi. She's now 14 and in high school. And, still as big (or tiny) as a minute -- she continues to wear size 10 girls clothes.

But, high school brings many changes. Big ones. She's only at school 2-1/2 days a week. On these days, she needs to bring a lunch. For her, usually a sandwich, some little cookies and plain yogurt with cut-up fruit. The other big change is that the bus arrives at 6:40 am, so it's an early day, and my oh my, it's really dark that early up here in Zone 3.

One afternoon, they are out in the community. It could be at a store, shopping for supplies. Or at a retirement home; my, the do love having the kids come in. The local Lions group frequently hosts them for picnics (which do move indoors as the weather changes.

One day a week, she's at a vocational center; she's apparently a wiz with a shredder.

The other day, she's at an apartment with her class. Our school district rents an apartment so these kids can learn some daily living skills. She hates making beds, apparently, and is not permitted to clean the tub (she just wants to get in an have someone turn on the water. Although I said above that I send her with a lunch three days a week, that's not really true. I send ingredients. I have sent a loaf of bread (which they froze, so it's warmed or toasted in the toaster), cheese, mayo, P/B and J, fruit, and a mess of yogurt containers. So, she's learning how to make sandwiches and open yogurt containers. A bonus of the apartment is that they have a microwave (my other two school-age kids would kill for a nuker at school), and she's learning to transfer the contents of the plastic container into a Correll bowl. She can't quite reach the nuker yet, but bangs on it when the buzzer sounds, and is responsible for finding an aide to help her get it out. She also has every other week table washing duty. I could not ask for a better educational program for her, and the staff is beyond belief.

I've noticed that the original pictures of Heidi disappeared during a server change, so I'll have to take some pictures of her this weekend when we're at Cabin, and post one or two.

She's quite the charmer!

[Kerry Beal]

That's wonderful Susan. I'm so pleased to hear about Heidi's progress.

My litte toad is still working on the self feeding thing at school (at home we are just on survival mode) and continues to expand her repertoire of foods. She's never had any texture or flavour issues which is helpful, but has a tendency to choke on meats, so we need to go soft on that. But nice tender chicken is now easy to eat.

My EA keeps coming up with suggestions for all these packaged foods that Kira will eat when she goes over to her house. I hate the whole excess packaging thing, but I've got to say some of them are quite handy - for example the little 100 calorie packages of baked Cheeto's (she loves the crunch), the Presidents choice cereal bars and the Dole Squeez-ums (flavoured apple sauces in a great squeezy container).

[snowangel]

I come seeking advice on how to pack some calories into Princess Heidi. She is on a new med, Adderall, which leaves here without much appetite, except during dinner. She continues to drink beverages, which leads me to think that perhaps I should try Ensure. This med is administered in the am, and I am experimenting with different breakfast foods, but heck, she gets on the bus at 6:40 am, so there is limited time to pack a punch. We're working on oatmeal and nuked scrambled eggs, but it's a frantic time of day for her.

So, since she will no longer eat during lunch, any ideas?

She's hungry at dinner and I need some suggestions on how to achieve maximum "bang for the buck."

She's still little -- small of frame without an extra ounce of fat. So, she needs to eat. And, remember, there's no reasoniing with this profoundly mentally retarded child. No saying "if you don't eat your peas, you don't get dessert."

What does the wisdom of our members know about nutritional suppliments, etc.?

[snowangel]

Time for an update, and what a school and age can do.

She can't punch the numbers into the nuker, but she can hit the "start" button.

Heidi's now in 10th grade (and still tiny!), and is only in school 2.5 days/week. 1/2 day per week, she's out and about in the community. It might be shreding paper at the VFW. It might be a trip to the local grocery to get supplies for the classroom.

1 day/week, she is at an apartment. They are learing to cook, clean, make beds, etc.

1 day/week they are at a vocational center. She is learning to tear movie tickets and give customers receipts.

But, because of the day at the apartment, and learning to cook, she knows how to turn on a Magic Bullet. We've learned, thanks to the school folks, that if we want her to be involved in meal prep, measure everything out in custard cups, and hand over hand, she can add them, and stir, with assistance. She's even helping to make her lunches every day. I wedge the apples, but with assistance, she can get them into the container (BTW, 7-UP or Sprite work just fine to keep the apples from browning).

She reminds me every day that there is a reason for pre-cut broccoli or ready-to-go wedged apples.