Can you make a sandwich?

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I started cooking in my late twenties, I'm getting good now. Before I would eat what I'd been taught and what was available.

Daniel, could you read a cookbook for children and follow the instructions?

I don't cook elaborate meals. If I have to make my own food, it's usually something simple. Frozen burrito, sandwhich, scrambled eggs, canned soup, microwaved leftovers are all ok. I think I could make a cooked meal if someone walked me through the steps and made me do all the tasks, but it would only become something I could do on my own if it became a regular routine. Since it's not, I often end up buying already prepared food like Taco Bell. I know that get's expensive, but that's become a conveinient routine that's very hard to break.

I can cook, as long as I don't have to watch too many things at once. I like stir-fry and one-pot meals because it all goes together; if I tried to make, for example, Thanksgiving dinner I would be hopeless. How the hell do people keep track of all that stuff at once?!?

It's not too hard for me to follow the directions on a box, or a simple recipe, as long as I don't get interrupted at all. If I get interrupted while cooking, I Will mess it up. Also, the directions have to be very specific. Don't tell me stuff like "al dente" or "until golden brown". Tell me specifically how many minutes to cook it, and on what temperature setting, and I'll do it right. Sandwiches are pretty easy to make, as long as I am not expected to grill the sandwich. Anything I fry in a frying pan has a high likelihood of ending up on fire.

I am quite good at cooking, and have cooked in some fairly nice restaurants however, it's a job that I absolutely loathe.

Danielismyname, you can probably learn to make a sandwich. I'm interning in a school for kids with autism, and self-help skills are a major part of the curriculum, especially as the kids get older. Even the "most autistic" (not a very good term but I hope you get the gist) can eventually learn some tasks of daily living.

It would probably be a good skill to learn, because then not only could you make yourself a sandwich when no one else is around, but learning self-help skills would mean that you are less dependent on your parents to take care of you (they won't be around forever, as I'm sure you realize). Plus, learning self-help skills like this put you more in control of your life.

Maybe someone could make up a list of instructions (whether text, pictures or both) to hang up in the kitchen, and help you practice this task. Remember, you *can* learn this if you are given the right support.

I'm sure I could attempt to build a routine; it's the only way I could ever do such, but my inability to make a sandwich isn't high on my list of things I need to do to survive if I'm by myself (I see the symbolism of such however).

Talking to people with expressive speech and more in-depth receptive, rather than basic receptive that doesn't reveal anything, is what I'm currently working on (sign language is out as I cannot learn such).

LostInSpace,

Pen and paper works, though only if I write it out before I approach people; I lose my ability to put thoughts to communication when I'm around people, whether written, typed or verbally.

No. I doubt it'd do much more for me now, as I'm ok with conversing to a professional one on one over an interest (see: me), but no matter how well I know "socializing" (I know the dynamics of interacting to people, just as I know how a sandwich is made, how a bird flies, how to dial a phone), it doesn't help me put thoughts to words when I'm around people, or initiate a conversation.

Incidentally, speech therapy was the best treatment I ever had; I liked the lady who did such. My verbal ability is due to her, as well as my ability to talk in a one on one setting with a professional.