It’s easy to tell, from the unrelenting advertising, that the Christmas season is now officially upon us. As easy as it would be to whine about ‘Christmas starting earlier every year’ we actually think that it’s quite a good thing to be reminded about it so early on. This way you can get all your shopping done online and delivered in time for the big day – a real godsend for anyone with less able kids or a disability themselves.
For those people with less able kids in their lives, it can be difficult to know what to buy for them. While it’s not the case that you need to fixate on the fact that you’re shopping for a less able child – many present ideas would be just as suitable for less able as able bodied children – it is something to bear in mind when shopping. We’ve come up with some general tips and specific examples of great pressies for children with disabilities this Christmas.
One of the key things to aim for is something that will stimulate as many different senses as much as possible. Many children with developmental disabilities have sensory issues, so trying to get those senses active can be really beneficial! Gifts for these kids need to be easy to grasp and play with so we’re looking for large buttons, levers, or handles that are easy to use.
We think it’s really important that toys for disabled children don’t get bogged down with being for disabled children and forget that they’re meant to be toys. Occasionally, when you see a really boring ‘toy’ specifically made for less able children, you start to feel like this might be what happened. So we have endeavoured to make sure that all the gift ideas here are fun first and also suitable for less able kids. Here are some of our favourite products:
Stocking Fillers (Under £10)
Fantastik (£3.99) is a very simple little electric fan that could be a surprising hit in a mesmeric kind of a way. Flashing, whirring lights on the blades are fun and it’s designed to be harmless if anyone decides to stop it with their hands. This fan is unlikely to blow anyone’s socks off but it’s a neat little stocking filler.
Build a Bots (£5.99) are cardboard figures which you can construct in a variety of ways. They’re really nicely designed and look very cool. A very simple idea that could keep the kids busy for a good long while. The different ways of building the robots allows for imaginative play as well as using motor skills for children with developmental delays or Autism.
They’re available at Rosy and Bo which is a terrific new website providing a one stop shop for parents of children with special needs. They lay out the areas of development that each product they sell provides and have some excellent gifts for Christmas. This could be the place to find the perfect present and much more.
We love to promote healthy, energetic activities on BBS but we also like for people to be able to do it in style and these cute Kiddimoto wheelchair gloves (£7.99) are an ideal combo of those two qualities. They come in a wide variety of really fun patterns and designs, for boys and girls, making a perfect gift for any little wheelchair users out there. The gloves provide padding and protection that allows them to be as active as they want.
If they really are going to tear around you might also want to think about a Kiddimoto wheelchair helmet (£24.99)!
Sensory Discovery Balls (£10) are an example of the sort of fairly simple things that can be fun for kids with developmental disabilities to touch and play with. Any sort of toy which can be squeezed, squished and squashed offers a way for less able children to explore using their senses.
It’s fairly easy to find these sorts of things in most toy shops but these particular items are from The Early Learning Centre. It’s a mainstream shop that we would recommend because their selection of toys aim to develop and entertain and they helpfully show what skills each toy can help to develop. On top of that, because it’s not online only, it’s a good place for any last minute shopping!
Bigger Presents (£11-25)
Make Your Own Monster Puppet (£14.99) is a wacky hand puppet and cuddly toy which you can design yourself. There are loads of interchangeable parts so there’s no need to ever make the same monster twice (although if you really want to nobody will mind!). As well as being a fantastic toy it can be a useful tool for communicating with children who find it hard to express themselves.
Richie The Repeating Rabbit (£15) is a cute little character who repeats what you say in his rabbity voice. It seems like it could be potentially annoying for adults – Richie certainly has a touch of ‘the Furbies’ about him – but it’s blissfully easier to turn down or off than many similar toys. The rabbits can repeat up to thirty seconds of speech in a funny voice that kids will find endlessly amusing.
Great Lumps (£17.95) are plastic balls filled with a gel that makes them great for squishing, stacking, rolling and moulding. The shop description says they’re “heavy and kinda gross, they mould gel-like and cold to the body. Perfect.” They do sound like something that will be fun to play with and again they’re good for development and sensory amusement.
Speaking of sensory amusement, Sensory Tales (£24-58) are interactive story books that help to engage a variety of senses as you go through the story. Supplied in a cotton drawstring bag for easy storage, the sets include a selection of sensory-rich artefacts to make story time more exciting. As well as having fun and enjoying quality family time, the children will be learning about the world, cultivating problem solving skills, discovering language, developing creativity and their imagination! There are all sorts of different story bags to enjoy, with different themes and varying amounts of participation depending on how expensive you go.
Budget Busters (£30+)
Meru designs manufacture funky disability aids for kids and young people. They think outside the NHS grey box to design and engineer custom-make disability equipment. They also have some ready made products which help to give you a feel of what the company is like.
On of these is the Grabzi which is a handle to give stability. It’s a great tool for children who struggle with balance and confidence. These products are useful for disabled kids’ needs but they are perhaps a little unsuitable for Christmas. They might look nicer and work more effectively that the traditional boring versions of the products they replace but putting the ‘fun’ in functional might still not be fun enough for Christmas.
Weighted blankets (£40 small or £80 large) give proprioceptive feedback creating increased body awareness and calming benefits for many children with special needs. This can help improve attention, focus and concentration and in many cases can be effective in helping calm overly stimulated children with sensory needs. Again a blanket is not necessarily every kid’s dream for Christmas but these are really nice and they do come in fun patterns for kids so they are possibly quite appealing.
You can also get smaller lap pads for £20.
Full Support Swing (£115) allows youngsters to safely enjoy the swings without parents having to worry about them falling off and harming themselves. They’re one example of many adapted swing chairs to help less able kids have fun in the garden. Now, these definitely are fun!
These really stylish Wish Bone Push Bikes (£180) help with balance and coordination. They come very highly recommended, having been named a TIME Magazine Design 100 product. They’re really adaptable and versatile without looking like it. No adjustable appearing designs, switches or controls; it’s much more intelligent than that. With its unique wish bone design, the main piece of the bike can be flipped to change it from a bike to a trike and to adjust the height. Very clever and very cool. A classic Christmas present which is ideal for less able kids.
Bugzi (£4,000) is another design from Meru and a very expensive one at that. Four grand may be a little too luxurious (especially for families with more than one child) but it’s an interesting product. Bugzi is a powered indoor wheelchair for children aged one to six. It’s a good way of introducing children to wheelchairs and it looks a bit enjoyable but realistically it may be a better idea to loan one of these at some stage!
