Mark123's post really got to me and brought back a distant memory.

A child in our extended family suffers with CP ( Cerebral Palsy ) and at the time was unable to feed herself because of the lack of certain motor skills and the ability to grasp smaller objects..

As a result her mom had to cut up her meal and feed it to her in small amounts. Becky frequently tried to feed herself but the knife, fork and spoon where beyond her ability. As a new woodturner, I realized that I might be able to make a difference in her life.

After observing Becky, I realized she knew the motion of feed herself but she could not grip the utensils properly. So I accepted the 'mission' to solve that for her.

I found a knife, fork and spoon from an old picnic set with plastic handles. I removed the handles with the help of a torch and then made her new handles from Purple Heart, a very hard and durable wood that I had in the shop. The handles I made were grossly oversized by normal standards, 1.5" or better in diameter, but they were perfect for her little hand.

The day I presented the new utensils she was absolutely thrilled to realize that she could feed herself, she could not really communicate well, but the joy on her face and wonderful sounds she made will forever be with me. Even years later and many, many trips through the dishwasher they were still serviceable and were used daily.

Kids of all kinds with special needs have a very, very special place in my heart.

If any SF members need anything for a special needs child that I can make on the lathe please, please let me know, it is yours for the asking. My email is in my profile.

We certainly have some great people here on SIGforum. You are one of them.

I was the recipient of some wonderful kindness from several of our members when I was incarcerated in the residential rehab place while recovering from my hip surgery.

That's a very nice offer you made. I'm also impressed at your ability of seeing the problem and coming up with the solution to help the little girl, that was some great insight.

Thank you for sharing this story and making such a wonderful offer. Bless you.