I'm pleading ignorance! Please give me suggestions as to what i can buy as a birthday present

[VeniVidiVickiQV]

For friends DS who is 3 soon. I want to get him something he can actually use, rather than the usual clothes or flashing light very visual stuff.

He has CP. His motor function is coming on leaps and bounds, he can stand in his standing frame and he is holding his head up much better. He can't sit unaided so when he isnt in his feeding chair or standing frame he is lying on the floor.

It's a long shot, but, any suggestions for something he can make work with limited, but progressing dexterity? I think he may be getting a computer soon with a special mouse/joystick thing so are there any computer programmes or games that are any good?

I could ask his Mum , but, I kinda want to do something off my own back. He's a gorgeous boy and I think the world of him. I'd love to get him something and know he'll get good use out of it.

Ta.

one suggestion is rather cheap but ELC washable felt tips(if you don't buy them please tell her about them) dd has cp and ends up with pen all over her and her clothes and they REALLY wash out.
what about software for the computor. dd has one called microworlds which suits most ages and is really good.(you can get the boy/girl to go to toilet, bath ect and makes her laugh)(will keep thinking)
o h keyboard..music one as what ever they hit they get a noise

Washable felt tip pens sound great 2shoes. It would be great to see him doing something that he can see the results of iykwim? I know he gets so incredibly frustrated but he cant speak, he cant get up on his own. He's nailed rolling over now though .

He's got a keyboard. I know he'd appreciate computer stuff. Last time he was here I had him sat on my lap with my laptop looking at www.kneebouncers.com (FAB website). It was great and he was sat at it for about half an hour (which is impressive for any 3 year old!) but I have a mouse touch-pad which he kept brushing against.

Any other suggestions v welcome

bumping for any more ideas....

has he got one of those etch a scetch type things. the ones with the pen thing(sorry not a good discription. dd loved hers when she was younger

I dont think he could manage that tbh. I think he would find it immensely frustrating. Crikey - I find them frustrating

these ones have a pen thing so you write with that. I say write but dd just makes a squiggle. they used to be given out by scope so are quite cp freindly. I will check the name when I go upstairs.

think its a magna doodle the proper name for them hun, my boys have gone through several of these now, they both love them, ones sat playing at it as we speak, tbh i was thinking of that myself lol. or do they do any kind of older mobile type things for when he is lying on the floor, i dont know if they do but i would have thought so
TFH - Special Needs Toys - >
theres a website, unfortunately it hasnt linked again, these are pretty pricey though, but it may give you some ideas.good luck

Bit of a hijack - but thanks VVV for the recommendation of the kneebouncers website. Tried it out this afternoon with DS2 and he loved it! It's great for him that you can press any key to make the various parts work - he's not dextrous (dexterous??) enough to press one key at a time.

mum24boyz Thanks Ours is called something else but they are all along the same line.

thank you everyone - will check out woolies Fio - i think they also had cheap magnadoodle type things there just before xmas. But what are neurocubes????

sphil - that kneebouncers website (I was directed to by another mner actually ), look at the peebo/peekaboo bit - they have to hold the key down (any key) to make it peek completely. Friends DS loved this one - he could control it a bit better/could see the results a bit clearly iykwim?

2shoes, ours is called something else aswell lol, thats cos i buy the cheaper ones, the proper magna doodles are pretty expensive when you go through one every few months lol.

Well, I finally got a Tomy megasketcher in the end (magnadraw/doodle type thing).

Will find out tomorrow how well he gets on with it.

Thanks everyone.

no probs hun, hope he likes it, and hope he has a great day.