In Part 1 of this series we discussed structuring the home for a child with special needs. We began with ways of organizing the child’s bedroom to encourage independent living. Now, let’s move on to another area of the home – the kitchen.
Independence in the kitchen is going to depend upon the child's adaptive skill level, cognitive level and communication level. Below are four practical ideas for creating structure and promoting independence in the kitchen.
This post will focus on organizing a kitchen for an older child or one with fewer needs and the next post will focus on children with more significant needs.
Nonverbal or less verbal child, higher developmental level and/or older child
Visual Schedules are still vital for independence. Here is one that I created in a school for washing the dishes:
Create schedules for the activities you will allow the child to do independently, such as:
- Washing dishes or loading/unloading the dishwasher
- Making a simple meal (i.e.; a sandwich, toast, cereal, frozen meal)
- Using the microwave
Create visuals for each schedule. For an older child you may want to create a notebook of the visual schedules, almost like a recipe book. Laminate each of the schedules or “recipes for activities” and place them in the notebook. You can also post them in the different areas of the kitchen (i.e.; on the refrigerator, microwave, by the sink).
Post simple rules with picture symbols. There should be things that you do not want the child to do, so post these as reminders (i.e.; turning on the stove or using knives). Use the symbol below:
- Always tell an adult before they begin an activity in the kitchen.
- Turn off lights when leaving.
- Turn off water after using.
- Make sure the refrigerator door is closed.
- Make sure stove is off.
Organize the environment so that everything has a home. You may want to post a photo or picture symbol on the front of the cabinets so that the child knows where to locate certain items.
photo by: Stock.xchng
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