ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Sixteen adults with intellectual disabilities spent a day in early November learning to cook lasagna at Maggiano’s Little Italy in Annapolis Mall, an exercise meant to build independence by practicing daily life skills.

This was the first in a series of bi-monthly classes, with each lesson introducing students to a new recipe. The class consisted of a brief demonstration of the day’s recipe, tables with pre-measured ingredients and individual instruction for those needing extra help.

The class was organized by Judy Brick and the restaurant.

“Just to see the smiles on their faces, it was wonderful,” Brick said. “One parent asked her son if he needed help, and he looked at her and said, ‘No, I’ve got this.'”

Intellectual disabilities affect the acquisition of knowledge and skills, particularly affecting intellectual processes, educational attainment and the development of skills needed for independent living and socialization. Intellectual disabilities vary in severity; many people with such disabilities can care for themselves and work with moderate support, while others need full-time assistance.

Gaining practical life and work skills not only makes things easier for individuals with intellectual disabilities but also provides a sense of purpose and self-worth, Brick said.

Brick is retired, and her 53-year-old son, who has a disability, has worked for the past 28 years. When he was 30, he moved out and into a group apartment, living with others who have similar disabilities. Brick, her son, and his friends often eat at Maggiano’s Little Italy and have developed a rapport with the staff there.

When Brick learned the restaurant hosts cooking classes for kids, she proposed a similar class designed for people like her son.

Maggiano’s Little Italy is a restaurant chain that began in Chicago in 1991; the Annapolis Mall location opened in 2013 as the chain’s 45th location nationwide.

The students came in with varying cooking experience and goals. For some, who could already cook, it was a social event; for others, it was an opportunity to gain essential life skills.

“This will be one more skill that some of them will obtain, some won’t, but at least they had the joy of going to the class,” Brick said.

When Brick was growing up, people with disabilities were not legally guaranteed the right to go to school, so many remained at home. As a little girl, she played with a neighbor her age who had Down syndrome. But as Brick grew up, she mentally outgrew her friend, who stayed home with her family.

“I always remember that and wonder what she could have done if she’d had the opportunity,” Brick said.

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