Cooking while on the spectrum can be a huge challenge—balancing sensory input, energy, and safety can feel overwhelming. To make it easier, we’re sharing monthly safety tips tailored for neurodivergent needs and encouraging independent living.
Our first tip is cutting gloves!
My Experience:
When people found out the amount of injuries I have received in the kitchen, people often laughed or questioned how it was even possible.
ER visits from slicing my finger pads, cuts from graters or potato peelers, etc. the list goes on and on.
I wasn’t doing it on purpose, my disability just affects me in a way that made interacting with sharp objects a safety hazard.
I will admit my fear has kept me from the kitchen for many years, until one day I realized the safest I had ever been with a knife was when I professionally worked with knives as a fruit cutter!
Nothing was stopping me from buying cutting gloves and cutting with them at home! No more cuts from preparing food!
But…there was another barrier for me, washing sharp objects and accidentally slicing myself when they were hidden under soap or in other dishes.
Then I asked myself again….who is stopping me from washing my dishes with cutting gloves on? No one cared if I used cutting gloves to wash sharp objects!
Let my cutting gloves not only be a safety strategy, but also a lesson. Tools that help us accomplish our goals are how we become more independent. No one cares how you get to the goal, but whether you actually try.
Safety Tips:
- Cut resistant gloves are a tool to make cutting safer.
- You will get better with practice! But there’s no rush.
- You can reduce the amount of cutting you will be doing. Start by cutting 1 item per meal, and as you become more comfortable, add more items to the amount you cut over time.
- Use cut resistant gloves for any sharp objects, not just knives, if you need to.
- Consider washing dishes with your gloves if cuts while washing is a common occurrence.
Also check out our Food Journal Worksheet, designed to track your reaction to certain foods.
