How can I help a disabled loved one prepare meals?

If a disabled friend or a family member needs help preparing meals, consider the following:

• Try to make and freeze portion-sized meals or soups for microwaving. (This is a good task to give to people who inquire about helping.)
• Make the kitchen accessible by ensuring key items are within easy reach. Products designed to compensate for disabilities, such as large-print cookbooks and easy-to-open food containers, can make cooking and eating easier.
• Offer to do the shopping for heavy items like canned goods or milk. Groceries may be bought online or by phone and delivered, or you may opt to have meals delivered.
• If the person you're caring for dislikes eating alone, arrange dinner and lunch dates, or potlucks if cooking is hard. Be on hand yourself when possible. Some senior centers and other organizations offer group dining.

Also, consider kitchen safety. If confusion is a problem for your loved one, you may want to take steps to make sure the burners on the stove can't be turned on, and remove other household appliances, like toaster ovens, that might be dangerous.