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SAFE
Aging Newsletter |
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Volume 3, Issue
9 |
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Cooking
Single Handedly |
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February
2007 |
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In This Issue:
- How to Approach Cooking
Single Handedly with Physical Challenges
- Assistive Devices: AKA Aids of
Daily Living
- Single Handed Cooking Challenges
- The Occupational Therapist: A
Consultant for Physically Challenged Cooks
- Internet Resources
The February, 2007 SAFE Aging newsletter
theme is Cooking Single Handedly. How to
Approach Cooking Single Handedly with Physical Challenges
provides basic problem solving approaches; Assistive
Devices: AKA Aids to Daily Living offers Internet
sources for devices; Single Handed Cooking Challenges
include ideas to cope with different physical limits in the
kitchen. The Occupational Therapist: A Consultant for
Physically Challenged Cooks identifies a helpful
health care professional to support independence, health and
well being. There are also additional tips and
Internet resources for the challenged cook to make meal
preparation and clean up easier and safer.
1.
How to Approach Cooking Single Handedly with
Physical Challenges
There are millions of people in the U.S. and
around the world who have physical challenges that restrict any
one or combination of abilities in
- Strength
- Range of motion
- Coordination
- Sensation
- Perception
Such challenges can and do affect the whole
process of shopping, meal preparation, cooking and clean up.
But, just how much such challenges affect the cook, depends on
the following major factors:
- The person
- The place
- The task or tasks at hand
Understanding all three major factors can
make the difference between independence and dependence, ability
and disability. To face the challenge of cooking single handedly
with physical disabilities, it is important to
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Be knowledgeable: (Know personal skills,
abilities, the setting and equipment)
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Identify priorities
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Adjust
For further information,
read "Work in the
Comfort Zone" on page 3 of the
July 2005 newsletter.
A. Be Knowledgeable
Step ONE: Know thy self.
1.
Determine overall personal abilities in the following:
- balance
- bend
- carry
- climb
- grasp
- hold
- lift
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- push
- pull
- reach
- release
- sit
- stand
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- see
- squat
- stoop
- smell
- taste
- walk
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2. Rank level of ability in each of the
above skills as follows:
- Able to do with some or a lot of
difficulty
- Unable to do without the help of another
person and/or device
- Unable to do at all
3. Study how the entire meal preparation
and clean up process is approached.
- What makes tasks easier or harder to do?
- What makes tasks impossible?
Step TWO: Know thy cooking area
and equipment
1. Determine what helps or hinders the cook
during the cooking process
- Study the design of the kitchen area for
ü
obstacles
ü
barriers
ü
hazards
ü
things that seem to help
- Equipment used in meal preparation and
cooking process
ü
Does equipment help
ü
Does equipment reduce abilities
ü
Does equipment prevent abilities
2. Determine what might be useful to
maximize abilities
B. Identify Priorities
Step THREE: Identify activities that
1. must be done to support basic need to
eat and feed oneself
2. are important for daily life needs, but
not essential.
3. would like to be done
4. could be eliminated
C. Adjustment
Step FOUR: Adjust to compensate
After
steps one, two and three have been determined, step four leads
to potential problem solving. To compensate for or circumvent
challenges due to physical impairments, creativity and openness
to change is necessary.
| HINT:
To cope with a physical challenge, begin by breaking down
the challenging task into smaller parts. |
Here are some ideas on how to approach
problem solving with physical challenges.
1. Make adjustments to the cooking area
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re-arrange or re-organize to make meal
preparation and clean up easier
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eliminate obstacles, hazards and barriers
2. Use equipment to aid abilities and
safety such as
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protective aids
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warning devices
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guards to provide stability
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pressure relief
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assistive devices to
make doing possible and increase independence
3. Change actions by first looking at
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how a task is done
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how often the task is done
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how long the task is done
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if a task has to be done
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can a task be done differently, and if so
how
- why a
task is difficult to do (see steps one, two and three above
for help)
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2. Assistive Devices: AKA Aids to Daily Living
Assistive devices, also known as aids to
daily living, enable or "assist" a person to do a task that
otherwise might have been impossible, difficult or painful to do
without the use of the device. Assistive devices can improve the
quality of life. They can also save substantial costs related to
purchasing services or hiring others for assistance.
Assistive devices can be used in many ways,
depending on the unique need of the person, the unique design of
the surroundings and the way a person performs the task or
tasks.
Choosing the best assistive devices can
make the difference between dependence and independence.
Assistive devices can reduce pain, the need for force, the use
of strength, coordination, range of motion, balance and
sensation.
For more information, refer to the
October, 2004 SAFE Aging newsletter.
Here are a variety of other Internet
sources about assistive devices:
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3. Single Handed Cooking
Challenges 
The following are ideas to use to
circumvent or compensate for physical challenges in the kitchen.
Strength Challenges: Reduce the
need to use muscle force by
- using light weight materials such as
plastics, melanine, baskets, etc.
- use sharp knives to reduce resistance
and the need for force
Coordination challenges: Challenges
in coordination can affect how smoothly an action is completed.
It can also affect how objects are stabilized or manipulated or
both. These issues can create some difficulty during the entire
meal preparation and clean up process, but there are so many
things that can be done to compensate or adjust. Here are a few
ideas to compensate for coordination issues due to:
Stability: Look for alternative ways
to achieve stability when doing kitchen related activities. Here are a
variety of examples:
- Stirring
while standing: Difficulty holding a mixing bowl while
standing and stirring
- Open a kitchen drawer.
- Make some space.
- Place a mixing bowl (salad bowl, soup
bowl) in the drawer.
- Close drawer as tight as possible.
- (For even more stability, press hip
against the drawer to keep drawer and bowl as stable as
possible.)
- Stir.
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Stirring while sitting: Difficulty
holding a mixing bowl while sitting and stirring
- Place bowl between the knees.
- Use bowls with a more pointed bottom
when possible. (This decreases the amount of strength and
coordination needed to control the bowl while mixing, making
it easier to get the job done.)
- Consider using unbreakable bowls with
edges.
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To prevent slipping:
- Rubber or dycem mat to reduce slipping
of bowls, pans, other containers
- Dampen a towel, cloth, paper towel
placing under a bowl, dish, etc.
- Bowls with rubberized base
- Grater with suction cups
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Push a
pan, bowl, plate against the edge of the wall for additional
support
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Other useful assistive devices for
kitchen use for in-coordination, decline in strength, range of
motion:
- Bowl or pan holders
- Cutting board with nails: Makes
spreading, chopping, dicing, cutting easier (Cutting boards
can hold onions, apples, bread, potatoes, etc.)
- Jar openers: Now available for one
handed use
- Clamp on vegetable peelers
- Folding pan holder (stabilizes pots or
pans without need to use two hands)
- Fruit and veggie scrubber: suctions
against side of sink
- Sharp knives (reduces resistance)
- Toss and chop scissors
Pinching and Release
Finger pinching, hand gripping and
releasing are needed to manipulate utensils, food and objects
such as boxes, cans and jars. Other things and methods can be
used to reduce the need for finger movements or hand
function. Here are some basic ideas:
- Make the grip larger (requires less
muscle strength and can make holding easier).
- Add texture to make the grip easier to
hold.
- Utensil holders can be used when grip is
not possible or difficult.
- Rocker knives: Use a rocking motion to
cut, rather than having to use a fork with one hand to
stabilize food to cut with the other hand.
- Self opening kitchen sheers
(reduces need to open and close scissors).
Range of Motion
Limitations in range of motion (ROM) can
affect reaching and other movement in the kitchen. Rearranging
and reorganization to eliminate or reduce the need to reach can
make meal preparation and clean up easier.
When rearranging and reorganization are not
enough, assistive devices to compensate for limitations in ROM
can be very helpful in the kitchen. Some examples include:
- Reachers: Extend ability to reach
- Utility cart
- Stand up dust pan and brush: Extended
handle reduces need for reach
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4.
The Occupational Therapist: A Consultant for Physically
Challenged Cooks
A physical challenge can make meal
preparation and clean up difficult or impossible. There are many
factors to consider before choosing the best solutions. There
are so many choices available that are based on the person, the
place and activities. Finding and choosing effective solutions
can sometimes feel and be overwhelming for all involved.
Individuals, families and caregivers who
are faced with such difficulties can consult with occupational
therapists (OT's). OT's help the challenged work toward or
achieve independence in all facets of living.
| OT's are skilled
professionals whose education includes the study of human growth
and development with specific emphasis on the social, emotional,
and physiological effects of illness and injury. |
Occupational therapist's services in the
home typically include
- Identifying specific factors that
influence abilities and disabilities
- Selecting and designing options that maximize
participation
- Training
- Counseling
- Providing recommendations to challenged
individuals, families, caregivers, etc.
Occupational therapists can be found in
every state of the United States and around the world. For more
information about occupational therapy, refer to
 5. Internet Resources
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