PHOENIX, Ariz. — 30-year-old Hannah Richardson, who has cerebral palsy, reported that her new, expensive adaptive peeler required even more effort and dexterity than her five-dollar swivel peeler.
When Richardson had spotted the device at a disability convention, she had purchased it on a whim. “I’ve always had trouble with potatoes and getting all the skin off with a typical peeler,” she said. “This should have made things so much easier.”
The adaptive peeler attached around the user’s hand and rested on their palm. Or, at least, that’s how Richardson assumed it was supposed to work. “Maybe it’s for lefties? Or finger amputees?” she said to herself, trying to remember how the presenter had used it.
The first time Richardson had tried the adaptive peeler, she had failed completely. “I thought maybe I was doing it wrong,” she said. She eventually succeeded in scraping a small bit of skin off a potato. Richardson had hoped that this would help with her fatigue and fine motor difficulties while cooking, but it was only making everything harder.
“I don’t get it,” she said, shaking her hands to get rid of the cramps. “All that work, and it looks worse than just using the peeler I got at the store.”
Richardson threw the adaptive peeler to the back of her kitchen drawer, next to her dusty adaptive can opener and garlic press.