The following are free pages from
Help Yourself
Mealtime Skills for Students
Who are Blind or Visually Impaired
by
Sue Shannon, OTR/L
This resource is made available to you by the Training and
Educational Resources Program at Perkins School for the Blind.
Visit http://www.perkins.org for more information.
Sue Shannon, OTR/L
Help Yourself: Mealtime Skills for Students
Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired
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Sue Shannon, OTR/L
B Y
Mealtime Skills for
Students Who Are Blind or
Visually Impaired
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© 2011 Perkins School for the Blind. All rights reserved
Every effort has been made to acknowledge commercial products mentioned
in this publication whose names are trademarks or registered trademarks.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2011922315
ISBN: 978-0-9822721-6-9
Printed in USA
Perkins School for the Blind
Watertown, Massachusetts USA
Photographers: Kathy Bull, Keri Johnson and Sue Shannon
Layout by Betsy Martin-Richardson of Design By...
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Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the many people who contributed to this booklet including
students at the Perkins School for the Blind who have inspired, tested and refined many of the strategies included in these pages. I am also grateful for
collaboration and consultation with Home and Personal Management Teacher Kathy Bull, and Occupational Therapists Dianna DiPalermo, Monica Allon, Jen
Feinstein, Julie Telep and Keri Johnson for their suggestions, feedback and assistance with photographs. Thanks also to Elizabeth Torrey, Speech and
Language Pathologist and Marianne Riggio, Training Coordinator for Perkins international, at Perkins for their input and guidance in developing a booklet
that could be helpful to a wide range of people who teach mealtime skills to children with visual impairments.
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Using Condiments
Table of Contents
Slicing
Spreading
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9
10
27
26
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Introduction
General Considerations
Pouring
Serving From a Platter or Dish
Utensil Grips and Using a Mature Grasp
Using a Knife as a “Border” or a “Pusher”
Cutting Foods
Clearing the Table
Holding Things Level
Select Resources 28
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Cutting Foods
Tips for Teaching
• When checking for the cutting edge of the knife, gently scrape the blade against the side of the
fork or plate to feel the bumpy quality of the serrated edge.
• Use a sharp, large-handled knife with a little weight to it, such as a steakhouse knife, to help
ensure success.
• It may help to serve the meat or other food to be cut first, so it is the only thing on the plate.
Cut the food before adding other dishes to the plate.
• When giving hand-over-hand assistance for cutting, always use the same tactile technique to
avoid confusion. Make sure the student’s parents, siblings, and school staff know the technique.
Significance of Skill
• This skill increases independence in the areas of fine motor and self-help skills.
• Cutting food is a difficult skill to learn, as there is so much variety in the size and texture of the
foods we eat. Even the way one specific food (broccoli, for example) is prepared can vary
significantly, so the student may need to learn a variety of techniques to be successful.
Alternative Methods/Adaptations
• There are many strategies and techniques for cutting foods. Some initial exploration of different
methods may help determine what will work best for the student.
• Use a rocker knife or other adapted knife for students with limited use of one hand or
decreased fine motor skills.
• Chicken on the bone is very difficult to cut. Get boneless chicken whenever possible, or
students may want to ask someone at the table to remove the bone before attempting to cut it.
• At a restaurant, students may consider ordering entrees they know are precut. If necessary,
you can request that difficult foods, such as steak, be cut before serving.
• Spaghetti is almost always messy to eat. Purchase or order easy-to-pierce pasta, such as
penne or bowties, to avoid the mess that spaghetti creates. Using the grid method technique to
cut spaghetti into small pieces allows the student to get the pasta on the fork more neatly.
• When using the grid method of cutting, some students have difficulty measuring a quarter turn.
To help with this, instruct the student to grasp the left and right sides of the plate, and then
turn it until his hands are at the front and back of the plate.
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Cutting Foods
Teaching Tips: Where to Start
To begin teaching a student to cut food, start with a fairly dull, large-handled knife. This will help
the student explore how the knife cuts through foods, the position of the knife (as well as the
position of the fingers and wrist), and how much force is needed. Have the student slice a peeled
banana or similar food. Have him hold the food with his non-dominant hand and the knife in his
dominant hand. This is generally effective for most students, as small, skilled movements and
sensory feedback are required when using a knife. Increase the resistance of the food, cutting, for
example, zucchini or summer squash, which will add in the sawing motion. Some students may
need a tactile marking on the knife to know where to position their index fingers.
Using the Back of a Fork as a Guide for Cutting
Orient the food with
the fork and knife for
effective positioning.
Holding the fork
upside down in the
non-dominant hand,
find the right edge of
the food if right
handed, or left side if
left handed.
Slide the fork over
the food a bite-sized
amount, and pierce
the food with the fork.
Run the edge of the
knife across the fork or
edge of plate to insure
the knife is oriented
properly.
Hold the knife in the
dominant hand with
the index finger on
top and wrist straight.
Slide the knife down
the back of the fork,
and saw back and
forth until the knife
scrapes the plate.
Place the knife on the
other side of the fork
to hold the food
stable.
Pick up the fork and
place it on the other
side of the knife.
Slide down the back of
the knife again, and
repeat until the whole
piece is cut.
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Cutting Foods
Using the Back and Sides of a Fork as a Guide for Cutting
Slide the fork over a
small amount from
the edge of the food.
Cut around the back
and side of the fork. Continue to cut around
the fork.
This generally results in
a bite-sized amount.
More skilled wrist and
finger movements are
required for this
method.
Grid Cutting Method for Spaghetti, Salad, Lasagna, etc.
When cutting spaghetti or salad, the student
should cross her knife and fork and pull them
apart, starting at the back of the plate or
bowl, and moving toward the front (or from
front to back). The knife and fork should be
pressed tightly together at the tips to cut
effectively.
The student should
then turn the plate or
bowl a quarter turn.
The result is cutting the food completely into
bite-sized pieces.
And repeat.
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Cutting Foods
Adaptation and Other Methods
If a Piece Is Too Big
If one of the
pieces is too
big...
Turn the fork over and place
it back down on the plate.
Slide the knife down the back
of the fork and cut.
This generally cuts the piece
small enough to make it bite
sized. Repeat if necessary.
Alternate Cutting Method
Measure bite-sized pieces with
the knife laying flat.
Place the knife flat on the food
to measure out a bite-sized
piece.
More skilled wrist and finger
movements are required for
this method.
A Rocker “T” knife may be used by
individuals who don’t have the ability to use
2 hands in a skilled way. This knife cuts food
with one hand using a rocking motion.
Large-handled
steak knife
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