For those with a permanent or temporary physical disability involving mobility impairment, cooking can present challenges as well as opportunities for creative problem solving. Not all disabilities or people are the same, but some of the common issues include limitations in standing, reaching, or using one side of the body.
When reader haipanda requested a post about cooking with physical disabilities, I realized I had never given much thought to this subject. Yet I was intrigued and after a week of research and talking to a group of experienced individuals, it became clear that this is a rich topic for discussion. Below are some tips for cooks and their friends and families, provided by two cooks with physical disabilities, a family member, an occupational therapist, and a chef who works with a non-profit. Many of these are helpful suggestions for any cook, not just those with a disability.
Please share your own experiences and solutions in the comments!
Strategies
• Plan ahead: While planning saves time, money and hassle for every home cook, it is crucial for those with disabilities. An accident like a broken glass or missing ingredient might leave a disabled person without anything to eat. Make careful shopping lists, and build leeway into your cooking schedule. Work with small quantities, saving bulk cooking for days you have help. Always keep food on hand for days you don't feel up to cooking. – Hannah Katsman
• Break it down: Look at whatever you want to cook and break it down. For example, plan to hit the refrigerator once instead of 10 times throughout the process of making a dish. Have everything ready before you start cooking. – Cat Holden
• De-clutter: Storing too many things together makes it physically difficult to get to what you need, especially when heavy items are stored. Roll out trays, smart storage at convenient heights, and a de-cluttered kitchen will help make work in the kitchen more efficient and pleasant. Rearrange, throw out and generally reduce and organize food and other items so that access is greatly enhanced. – Susan Serra
• Rest if needed: Fatigue can be an issue, so take frequent breaks and keep a chair or stool nearby in case you need to sit down. – Cat Holden
• Appreciate the process: Cooking food can be therapy for the soul. If you have limited motor skills, it might affect how "perfectly" you can cut an onion or roll out sushi, but enjoying the tactile experience, using your senses – that in itself is just as important as the end product. – Rodelio Aglibot
Kitchen Design
• Countertop height: If you're in a wheelchair, lowering counters is good. If you have the funds, having a counter that can go up and down would be wonderful. Having a small table on wheels as a working surface can also work. – Nicolas Steenhout
• Countertop material: Easy clean, smooth, surfaces and clean lines throughout the kitchen help the cleaning process, for a healthier kitchen. Engineered stone such as Silestone provides ease of maintenance. – Susan Serra
• Appliances: I like any appliances that have good lighting and easy access into the appliance. Lighting around appliance knobs, large letters and numbers and smooth, rounded corners are preferred. Look for handles and doors that are easy to use and open. For ovens, look for easy roll out shelves. – Susan Serra
• Lighting: Add adequate lighting overhead and task lighting if necessary. – Susan Serra
• Hardware: Replace hardware for better access – small knobs can be difficult to use. Pulls can often be a better solution. – Susan Serra
• Faucets: A faucet that is hands free or electronic touch is very welcome for many people as it is a simple touch to turn on and off. – Susan Serra
Kitchen Tools
• Adaptive equipment: Many people don't even know about the range of adaptive tools that exist. For example, there are cutting boards with a spear that help you secure the food, rocker knives, silverware with built-up handles, and more. Check medical supply stores and catalogs or talk to an occupational therapist, who can be a great resource.
• Push cart: A push cart on wheels, like the kind you can get at Target or Home Depot, is a good secret weapon. You can use it if you have difficulty carrying foods, and it's easy to slide from the fridge to the counter or stove. – Cat Holden
• Cutting boards:
If you cannot stand, I recommend using a cutting board on your lap. Some people put a cushion under the board. – Nicolas Steenhout
In a wheelchair, it is almost impossible to get up close enough to the typical counter because your feet will be blocked by the cabinets below. I wound up doing most of my food preparation on a pullout chopping board, sometimes even laying another board on top of it to try to extend the surface. – Mike Shirk
• Hook on a stick: Because of the depth of the typical countertop, one of my most useful gadgets is a hook on the end of the pole. I use it to grab the blender, the breadmaker, the food processor, the toaster, pull pots and pans out from under the stove with the space – you get the idea. – Mike Shirk
• Pastry cutter: My fingers are too weak to use a conventional knife for chopping, so I use a pastry cutter for that purpose. What it lacks in sharpness I make up for with better leverage. – Mike Shirk
• Disposable gloves: Some have mentioned a worry about hygiene, having to handle wheelchair wheels then food. From the health and hygiene point of view, disposable gloves are wonderful. – Nicolas Steenhout
Advice for family members and friends
• Respect: When someone has a disability it's tempting to jump in and take over. Respect the autonomy of the disabled person. Think about the tasks that might be difficult and offer to help in a few specific ways. For instance, if you are going shopping offer to pick up some things or to take the person along. If budget allows, consider paid help or gadgets. Community services or volunteer organizations may offer assistance. Figuring out the best strategies is often a matter of trial and error.
Finally, we must always keep in mind to treat people with physical disabilities as capable adults. Respect their choices, privacy and desire for independence. – Hannah Katsman
• Empower: Many times a person with a physical disability can still participate in cooking. Empower them to be included in the task. Even if they can't stand at the stove to stir the spaghetti sauce, they might be able to chop the onions or measure ingredients. – Cat Holden
The Experts
Hannah Katsman is the author of Cooking Manager. When she was 12, her mother, an avid cook, was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. "I believe she viewed her disability as a new cooking challenge," says Hannah. Read her Ten Tips for Cooking with a Disability or Injury.
Cat Holden is an occupational therapist at Sinai Hospital's RETURN! Brain Injury Community Re-Entry Program. She works with a wide variety of clients who have a physical and/or cognitive disability.
Susan Serra, CKD, CAPS, is President of kitchen/bath design firm Susan Serra Associates and is a Certified Aging in Place Specialist. With her daughter Kelly, she writes the blog The Kitchen Designer.
Rodelio Aglibot is a chef and founding Board Member of In Chef's Hands, an organization that pairs chefs with food enthusiasts who have special needs, illness, physical limitations, or disabilities for a day of cooking together.
Nicolas Steenhout is the author of The Wheeling Gourmet. He went to cooking school at the Institut de Tourisme et d'Hotellerie du Québec and worked in restaurants including a Michelin starred restaurant in Belgium. He stopped working as a professional chef when he had to start using a wheelchair. Read his tips for Cooking with a Disability.
Mike Shirk is the author of Life! Disabled. When he retired on disability due to a rare muscular disease called Inclusion Body Myositis, Mike needed some activities to replace the things he could no longer do. He picked up watercolor painting and cooking. Read about his kitchen experiences.
Thank you, Hannah, Cat, Susan, Rodelio, Nicolas, and Mike!
Related: Accessible Kitchen Design in the New York Times
(Images: Snaidero Skyline Lab Kitchen by Lucci Orlandini Design)
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I grew up with my grandmother who was in a wheelchair. She just couldn't afford to remodel her kitchen to accomodate her, so she never went in it, which was unfortunate. As a little girl, she went out of her way to constantly teach me everything she knew about baking and cooking since she couldn't. She'd watch from across the counter! Once I almost burned something and she tried to come help. Her chair got stuck in between the counters and we waited there til my dad came home to unstick her!
I don't deal with any of these issues personally, but I really enjoyed reading the tips. They are so sensible and, as you said, would be smart for anyone to incorporate.
Things that were easy when one was young get harder as one ages. Adaptations are things I constantly think about for myself.
When I was in the UK 20 yrs ago I saw a handy gadget that is a swinging & tilting cradle for the tea kettle. One put the empty (electric) kettle into the cradle and then filled it, plugged it in to heat and then poured using the cradle. Pouring water filled items is difficult because of the weight. Has anyone seen a solution for this in the US? Ideally I'd like a solution that could handle all sorts of water filled cooking pots as well as the kettle. Inventors? Anyone?
Although each disability and setting is different, in my own experience with mine I found the most important think was - Get Started! Find a small task that you can adapt and reconfigure and do it. I found the process of adapting to the limitations takes a while and with each accomplishment our thinking turns toward solving or finding a work-around that helps tackle the next impediment. Stated another way, instead of trying to take on the limitations in total, all at once - allow yourself to build on experiences, difficulties, and successes. For me it was an educational process that took some time.
Wow, I hadn't really given this much thought, but it's something I've been dealing with for the past several months. The range of motion and strength of my left arm has been impaired, and it's made it really difficult to do things like lift a large pot of water.
I realize now that I've also been planning my grocery shopping on the basis of carrying only one really heavy item at a time. For example, if I know I'm buying milk, I wait to buy bleach until my next trip. That's the only advice that comes to mind right now.
This was a wonderful post, thank you for doing the research!
This was a wonderful post and perhaps there is a way to incorporate more like these in the future. An example could be showcasing a house of someone who loves to cook but they happen to be deaf or in a wheelchair or blind. Seeing how those kitchens have been modified whether it is a big modification or a simple one can really offer something for everyone. Plus it gives all of your readers some insight into how people have had to come up with their own ways to make things easier to bake or cook. Lots of potential with this topic. good work!!
I just wanted to say, "thank you," for acknowledging such an often overlooked topic, and for mentioning that not all disabilities or people with disabilities are all alike. As someone whom has a physical disability and loves to cook and bake, and has a wonderful mother who helps me do both, as well as having attendants (people who assist in fulfilling everyday activities), I'm fortune enough to live in a physically disabled apartment that has a modified kitchen.
It is true, that people who do have a disability of any sort, do have to learn to adapt to things and be resourceful in order to get things done. Oftentimes, it's not easy, but not unattainable, if provided with the right and proper equipment/help. I'm fortunate enough to have people around to assist me in doing such things, and knowing that there are quite a few resources available to me, in achieving any sort of accessibility issues I may be experiencing.
So, thank you again, "The Kitchn," for addressing this topic. I really appreciate it, and will continue to remain a loyal reader to your blog. You truly are one of a kind. Have a lovely weekend.
I'm currently studying to be an Occupational Therapist, and I am so happy you wrote this post. It's full of useful tips, and I'm going to save it for future use.
Find ways to break up the meal prep into steps that can be done at different times. My 93 year old grandmother still cooks for us, but she does everything in steps. For instance, she will chop some veggies, then take a break and come back later to sauté them, then she'll take another break before boiling pasta and assembling the casserole.Obviously not everyone has the time to spend all day making a meal, but breaking it up can really help for people who have difficulty standing for long periods of time or get fatigued easily.
She loves being able to cook for us and usually won't even let us touch the dishes! I think being able to do something productive and useful everyday is one of the main reasons she has lived so long. I guess what I'm getting at is, let people (with disabilities) do as much as they can, don't just jump in and take over because it can make them feel infantilized and helpless.
What a great post! When my fiance and I were first dating his grandmother, who was in a wheelchair from muscular dystrophy, invited us over for dinner and cooked spaghetti with meatballs. Looking back now, I remember seeing her hook on a stick, which she used to grab everything off the counter.
Thank you for this. Really well done post.
Excellent post. I remember trying to bake cookies when I broke my foot. The crutches made it too difficult to get around the kitchen, so I ended up in my rolling office chair, wheeling around the kitchen. Not being able to reach things was frustrating, so we moved everything around so it was easy to reach. My grandma has one of those pinching grabbing things to help reach, which was useful for spices or boxes that were high or too deep into cupboards.
Great article!
I have an autoimmune disorder that I get treated for and when I initially became ill I had about 6 months where I could barely walk (I had to use a walker and even that was difficult) and then almost another year where my legs would get exhausted after about 5-10 minutes of standing. I love to cook & began finding ways to deal with my limitations- I would sit on a kitchen stool while I attended to the stove or did my prep work at the kitchen table sitting down. Now my mobility and ability to stand are almost back to normal but I still remember those times when I had to find ways to adapt.
Excellent post. Over twenty years ago I was a kitchen designer in the UK, specializing in kitchens for people with disabilities. This included people with vision problems and in those days, I don't know about now, appliances were available with Braille controls (for example, the oven controls).
Sometimes, I'd design a kitchen from scratch but often it was adapting an existing kitchen. It was a lifetime ago but I remember a few tips.
If it's possible to remove a base cupboard, a work surface can be fitted between the adjacent ones at a height for the wheelchair to slide underneath. A level just below the drawers is usually about right.
Sometimes, it's possible to create a wheelchair-height work surface using a pull-out table system. This is particularly useful if you have a line of three or more base cupboards. By opening the cupboards 1 & 3 (or preferably 4) the pull out table can slightly overlap the open doors giving it more stability. The wheelchair can then slide underneath the pull out table.
For most mobility problems, a cheap, washable tote bag is essential. It can hang on your shoulder, on a hook on the wheelchair or on a crutch. All items from the fridge and pantry can be collected in one go. If there's room, you can collect items like knives, cheese graters etc. too.
Also available at that time, and probably still is, was what I think was called a 'lap desk'? This was a small board - chopping board sized - with a cushion attached. I think it was intended for writing whilst sitting on the sofa. It sat comfortably on your knee and could hold a chopping board with a mixing bowl and so on.
AT, thanks so much for this post! Before my mother passed away, she was in a wheelchair for a year, and it was so hard to find an accessible place for us to live. I'm tall and have a tricky back so it can be really hard for me to hunch over, for example when washing my hands at a bathroom vanity. Bottom line is: I wish more homes had options for people at different heights and abilities!!!!
I broke my ankle last year, and months later I am still too tired and weak by the end of the day to stand up and cook. Amaranta is right: washable cotton tote bags are absolutely essential for any kind of task around the house, because it cuts down on the number of trips I have to take across a room.
Amanda0730, I did the office-chair thing too! I actually broke my ankle in the middle of moving across town (I fell off the tailgate of the UHaul). Luckily I'd moved all my furniture, but I still needed to clean my old place to get my security deposit back. So my brother dutifully drove me over there, and mopped all the floors, while I wheeled around on an office chair in the kitchen and scrubbed the appliances.
If I had my own place (right now I'm in a group home with a tiny kitchen and multiple roommates), I'd put a bar-height chair or stool on wheels in my kitchen to make it easier to rest while cooking.
I also had a deaf friend who took unnecessary doors down in his group house. That way, he didn't have to worry about a roommate coming from the living room into the kitchen, and hitting him with the door because he didn't hear them coming. He also re-hung the bedroom and bathroom doors so they swung into private spaces (for some odd reason, the doors in that house swung out into the hallway, so you couldn't walk down the hallway without worrying that someone would hit you as they opened the door).
After spinal surgery, I now have trouble bending over. Anything low is impossible to get to.
I especially love the rail system on the backsplash. With this, I can have almost everything at the right height.
Because I'm also short, cupboard pull-down shelves would give me extra storage space. That's something for another day.
Also, I *LOVE* my refrigerator with the freezer drawer on the bottom.
is there anything on those who have cognitive difficulties as well? i want to cook again even if it's something small for myself. i have bad short term memory, can't remember things past 30 seconds at times so i read and reread things. i have worked out sitting on my walker or a chair at a small table in the kitchen to help prepare some foods. learning how to break down tasks instead of doing it all at once.
My very active outdoor enthusiastic nephew had surgery two years ago to remove a tumor growing on his spinal cord from his C2-C7. The surgery left him with severe muscle damage to his left side. He lost the use of his left hand (he was left-handed), has partial use of his left foot, and partial use of his right hand (the surgery affected the muscles and nerves on his fingers). He is also unable to sense temperatures so if he put his hands over a candle, he won't feel it burning.
He is now 15 and we are trying to equip him with day to day tools to make eating and cooking easier for him when he is able to go on his own. Can anyone suggest places where I can buy kitchen aids to fit his physical challenges?
Thank you