One of a Kind Cookbook Available Now, Check out a copy from the Autism Calgary Library

Autism Calgary members were spoiled by a visit from Penny Gill in early September.  Penny is the founder and president of a volunteer driven registered Canadian charity in Ontario,  Autism PDD Family Alliance.  The charity runs an established and successful program providing cooking classes to adults with ASD.  The classes pair each student with a cooking coach who helps provide assistance ensuring the experience is fun and rewarding.  Close attention is given to any motor challenges.  Cooking instruments are carefully selected to account for strengths and challenges of each student.  Menu items take into account food preferences and sensory needs are accommodated.  The program is finely tuned with a clear understanding of the unique difference of individuals with ASD.  The feast at the end of the class proves to be an ideal setting to generate natural conversation – a “conversation menu” assists students to break the ice.

While you may have missed Penny’s amazing presentation… you can still benefit from what we learned by checking out a copy of Penny’s cookbook from the Autism Calgary library.  Each recipe has been “task analysed” to present instructions in a logical stepwise manor.  For example, ingredients are listed in their natural form – without assumptions that the cook already knows the steps necessary to prepare the ingredient. 

Of course, you learn more about Penny’s programs or you can purchase your own copy of the cookbook from the Autism PDD Family Alliance Website (Click Here.)

One of our Autism Calgary members, Maureen Bennie, attended Penny’s presentation in early September.  Maureen posted a blog highlighting some key points of Penny’s discussion.  Click here to read Maureen’s blog post.  Thank you Maureen, for sharing this with us!