T'is nearly the season most people associate with food and special treats. The scent of cinnamon and spiced cider will soon fill the air. Roasted chestnuts, tangy cranberry sauce and other rich dishes will be available in abundance.

Thanksgiving, Christmas and Hanukkah bring families together for enticing meals of oven-basted turkey and all the trimmings, fresh baked pumpkin pie, and much, much more. The holidays also mean decorations, gifts and parties.

The cooks in any family feel the pressure of hectic holiday preparations, but people with neuromuscular diseases may feel it even more. Activities that many cooks take for granted, such as opening jars, reaching up into cabinets for a stack of plates, getting heavy roasted turkeys into (and out of) ovens or rolling out pie crusts, are just a few of the tasks that people in wheelchairs or with muscle weakness may find difficult.

Tips from family chefs with disabilities, as well as advice from occupational therapists, help make cooking for the holidays, or at any time of year, more enjoyable.

ACCOMPLISH MORE FOR LESS

The three most important ingredients for success in the holiday kitchen: organization, organization, organization! An organized kitchen is the key to successful creation of everything from yummy fudge and divinity to simple meals.

Shoshana Shamberg, occupational therapist and president of Abilities O.T. Services in Baltimore, says every cook should streamline cooking tasks to reduce movement in the kitchen. This makes extra sense for people who tire easily.

"Organizing a kitchen to meet each individual's specific needs is one of the very best methods of accomplishing more for a lot less effort," Shamberg says.

Sharon Storm, a homemaker from Goose Creek, S.C., and MDA's 1995 South Carolina Personal Achievement Award recipient, agrees that a well-planned kitchen helps boost productivity. Storm, who uses a wheelchair because of Friedreich's ataxia, says she and her husband, Larry, decided to build an accessible home after encountering numerous obstacles in their apartment.

"In my new kitchen, I can do about 80 percent to 90 percent of the chores by myself, with just a little help now and then from Larry," Storm says. "Before that, he had to help me with practically everything."

The following are organizational suggestions for the holidays, as well as the rest of the year, from Storm, Shamberg and others:

Make kitchen sinks accessible. By removing the cabinet doors under the sink and using that space for knees, a wheelchair user can reach water faucets easily as well as have access to a few of the nearby upper storage spaces. Remember to wrap exposed sink pipes to prevent leg burns during hot water use. A single-lever faucet control is easier for those with grasping difficulties and eliminates the need to fiddle with two separate control knobs to adjust water temperature.

The use of a shallow sink will make work easier for a seated cook. Sinks that are too deep can be modified by installing a wooden, wire or plastic rack. This raises the working level for someone who uses a wheelchair or scooter.

Storm points out the advantages of one of her favorite features in her new kitchen, the retractable water hose -- she calls it a pot filler -- at the sink. "My stove is placed fairly close to the sink. With my pot filler, I don't have to lift heavy pots of water. I can just take the hose directly to the pan on the stove and fill it up."

Lower countertops. If it isn't practical to remodel and lower countertops, several useful, inexpensive methods can be used to make them more accessible.

Most countertops are about 36 inches high. To make a workspace more comfortable at wheelchair height (about 30 inches above the floor and no more than 24 inches deep), pull open a drawer and place a board on top, or pull out a built-in chopping board.

A laptop or wheelchair tray is another place to chop, assemble or move items from preparation area to eating area. Also, if possible, countertops should be flush to the stove top so that heavier pots of food or liquid can be shoved back and forth rather than lifted.

Allow storage to help, not hinder. Place commonly used utensils within easy reach. For instance, at the mixing area, use pegboards or hooks to hang pots, bowls, measuring cups and other mixing tools. Also, use lower cabinets and install easy-open drawers or a Lazy Susan.

Sometimes valuable storage space is lost when cabinets are removed to allow knee space for wheelchair users. If that's the case, Shamberg recommends installing one or two rolling storage carts that can be moved out of the way when access to work surfaces is needed. Cart tops can double as extra work space.

"I've found that school equipment suppliers have some of the least expensive, sturdiest and most colorful carts, compared to the medical system or specialty catalogs," Shamberg says.

If the budget allows, pantries with shallow (often rotating) shelves, found at most home centers, will put canned or boxed foods at the fingertips. Cabinet and pantry doors should have large handles for easy opening.

Use appliances to fit your needs. A built-in range -- staggered burners are helpful -- with knee space underneath is ideal for people in wheelchairs. Some of the new flat ceramic-top ranges enable people with arm weakness to slide heavier pots directly from counters to cook tops without lifting. The controls should be mounted on the front or side to prevent accidental burns while reaching. An angled mirror mounted over the cook top allows seated or shorter people to see into pots and pans.

Wall-mounted ovens and microwaves installed at arm level with side-opening doors are also excellent for people with disabilities. Storm enjoys using her oven.

"We found a Frigidaire oven with a side-swing door so that when I go to get something out, I don't get burned elbows," she says. "We also have a built-in counter below the oven that pulls out when needed for hot items.'

Side-by-side refrigerator/freezers, along with automatic ice makers and outside water dispensers, allow easy access for people with limited strength and dexterity. Dishwashers are also a big help, but if the budget won't allow it, save energy in cleanup by washing dishes in a shallow sink or bowl. After washing, place them in the opposite side of the sink, rinse them with a retractable hose and simply let the utensils air dry.

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Cooks can take advantage of hundreds of kitchen tips in the book, Easy Cooking, by Patricia Galbreaith.

Galbreaith, an author, columnist, lecturer and TV personality, is dedicated to providing information to people with disabilities. Since an auto accident at 18, she has torn down stereotypes and enjoys enabling people to live independent, healthy lifestyles. In 1968, she started a newspaper column, Yes, You Can! for people with disabilities in Fort Worth, Texas. The column quickly grew and was syndicated nationwide.

Hundreds of readers began to send in tips and suggestions. Galbreaith decided to publish the best ideas in a book devoted to the kitchen and cooking.

"This is not just a book of recipes," Galbreaith says. "It's also about good, simple ideas sent in by lots of different people collected through the years. Tips on everything from easy kitchen cleanup to kitchen arrangement were sent in. There's even ideas on what to look for when grocery shopping. Many sent in easy-to-prepare recipes which were helpful to their particular disability. I've tried most of them and put in some of my own."

Easy Cooking also includes sections on making cooking easier, what to look for when shopping, advantages of convenience foods, kitchen arrangements, saving on preparation and cleanup time, convenience foods, where to find remodeling funds and even a useful chapter on food substitutions.

"Since people with disabilities may find it more difficult to make runs to the store, the book tells how to substitute missing ingredients," Galbreaith says. "For instance, if you're making something that calls for buttermilk and you're out, you can add a dash of vinegar or lemon."

Galbreaith discourages people from buying too many specialty items. "Depending on a person's level of mobility, there are cooking gadgets that will certainly be useful, like jar openers or electric carving knives. But, there are also things that can be found in any store that will help people who cook from wheelchairs. For instance, a long-handled tong or even barbecue tools will help someone sitting at the stove to stir, turnover or flip the food Or, use a common funnel to separate egg yolks from the whites."

Galbreaith sells Easy Cooking for $9.95 plus shipping. For more information, call (817) 594-4415.

COOKING/KITCHEN RESOURCES

• The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), Consumer Affairs Section, (202) 728-4355
  
  
• The Future Home is a model barrier-free home that can be toured near Baltimore, (410) 666-0086
  
  
• Center for Universal Design at North Carolina State University, (919) 515-3082
  
  
• The Center for Accessible Living in Raleigh, N.C., (919) 515-3082
  
  
• Shop at home catalogs from adaptAbility that include numerous kitchen and cooking devices, (800) 266-8856
  
  
• Shoshana Shamberg, OTR/L, at Abilities OT Services in Baltimore, (410) 358-7269
  
  
• Paralyzed Veterans of America, (201) 416-7642