Autism and Culinary Skills
By Tanishq Morcha | Published on February 4, 2021 | 5 Minute Read
Tanishq is now eleven years old. He was diagnosed with PDD-NOS at the age of two. He enjoys cooking. During this lockdown, we created a YouTube channel "Wonderful" to share his culinary skills. Our main motto is to inspire his differently-abled friends through this channel.
Tanishq as a child didn't have a sitting tolerance for watching cartoons but he used to spend most of his time watching the channel ‘Food Food’. Most of the programs were short and repeated, so he enjoyed watching them. As a five year old one day when he insisted on flipping dosa with his limited vocabulary, we allowed him and saw that he was able to do that and he could grasp the skill of pouring the dosa batter easily. We realised gradually that he enjoyed cooking and allowed him to assist us while cooking.
As he grew up, he learned to explore YouTube.
In the process, he has come across many other food channels and recipes. He would insist on making something he has watched on YouTube and we would help him replicate it. Our cooking related vocabulary has improved a lot thanks to Tanishq.
He comfortably cooks Indian staples like rice, sambar, sabzi, idli, dosa, chutney, etc.
"We realised gradually that he enjoyed cooking and we allowed him to assist us while cooking"
When he cooks something different than the routine, we photograph and videograph it. He is verbal now and his cooking vocabulary has improved tremendously - he loves to comment while cooking.
There are many children with autism who have good cooking skills. We hope Tanishq's cooking videos will inspire many parents to allow their children explore and enjoy this field. He has an account on Instagram and Twitter by the same name "Wonderfud". A few celebrity chefs he admires have encouraged him and featured him on their Instagram stories. We wish his skills reach more families with autistic individuals and inspire them.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFrDEZnno5x1OMImvm2qSAg
https://instagram.com/w.o.n.d.e.r.f.u.d?igshid=hrmb0g77e34s
https://twitter.com/WONDERFUD1?s=03
Thank you.
About the Author
Tanishq Morcha
Tanishq is an eleven year old child belonging to the Autism spectrum and has good culinary skills. He shares his skills on YouTube, Instagram and Twitter by the name "Wonderfud" and hopes to inspire his many other differently-abled friends.