Matching oven-shelf burns on both arms. Flour on the ceiling. Forgot the pasta because you were concentrating so hard on the sauce.
Cooking asks for sequencing, timing, knife skills and multitasking, all around hot and sharp things. With dyspraxia, that’s a lot. But it can get easier (and safer).
Cooking is a lot
Cooking looks like one skill, but it’s really a dozen happening at once. For a brain that finds sequencing and coordination tiring, a simple recipe can be as demanding as a full day’s work.
- Sequencing: Recipes are lots of steps, in order.
- Timing: Everything ready at the same time?!
- Knife skills: Grip, pressure, and precision at once.
- Hot & sharp: Small slips, big consequences.
- Measuring: Pouring, levelling, reading scales.
- Multitasking: Stir this, chop that, watch the pan.
Dyspraxic cooking
If you’ve ever felt like the only person who can turn a simple meal into a small disaster, these might sound familiar. They’re not signs you’re bad at cooking. They’re what dyspraxia looks like at the hob.
- Oven-shelf burns on your arms: A matching set, on both sides.
- Flour… everywhere: How did it get on the ceiling?
- Forgot the pasta: Too busy concentrating on the sauce.
- One meal, totally drained: Now there’s the washing up too.
Fewer ouches
The kitchen is the one room where a dyspraxic slip can actually hurt, so it’s worth getting the basics right. None of this is about being nervous. It’s about setting things up so mistakes matter less.
- Keep knives sharp: Blunt knives slip more. Use a claw grip.
- Stop the board sliding: A damp tea towel underneath works.
- Turn pan handles in: Harder to knock off the hob.
- Slide the shelf out first: Don’t reach into a hot oven.
Good to know: Burnt yourself? Cool it under cool running water for 20 minutes. Get medical help if it’s large or deep.
Tools that help
The right equipment does a surprising amount of the work for you. None of it is specialist kit, and most of it is inexpensive. Each item removes a fiddly or risky movement.
- Mini chopper: Skip the knife work
- Kitchen scissors: Herbs, bacon, pizza
- Digital scales: No squinting at dials
- A timer for every step: Or ask a smart speaker
- Two-handled pans: Easier to lift and pour
- Long oven gloves: Protect your forearms
Cook smarter
You don’t have to cook the way the recipe assumes. Shortcuts aren’t cheating, and many of them give you a result that’s just as good with half the effort and far less washing up.
| Instead of | Try |
|---|---|
| Chopping fresh onions. | Frozen chopped onions and garlic. |
| Juggling four pans. | One-pot meals and traybakes. |
| Reading as you go. | Read it all first, lay it all out. |
Fed is fed
It’s easy to feel that proper adults cook proper meals from scratch every night. That standard isn’t realistic for most people, and it’s certainly not a fair one to hold yourself to when cooking costs you extra energy.
- Simple meals are real meals: Nobody’s grading your dinner.
- Batch cook on good days: Future you will be so grateful.
- Ready meals aren’t failure: They’re a tool, like any other.
- Share the load: You chop with the gadget, they handle the oven.
Wrapping up
Beans on toast is still dinner. Feeding yourself is the win, however you get there.
Cooking with dyspraxia gets easier when you stop trying to do it the standard way and start doing it your way. Keep what works, drop what doesn’t, and remember that the goal is a fed, unburnt you, not a perfect plate.
Next in the series: Dyspraxia at School, College and University
This post is for general information and isn’t medical advice or a diagnosis. If it resonates, speak to your GP or an occupational therapist.