How the differently-abled bake buns.

How the differently-abled bake buns.

Introduction

Anna watched from a near distance to the kitchen. There were two groups. May, Lionel, Tom and Kenneth were in team one.

How they make and bake buns.

“Alright, now weigh 500 grams of flour!” came the instruction. May stepped forward. She was scooping into the container of flour. “No, I do first. I am the team leader!” Lionel intercepted.

Smack! Lionel was stunned; the right side of his face was whitened with flour. Tom grasped Lionel’s right hand towards May’s face. Both Tom and May are non-verbal. Lionel held back his hand and his tears, “no, mummy said, ‘boy cannot hit a girl!'”

May threw the scoop angrily on the table. Lionel took over.

“One… two… three…four hundred,” Lionel looked at his teammates, hesitatingly. “Should I take away some?” He was returning the scooped flour to the container. (Lionel’s mum later told Anna about Lionel’s difficulties and mixing-ups with numbers).

Kenneth stopped his hand midway. He guided Lionel to return the flour into the bowl on the scale. They added another spoon, “… there! 500 gram!” He clapped away the flour on his hands. Then he stood behind them again; seemingly unfocused.

His teammates looked up at him now with new admiration!

After mixing all the ingredients in the electric mixing bowl, the dough was divided into four.
“You are going to do your own hot-dog buns. Divide your dough into smaller balls like this…” the chef teacher showed them. He shoved the smoothened ball under a big enamel bowl. All of them were attentive, except Kenneth.

“Kenneth, Kenneth, your turn!” Lionel went to call him. He was in the garden in front of the kitchen. Lionel showed and guided Kenneth on how to divide and roll the dough.

Later, while waiting for the baked hot-dog buns to cool down, it was washing-up time!
“Kenneth, your trays are not clean! Wash again, see, here?” Lionel put the trays back into the huge sink. He was a good team leader. His mum told Anna that Lionel wanted to work in a bakery shop one day.

While waiting for their children, Anna met up with the other mothers. She admired their patience and persistence in driving their autistic children for the classes the last three years.

Conclusion

Baking lessons were part of Kenneth’s rehabilitation and socializing activities for one and a half years. But, Anna knew that Kenneth would make a better food connoisseur than a bakery chef!

Chen Song Ping, 12 January 2021

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Reflections:

Does Kenneth still bake buns? No, he doesn’t.

But the classes above had allowed him to learn how to socialise with others.

And he loves to eat hot-dog buns!

Chen Song Ping, 2023