17th
My “nephew,” PJ, loves to cook. Like my twin sons, he has autism.
Do your children with autism love to cook? Mine do. I find cooking to be a really good time to teach “how” and “why” questions. For one thing, we are standing side by side. This is more comfortable for people with autism because eye contact isn’t part of the interaction. I get more language from the boys this way. They learn more words this way, too. Especially prepositions, which are difficult for my twins. And when you’re cooking, prepositions are used quite a bit. “Put this IN the pot.” “Set that pot BEHIND the sauce pan.”
My twins love to cook, and it’s something I never have to beg them to do. It’s also important because I want them to be able to cook for themselves one day. So far, the twins are able to heat things in the microwave and brown hamburger. Yesterday, Isaac was able to fix chicken in the oven and bake potatoes in the microwave. I have been ill, so he had to get directions from me sitting in the next room. I still had to turn on the stove and check the chicken, but he prepped the pan and seasoned the chicken all by himself! He also washed the potatoes and poked holes in them with a fork by himself. That was the very first time he did it alone and I was impressed.
The boys still can’t turn the stove on and off by themselves. We have an electric stove, and I think that’s part of the problem. If we had a gas stove like PJ, I think they might be able to do it. Ours is also a smooth ceramic top, so it’s not as visual. To them it’s just a big mystery. But we’re working on it. They don’t understand the concept of temperature, either, so setting the temperature for baking and roasting is hard for them. But I fully expect them to be able to soon.
Tonight they helped me clean the downstairs bathroom. They do well as long as I’m right with them. Someday, I hope they’ll be able to do some of these things without supervision.
I encourage parents to cook with their autistic children as long as they are old enough to participate and only if they are able to do it without “loosing it.” When the boys were little, it just wasn’t worth the hassle.
I remember when they were in preschool, I really wanted them to help make Christmas cookies. It was a nightmare. Not one inch of the kitchen wasn’t covered in flour. All they wanted to do was fling it everywhere and rub their hands in it back and forth and back and forth. They looked like little ghosts in less than 10 minutes.
SO, I think it helps if your child is at least old enough (some kids with autism do improve behavior-wise at least a little as they age) to follow simple directions. You’ll have to choose something that won’t overwhelm them sensory-wise, too. And they’ll have to be able to understand the stove is hot, etc.
Like a lot of kids with autism, the twins love my “machines.” The Kitchenaid mixer is a popular tool, as are any of the gadgets. And they love to stir. So whenever I make spaghetti sauce, they are almost always involved.
Unlike PJ, my boys don’t have very good coordination with their hands, so flipping an egg is extremely difficult for them. But they can scramble them just fine. For now, though, we just cook them in the microwave. They are able to make scrambled eggs by themselves. And, they can make sandwiches, too.
Sandwiches. (I am rambling tonight.) A sandwich to them might have peanut butter and mayonnaise and A-1 sauce on it. I think even their taste-buds are sensory bizarre!
Way to go, PJ! Watching you cook that egg made me HUNGRY!
PJ frying eggs (via pvera)
