For Your Disabled Child or for Any Disabled Children, Adaptive Plates and Bowls with Features for Better Nutrition

It is often said that any disabled child needs all the help available from his or her caregivers. But what constitutes "help?"

With all children-disabled or not-in the first few years it usually means doing everything for them. But as the child grows, it becomes more important to help the child help him or herself.

Mealtimes can be especially tricky. While parents and caregivers may wish to grant independence to disabled children in many areas of life-essentially letting them "test the waters"-it is difficult to do this with meals. No parent or caregiver wishes to see their child receive inadequate nutrition because they cannot properly feed independently.

Enter adaptive dinnerware. These are bowls, plates, dishes, and cupholders for the disabled child which have certain "assistive" features to help them handle these implements better.

Feature: Contoured "Lip" for Better Food Handing by the Disabled Child

If the disabled child has use of only one hand, it can be difficult to push food onto the fork or spoon. So a wonderful type of plate or bowl for disabled children is called the "scoop" bowl/plate. A special "lip" scientifically contoured by computer- modeling programs lets the disabled child "push" the food onto the utensil...all without using a second hand!

Feature: Disabled Children Love the "Gripping" Properties

Many makers of adaptive tableware advertise non-grip properties. But upon closer examination, these bowls, plates, and dishes are closer to "low-skid" than truly "non-skid." Case in point is the so-called "non-skid" pad, which is nothing more than a rubbery or "grippy" surface to lay under the bowl or plate and impede its movement. Another ineffective method is the suction-cup system. Suction cups quickly lose their grip, easily frustrating the efforts of the disabled child wishing to feed independently. But the Freedom Dinnerware line of products offers a patented vacuum base that screws onto the adapted plate, bowl, or dish used by disabled children.

Feature: Sturdy Foldable Cupholders Favored by Disabled Children