Living With One hand: Life with Cerebral Palsy

10 of the hardest things for me to do one handed:

1) Peel potatoes

2) Cut tomatoes

3) Cut raw meat

4) Shave my right armpit

5) Cut out any picture with sharp or rounded edges

6) Put my hair in a tight pony tail

7) Cut my fingernails

8) Sew on a button

9) Opening canned foods

10) Pulling heavy pot out of oven/Bringing large boiling pot to sink to drain

As you may see, most tasks that are challenging for me are in the kitchen, but I found a few simple tools that have transformed my life in small yet powerful ways.

Click "read more" to see the tools that have changed my life

10 of my favorite one-handed tools:

Kolder Original Mini Measure, Multi-Purpose Measuring Glass

10) Small measuring cup for teaspoons

and tablespoons

9) One handed cookie scooper

Oxo Good Grips Small Cookie Scoop

KitchenAid KFP750OB 700-Watt 12-Cup Food Processor, Onyx Black

8) Food Processer

7) Bobby Pins! Allows me the freedom to do my own hair with one hand (it took lots of practice)

Diane D450 Bobby Pins, Black, 60 Units/Card, 12-pack

6) No Slip small cutting boards – are perfect for preparing meals or snacks with one hand

Farberware 8-by-10-Inch Poly Cutting Board with Blue Non-Slip Corners

5) Kitchen scissors have been a huge help to me in decreasing my frustration when cooking meat

Wusthof 5558-1 Come-Apart Kitchen Shears

Andreas 8-Inch Silicone Trivet, Black

4) Non slip pot holders help me by providing another non slip surface when preparing a meal, keeps a hot dish from slipping, or I can use it to help me open difficult containers or jars

OXO Good Grips 10-Piece POP Container Set

3) Pop up containers I have mentioned in a previous post, but are so wonderful I will mention it again

Dirt Devil M0914 Extreme Power Hand Vac

2) The DUST BUSTER!!!! Holding a cord or carrying around a vacuum cleaner isn’t fun for anyone – especially when you only have one arm

Aussie Moist Shampoo with Pump, 33.8-Fluid Ounce (Pack of 3)

1) Last, but definitely not least…. A pump bottle for shampoo and conditioner! I don’t know why I try anything else.

What tools have you found to be helpful? Of course there are more tricks I have learned over the past 25 years with cerebral palsy - do you have any more specific questions???