Trying to find items to buy for Christmas for my son with Cerebral Palsy
By Thoroughrob
@Thoroughrob (11742)
United States
November 30, 2010 7:03am CST
Finding an electronic device that he can work is horrible. He is not really coordinated and has trouble with motor skills. He is always fumbling and dropping things. It cannot be complicated, or he cannot do it. It cannot be really small, or he cannot do it. He does not like anything on his head, so nothing with earphones.
My son is 16, in a wheelchair, and delayed a bit, but loves music and looking at pictures. Last year we bought him for Christmas, an MP3 player made by fisher price for toddlers. We took off all the little kids songs and loaded it with his type of music. It plays through a speaker. It is durable and easy for him to push the buttons. He carries it everywhere at home, if he drops it, it doesn't break, and the buttons are very simple.
This year we are trying the Fisher Price IXL. It is for kids too little for a portable game player. It is durable, has a couple simple stories, a game to play, and you can load pictures and songs. You can increase the memory to 15 gb with an SD card. I have loaded some pictures and a few songs to get him started. He can draw on the pictures and add hats and things and erase it to the original picture again. He can listen to his music, and play very simple games. It gives him directions of what to do to get him where he wants to be. I hope it will be a hit.
We also collect VCR's because he can run that by himself. The DVD players are too hard, he breaks CD's and DVD's. We are always looking for movies for him and music videos. He loves to watch them, also he loves to watch Larry the Cable guy. He laughs so hard. It is getting hard to find movies and tapes for the VCR's though.
If anyone has any other ideas, I would love to hear them. It is so challenging to find things to keep his attention, and also that he can do independently. Do you have someone that is really hard to find an appropriate gift that they will enjoy?
4 people like this
13 responses
@dragon54u (31634)
• United States
30 Nov 10
Half.com is a good place to get stuff like VCRs, I used to buy used CDs there when I was still buying music. Also, you can enter a request on eBay for VCR tapes and sellers will see it.
It's hard to find anything for my Dad and stepmother--Dad is 89, Mom is 85 and they have everything they want or need at this point. I hate to give gift cards to a restaurant, it's so impersonal. I'm thinking hard this year to surprise them with something they will really like that shows how much I love them.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (160488)
• United States
30 Nov 10
Last year I wrote simple poems for dad and stepmother, then I printed them on nice paper and framed them. They are in their living room, right by the door, so that all who come in and out can see them. If you do not write poetry, borrow some,or copy some quotes.
1 person likes this
@dragon54u (31634)
• United States
30 Nov 10
I did that one Father's Day and he loved it. I'll see what I can come up with!
@GardenGerty (160488)
• United States
30 Nov 10
I know that there are catalogs that target the handicapped, but I cannot think of the names right now. I know that they are more expensive than the route you have chosen. The other thing that I have seen given to adult disabled is FP cameras. Again, durable, easy to operate, large buttons.
@Thoroughrob (11742)
• United States
30 Nov 10
FP cameras? I have alot of the catalogs, but alot of the things they put in them, you can buy at the store or it is way over priced.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (160488)
• United States
30 Nov 10
The Fisher Price Cameras are available at Wal Mart and other places that toys are sold. They got one for my granddaughter when she was two. Yes, many of the things in the special catalogs are either available elsewhere or are very high priced. The catalogs are a good place to get ideas of.
@Thoroughrob (11742)
• United States
30 Nov 10
My parents are like that and I give them gift cards that I earn online to places to go out to dinner.
@rin888 (74)
• Australia
1 Dec 10
my cousin has cerebral palsy too... every yr i get him posters or something like that of his favorite football team... altho he is not in a wheelchair tho and he has some coordination, he is addicted to playstation, he only has use of one hand but over the yrs has learnt to play, and beat us at every game, or even a playstation portable is very durable and u can get cartridges for them with games and even movies :) hope this helps, good luck and god bless
@Thoroughrob (11742)
• United States
3 Dec 10
My son is not able to do it, we have tried and tried. He loves to try to play, but gets tired of it pretty fast.
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
3 Dec 10
That is a difficult predicament to be in. How about photography, you could possibly find one of the cameras that are made for children and he might be able to take pictures himself. That might be totally off track, but it is a thought since both of my children are getting cameras this year for Christmas.
Also, if you would like to send me a list of movies that you son would be interested in, I will see what I can find because we've got several VHS movies that we can't use now because we've not got a VCR anymore.
@Thoroughrob (11742)
• United States
3 Dec 10
I thought maybe, but he would need a big screen. I have looked at the fisher price ones, but it looks like theirs are pretty small. It would have to be really heavy duty as he drops everything. I will PM you.
@huqh123 (182)
• China
1 Dec 10
yes, I find that you son likes to listen to Larry's broadcast. i like him too,the cable guy. it can give me lots of laughing. you know,yo son is 16, you can not always give him so many things. he needs to learn a habit of finding what he really needs. so let him to decide what he needs. maybe a good book or something that is good for his study.
@Thoroughrob (11742)
• United States
3 Dec 10
My son is like a 6 or 7 year old due to his disability. He cannot do very many things on his own. I have to find things that I can make work for him and help him figure out ways to make it work.
@MsTickle (25180)
• Australia
8 Dec 10
You've had some great success in the past and I think it will be the same again this year.
I'm terrible at buying gifts for people. Everyone I know loves chocolates so for all the extended family, friends and neighbours I decided to buy chocolates but I'm flood bound and cannot get to the store where they are on sale.
Things are not working out too well for me this year. I hope it gets better next year.
Merry C
hristmas!
hristmas!
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
30 Nov 10
hi thoroughrob Yes my son,he is so into all new electronic stuff that I pin point some new thing,bam he already has it, and hes out of work although he did have a partitime job but it now put down to one day a week so he is again looking. as he is b eing sponsored in an apartment with another man out of work he is sort of batching in so I have gtried making a sort of care package for christmas with various food goodies. I have a limited budge so have to watch the cost. I wish I could come up with something for your son that you have not already got for him. those etch a sketch they used to sell whould that be too hard for his hands to handle? I know most mith cP do have problems holding little things. I hope some more of us can come up with some great ideas
for you for your son. I had to laugh too at Larry The c able guy.
@Thoroughrob (11742)
• United States
3 Dec 10
We tried the etch a sketch and the lite bright. Neither really amazed him. We do the lite bright more of a therapy thing now. I try to adapt things for him, but sometimes my mind just don't work too well. I am sure he will like the care package from you, it is so bad that so many are out of work.
@ANTIQUELADY (36440)
• United States
30 Nov 10
Good morning Rob, i'm afriad i have no good ideas for u, wish i did. I hope uwill get some good ideas from people here & find things that your son will really enjoy. I hope he has a great Christmas, u to.
@Opal26 (17679)
• United States
1 Dec 10
Hi Thoroughrob~ I am just so happy to hear that your son is
doing well enough to even want to play! I think you are doing
a really good job with the gifts already. I would continue
with the Fisher Price ideas. They have so many different ideas
for games for children of all ages and probably if you just
keep looking you will find more games and things that he will
probably like! They are so geared to "teaching and learning"
that you might be surprised at what else you will find. If
not I would just keep looking into more games that are sturdy
that are easy to use. I have a "Slot Machine Game" that all you
do is press one button and watch what happens. You don't really
have to do anything and it's fun! I hope you and your family
have a wonderful Christmas.
@Thoroughrob (11742)
• United States
3 Dec 10
He is doing well, although we are going in for surgery again in January or February. They are going to straighten his foot. I am not quite as a nervous wreck over this one. I just hope it helps. I have even been looking at some sensory things for him, but so many are for really small kids. I will keep looking.
@paula27661 (15811)
• Australia
1 Dec 10
It sounds like the perfect gift for him; that’s clever thinking! There are a lot of laptop type toys which have games etc. on them. Aside from that I can’t think of anything else. An audio book perhaps? I don’t know what your son’s concentration level is but he may like one...
@Thoroughrob (11742)
• United States
3 Dec 10
He would like the books, the little computers just don't have a big enough screen for him to be able to understand what he is to do. I will have to see if I can find some books with a cd. I just received one of the Hallmark recordable books to review and I think he is going to love it. I am having my mom do the reading as she is his favorite person. Thanks for the ideas.
1 person likes this
@pastigger (612)
• United States
30 Nov 10
A place to look for VHS tapes would be goodwill I see them there all the time when I am getting my daughter books. Also check craiglist in your area. Also flea markets are a good place to look. I know that there is a kit that you can buy to make vhs into dvd maybe there is a kit that will do the reverse. The camera are made for kids and are tough I just got one for my daughter this year but it was the vtech I believe after reading the reviews on amazon more people liked it better. They usually have a few games and a software to let you add hats or boards to things. You might even try an older gameboy as they have bigger buttons but I am not sure if it would be too hard for him to use but you can still find games for them at game stores. I hope that you can find some things that will work for him.
@Thoroughrob (11742)
• United States
3 Dec 10
Thanks I will check out thrift stores around here. I will check out the Vtech camera. I checked Fisher Price and not sure the screen is big enough. Haven't seen any in the stores around here.
