Sequencing Challenges & Cooking: Dementia Friendly Cooking Supports
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Dementia Friendly Cooking Supports
Question
I have several clients who are having difficulty sequencing and remembering what step they are on when cooking a recipe that they have used for many years. I have been researching solutions but have only come up with dementia friendly cookbooks. Are there any apps or programs that can help to break down previously used recipes into step-by-step instructions?
Our answer
Sequencing and remembering steps when cooking is challenging for many individuals. It is important to have independence to do daily tasks like cooking original recipes for an individual’s well-being.
There are limited options for customizable sequencing support, but there are two helpful options. One is the CanPlan app, developed by CanAssist at the University of Victoria, and the second is an online resource called the Accessible Chef. Read more about each below:
Mobile App
- CanPlan by CanAssist at the University of Victoria is a free app especially beneficial to people who have difficulty performing activities that require following a sequence of steps. This user-friendly app enables users to create custom sequences with user photos and prompts. It is currently only available for Apple devices and is free with in app purchases
Online Resource
- Accessible Chef was created by Anna Moyer as her Girl Scout Gold Award Project in 2010 and is a collection of free visual recipes as well as an online visual recipe creator tool. All recipes made with the creator tool are downloadable to your computer as PDF files that can then be printed. If you would like to share any of the recipes you make with the tool on the Accessible Chef website, you send your file to Anna herself, and she will add them to the accessible recipe library on the site.
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