Treat the plate like the face of a clock and have foods ordered in a similar position every day. I have a visually impaired 6 year old and he knows that mostly 12-3 is meat 3-6 vegetables 6-9 side (bread, spaghetti etc) 9-12 potatoes. Obviously doesn’t work with all meals but particularly good for Sunday roast type dishes and such.

I’d recommend a bowl with sides. It’s what I use to eat and it helps me not knock things off the edge.

I've heard that a piece of bread helps instead of using one's hand (like to push awkward foods onto spoons and forks).

I have a blind child, so this might be a bit of overkill, but you might find some things applicable. Get plates that divide the food into sections. This makes it easier to identify since they are shapes (eg circle, square, rectangle). Each compartment has sides so it is easier to collect food onto a utensil.

Also try a plate guard, they clip onto the plate and give it an edge so make scooping food up easier without a spoon. They are not too expensive less than $10. I recommend getting more than one so you can have one in the wash and one ready to use.

Honestly, either learning to use his fork like a mini cane, ie "this feels like potato, that feels like steak, this has a bunch of little things so it's probably peas." or getting his hand messy are gonna be necessary.

I have issues with telling how I'm holding my hands, ie the angle, how far apart, etc, from my brain damage, so I touch all my food. I *can* just use my utensil if I'm eating something that's particularly different from its sides, but that tends to take me a little longer to process because, again, brain damage.

Although, this maybe overkill with all the cooking tips, it also has eating tips towards the end. If he isn't totally blind, use contrast as a guide : $1

Why can't he use his hands to feel where everything is like the rest of us?

Or feel the size of the plate and work accordingly.