Culinary Ishq of a 11-year old autistic
Autistic individuals display a range of special skills. Identifying and encouraging such special abilities from a young age can help the child on the spectrum in many ways. Many autistic individuals have shown their interest in cooking. Here is one such example of an eleven year old child on the spectrum who now has an account on YouTube and Instagram run by his parents, to share his culinary skills.
Tanishq is now eleven years old. He was diagnosed with PDD-NOS at the age of two. Tanishq as a child did not have sitting tolerance for watching cartoons but he used to spend most of his time watching the food channels on television. Most of the programmes were short and repeated, so he enjoyed watching them. As a five year old one day when he insisted on flipping Dosa ( South Indian staple breakfast ) with his limited vocabulary, his grandmother allowed him and saw that he was able to do that and he could grasp the skill of pouring the Dosa batter easily. His mother realised gradually that he enjoyed cooking and allowed him to assist her while cooking. His motor skills also kept improving due to his participation in kitchen chores.
The programmes he used to watch on television were in Hindi and thus he knows the Hindi names of most of the ingredients. As he grew up, he learnt to explore YouTube. He would go to the search button and type and watch all those programmes he used to watch on TV. 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 his parents would help him replicate it. His parents’ cooking related vocabulary has improved a lot thanks to Tanishq.
He now comfortably cooks South Indian staples like rice, sambar, sabzi, idli, dosa, chutney etc. When he cooks something unique, different from the regular food fares, his mother photographs and videographs it. When one such video was shared with close friends, within a week’s time they had sent back pictures of their kids with special needs trying their hands in the kitchen. Tanishq and his parents felt very happy and were elated to share his cooking videos.
During the lockdown, his parents created an account for him on YouTube. They named it “Wonderfud” with the tagline ” Food is Ishq with Tanishq ! ” ( Ishq means love/passion ).
After a month they also opened an account on Instagram and Twitter with the same name. More than 80 videos are uploaded on these channels and you can see a variety of Indian and other global cuisine prepared by Tanishq.
The dishes are decided by Tanishq. He cannot be asked to make something for the video. Only when he wishes to cook, he will. We cannot interrupt Tanishq while cooking, he is so focused. He will not wait for the videography nor will he repeat a step for the sake of recording. He will not dress up formally for a video recording. So if the ingredients are available at home, he starts cooking and his mother records it from a distance. Then it is uploaded on the channel with slight editing. He is verbal now and his cooking vocabulary has improved tremendously – he loves to comment while cooking. A few celebrity chefs he admires have encouraged him and featured him on their Instagram stories and tweets.
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. Tanishq does has his epilepsy and sensory issues. But his love for cooking balances everything and helps him improve his self-esteem. We wish his skills reach more families with autistic individuals and inspire them.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFrDEZnno5x1OMImvm2qSAg
