Students gain new perspective through low vision cooking class

Everyday tasks in the kitchen can require a different approach for people living with vision loss. Learning practical strategies can help make those tasks safer and more manageable.

During a recent hands-on cooking class at the Dan Arnold Center for Vision Rehabilitation, participants had the opportunity to learn those strategies while helping McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston students better understand the day-to-day experiences of the patients they may one day serve.

The class was hosted by the Resilience Initiative for Support and Empowerment Low Vision support group as part of its monthly programming for individuals with low vision, visual impairment, and blindness.

Throughout the workshop, volunteers provided individualized instruction as participants rotated through stations focused on making food preparation safer and more accessible. They practiced knife skills using finger guards and cut-resistant gloves, learned techniques for positioning their hands safely, and explored tools such as manual food choppers for dicing vegetables and kitchen scissors for preparing herbs and seasonings. Participants then put those skills into practice by preparing fresh pico de gallo together.

For participants, the class provided more than cooking instruction.

“My low vision has prevented me from doing a lot of things, but this definitely showed me that I can still work in the kitchen,” one participant said.

Medical students Jennifer Wang and Rohini Chahal of the Ophthalmology Student Interest Group helped make the program possible through a Community Outreach Molding Medical Identities to Thrive grant. Wang helped plan and facilitate the class alongside occupational therapists Grace Chang, OTD, and Diana Arnold, with additional support from student volunteers in the group.

For the medical students, working directly with individuals living with vision loss offered a perspective that can be difficult to replicate in a traditional classroom. The experience allowed them to see how visual impairment can affect routine activities and how relatively simple adaptations can help people maintain independence.

Another participant highlighted the importance of learning how to approach familiar activities differently.

“Being independent is very important, especially for people who have low vision,” the participant said. “You have to learn to do things differently and safely. This was very informative.”

The class also provided an opportunity for members of the support group to connect with others navigating similar experiences, exchange resources, and learn from one another.

“Every meeting that I come to, I learn something and also learn that there are a lot of people with similar situations and are coping with it,” one participant said.