Teens in limited-resource communities face challenges to healthy eating. Many youths lack food preparation skills and have limited access to ingredients needed to prepare healthy foods at home. University of Maryland Extension offered healthy food preparation lessons to teen participants of a popular weekly electronic gaming program in a Baltimore…

Virtual reality (VR) technology enables evaluation and practice of specific skills in a motivating, user-friendly and safe way. The implementation of virtual game environments within clinical settings has increased substantially in recent years. However, the psychometric properties and feasibility of many applications have not been fully…

This review synthesizes the empirical literature (1986-2006) focusing on teaching cooking skills to persons with moderate to severe intellectual disabilities. Twenty-two studies were identified which provided information on four forms of technologies currently being used to teach food preparation: (a) picture-based systems; (b) Palmtop personal…

In this article, the author reports on a project which is teaching young parents, most of them from disadvantaged backgrounds, the skills they need to shop and cook healthily on a tight budget. In 2006, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) commissioned the National Federation of Women's Institutes (NFWI) to run "Let's Cook!", a three-year…

The article describes a six-week cooking program for developmentally disabled adults offered through the county continuing education program. The program utilizes illustrated recipes (an example is included). Significant outcomes and implementation pointers are noted. (DB)

The brochure briefly describes approximately 50 cookbooks and related materials appropriate for use with special populations. For most entries, title, author, source, price, and a brief description are provided. Entries include general cookbooks, large print and Braille cookbooks, cookbooks for special diets, cookbooks for special conditions,…

A review of food preparation and meal planning training studies involving individuals with disabilities was conducted to determine the extent to which nutritional issues were addressed. A lack of emphasis on nutritious and healthful foods was found, with nutrition education typically limited to the traditional basic food group approach. (Author/DB)

Twelve moderately retarded adults served as subjects in testing the hypothesis that colored drawings would be more effective in teaching the identification of common kitchen utensils. The study demonstrated that such adults performed better in discrimination tasks with color coding as an aid to developing such living skills as food preparation.…

The article reviews the literature on teaching cooking skills to mentally retarded students. The lack of research which assesses procedures for teaching food preparation skills is discussed as are the need for training in natural settings, the costs involved in teaching cooking skills, and the need for more thorough baseline assessment. (Author/DB)

A functional program including planning, shopping, purchasing, and meal preparation was developed which used a photographic format (to minimize reading) and budget guide. Trial with eight young adults whose disabilities ranged from mild to severe indicated that nonreading individuals could learn all aspects of meal preparation. Skills also…

The guide is designed to provide special education students with nutrition education in terms of daily living skills. Activities are organized according to five themes: what we eat (awareness of the physical and sensory characteristics of food, identification of food eaten at various meals); how we eat (identification of cutlery, manners, use of…

Three secondary students with moderate disabilities acquired cooking skills through a constant time delay procedure used with video prompting. A multiple probe design was used to evaluate effectiveness of the procedure to teach preparation of a food item (a) on a stove, (b) in a microwave, and (c) on a counter top. The procedure was effective for…

The effectiveness of a five-second time-delay procedure to teach three chained food preparation behaviors to four moderately retarded adolescents was evaluated within a multiple probe design across behaviors. The skills maintained over a three-month period and generalized from school to home for subjects completing the generalization probe…

Discusses the author's teaching experiences during the 1930s at "La Maison des Enfants," a Montessori school in Sevres, France. Provides photographs and descriptions of the school day, outdoor activities, gardening, cooking and eating, practical activities, and creative activities. (MDM)

This packet contains two lesson plans for a class on making bread to be taught in an adult literacy program. Developed by a teacher who has taught the classes to 175 people, the lesson plans each contain complete directions for working with students while baking bread. One lesson plan is for experienced home bakers, and the other is a simpler…