This ingenious tableware set gives people with special needs a better way to eat

When Sha Yao's grandmother began the crushing slide into Alzheimer's disease, Yao noticed a glaring problem: Eating was nearly impossible.

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Tableware was hardly designed to accommodate the shaky hands of eaters with cognitive impairments. Yao wanted to create something better.

Eatwell, the winner of the 2014 Stanford Design Challenge, is that something — and it is set to help the over 130 million people that will be living with cognitive decline by 2050.

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Eatwell

From curved spoons that match the wide-lipped bowls to the sturdy, non-spillable cups, Yao hopes the set can give people with special needs the confidence that disease and disorder often take away.

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The Eatwell set includes tilted bowls and curved spoons for liquid and solid food. Yellow utensils are for solid food.

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Eatwell

Each spoon has a flat edge that aligns with the basin of the bowl. This makes for easier scooping even when the bowl is close to empty.

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Eatwell
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"It's extremely gratifying to see how well our products have been received," Yao tells Tech Insider. "We wanted to help improve the quality of life for our users, and it's both thrilling and humbling."

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Eatwell

Red bowls come with an added lip to prevent liquid from spilling onto the table, floor, or the user's lap.

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https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/eatwell-tableware-for-people-with-special-needs#/story
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The Eatwell mugs offer a wide, sturdy base and straw-securing lid, both designed to prevent the mugs from tipping over.

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Eatwell

Yao says the set was designed "to help people with special needs maintain their dignity, retain some level of independence, and reduce the burden on caregivers."

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Eatwell
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Each set comes with an optional tray equipped with napkin holders to further prevent spills. Yao says future Eatwell lines will be child-sized to account for the millions of messy eaters around the world.

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Eatwell

"We are constantly reminded that our tableware set would be great for parents of children learning to eat by themselves," she says.

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Eatwell
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By the end of the year, Eatwell will begin partnering with assisted living communities. Yao says she's already excited to bring the set "to an even larger audience of people who might benefit from our products."

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Eatwell

Yao hopes her grandmother's experiences can act as the catalyst for a worldwide change in how the impaired eat their food.

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Eatwell

Eatwell is available for pre-order through the company's IndieGoGo campaign, which exceeded its $70,000 funding goal in December 2014. A full 8-piece set costs $110. 

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