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

8

9

10

27

26

12

14

16

18

20

24

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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