Gifts for dyspraxic older kids

[WellTidy]

I am pretty certain that Ds13yo is dyspraxic. He completely avoids engaging with toys or activities where fine motor skills are needed (eg he can’t and won’t learn to shuffle cards, finds jigsaws difficult) and already has a lot of things that I would normally honk he would like that are unused eg:

Lego sets - we have some untouched from last Christmas
Craft sets - we have fimo soft, stones to paint, more grown up colouring and grown up sticker books untouched
Console games - he only ever plays the same one
Board games - lots still in their plastic or unwilling to play eg chess, articulate, scrabble etc

No interest in brands for clothes, trainers etc

He isn’t an outdoorsy kid, but likes to cycle. He already has a bike, helmet, lights, water bottle etc for the bike

He also likes to go to the cinema and theatre, so we will do a family trip to see something in the west end (maybe Dear Evan Hansen) and we go to the cinema pretty much every other month anyway

He can’t think of a single thing he would like. Which is a problem as his younger brother has a list, and this makes things so much easier!

I am looking for ideas for things for us to give him (bigger present and sticking) and for grandparents etc.

Would be like a basic turbo trainer so that he can ride his bike indoors?

My 14yo DS is somewhat similar. He currently enjoys

• a very cosy hooded dressing gown (he puts it on top of his school uniform as soon as he gets in...)
• a big pillow thing to make it comfy to sit on his bed reading / youtubing
• a subscription to YouTube which I think means less ads etc
• his watch - it's not that fancy but he's very attached to it, has a good alarm function etc
• chess on his phone - where you can play either against friends or against the computer
• riding on his dad's indoor turbotrainer bike (because they are the same height this is currently pretty easy to do) - he has a tag-along subscription to his dad's Zwift subscription, and enjoys that

I think he might like

• a good new school bag
• a subscription to something like photoshop, or something for editing videos. Not sure what, I shall have to research.

I am keenly watching for other ideas!

Thank you - What a fantastic idea, I hadn’t realised that things like this existed. Will bear it in mind for DH who has been making noises about having a peloton, but I think for DS the attraction to his bike is going on outdoor cycles with DH or his brother, rather than simply being in his bike.

Oh one other idea I have for my DS. Our local mountain bike place has 'training sessions' - basically the guy will go out riding the trails with you, they only take one or two people at a time. Good if he likes the cycling but doesn't want a 'competitive' group to go with, or if he's less confident?

These are great ideas - a massive pillow/cushion for the bed sounds perfect.

He already has a decent phone, watch and school bag (we bought him a really expensive one from North Face nearly 3 years ago that is pretty much waterproof and roomy and comfy, so I’d recommend that if you’re on the lookout). I’ve only this week bought him a new soft dressing gown (John Lewis) which he now wears daily.

Wet clay went down well here a couple of years ago - he made and painted pinch pots that we used for trinkets. But that may be quite young now for a 14yo.

My dc are both dyspraxic, one loves Lego and the other struggles with it. Older dc got a camera last year (2nd hand dlsr from ebay) which was a big hit as she loves wildlife and trios to the zoo, she’s taken some amazing photos. This year she hasn’t asked for much but she’s already had a iPad this year which she needed for school work, I have bought her a oodie and ore ordered a pokemon game for her switch. Dd would love a zoo experience day or tickets to lion king the musical.

My (dyspraxic) DD loved experience days

• indoor sky diving
• speed boat
• helicopter ride
• birds of prey

She also loved ice skating.

I'm not surprised a lot of the things you mentioned remained untouched. Dead horse and flogging comes to mind

My DS will bake sometimes - just flapjacks or muffins or similar. Not hard, but completely independent and actively useful! Something like that if you are looking for an indoor 'making' activity?

I should have said that he also loves to cook. We’ve exhausted everything, I think - velvetizer a shot chocolate mixed and syrups, popcorn maker, chocolate fondue set, sushi making kit, as well as all the cupcake moulds, traybake trays and all the toppings you can imagine

Experiences may be the r way forward but I feel dreadful that he has so little to open, and grandparents and aunts will want ideas too

He likes to read, but not too much in one go, so he also has lots of novels unread and isn’t interested in reading non fiction (we have kids encyclopaedia, anatomy books etc unread), and have had magazine subscriptions in the past which go unopened every time

One to one biking sessions are a possibility, thank you - he is cautious by nature, so this is better than a group session for him

A camera is a good call too!

Baked in monthly gift subscription?
Start in Nov/Dec and wrap up the first box for Christmas?

When we have done experiences, we have done our own A4 'vouchers' and wrapped them up, sometimes with an appropriate small item too. (eg toy helicopter)

We’ve done BakedIn before and they’re great. Ds is a decent cook now though, and much prefers to choose a recipe and weigh out the ingredients himself, rather than use the pre-weighed ingredients and whatever box comes that month.

I’d really recommend them for younger or more reluctant cooks though, they were great for a while.

How about an apron a set of knives , and a cookery book. I'm ,almost certainly, dyspraxic but it doesn't stop me doing much apart from anything using fine motor skills, I'm out done by a 4 year-old, or needing precise hand eye coordination

I have dyspraxia. Does he like films, tv series or music? A subscription to Amazon prime or similar might be good. I find I get good value for money out of books, films etc because I forget big chunks of them and can rd watch/read loads of times.

Does he have an Alexa in his room. That has been a great hit here with an Amazon subscription.

My DS is similar (autistic rather than dyspraxic but his autism tends to impact coordination, motor skill, executive planning, so similar issue.) Boxes and boxes of jigsaws, lego etc that are un played with in our house.

Does your DS have any big interests? Space? WWF? Pokémon etc? We're leaning into our kid's big interests this year - he tends to be a kid that likes to categorise/collect - especially transport related stuff. He's getting (prebuilt) model buses and trains, play figures, non-fiction books on his favourite subjects. Also buying him a peanut ball for his sensory needs.