Help: looking for a Christmas present for a baby with cerebral palsy

[elencor]

Hi!
Not a parent here, but I didn't know where to post this. A close relative had a baby girl 18 month ago with severe cerebral palsy, the situation is very dramatic and we have been very worried about them. Because of all thats happened I have never even given them a gift, I bought them baby clothes before she was born but when the time came, we didn't even know if she would survive past a few days, so never gave it to them.
Thing is can you help me chose a Christmas present?? The vast majority of things don't work, for example not gloves because she can't open her hands etc.
I thought a personalized winter hat but I'm guessing that's too obvious and maybe a lot of people gave them that?
I'm terribly sorry if this post bothers anyone, I just thought maybe you could help me. I feel terrible as I've been giving presents for their older kid and not to her, please dont judge it's been difficult on all of us.

 

[Rags]

Hi, it's nice to hear someone taking the time to consider the gift rather than just give anything.
So... I don't think a hat is too obvious- if that's the kind of thing youd normally give, and although gloves might not work for her mittens may?
I'm also wondering about some lighting for her room, you can pick up some really good lights with a bit of movement to them, ocean lights, galaxy lights etc, that may be stimulating for her and are quite inexpensive these days.
How about a tactile book, something with different textures and possibly sounds.
A bubble machine or bubble lamp
An interactive toy, teddy or such - she may not be able to manipulate it herself at the moment but it's a nice thing for her siblings, or parents, to play with her.
Not every gift needs to have a purpose, but as with most little ones of that sort of age, stimulation is a big part of a lot of what they get.
Good luck.

 

[MrsKatie]

@elencor yes I second an interactive toy, or one that has a lot of sensory elements in a soothing way, like a glo worm maybe?

Poor little thing, it must be so hard on her and on the family to cope with such a devastating diagnosis.

 

[MrsKatie]

the older siblings could help her work the glo worm so it might be a sweet opportunity for them to interact in ways that must be hard for them day-to-day.

 

[Rags]

Oh, a jack in the box? My sister had one when she was tiny, we always played with it along with her, brought a laugh every time.

 

[elencor]

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer me!
Unfortunately, any kind of interactive toy is not an option. She is blind and deaf. I should have explained, she has a very severe condition. That's why I feel so limited, and why I can only literally think of a hat...

 

[MrsKatie]

Oh, maybe a toy that vibrates or smells good? Like those therapeutic bags you can heat in the microwave that are filled with lavender?

 

[Rags]

Honestly, deaf blind then interactive is a very good way to go. Are you in the UK? Have a look at the SENSE website, it is an organisation for deaf blind people. There are different severities of hearing and sight loss that fall into the heading of blind or deaf, it doesn't necessarily mean 100% unable to see anything 100% unable to hear anything. As pp has said having something that vibrates or has textures is a good way of having sensory input, having something that lights up and/or makes a sound at the same time as it vibrates focuses the attention on the fact that something is happening to pay attention to. Many deaf blind people learn a specific kind of sign language all based on a sequence on touches on the hands. There is also a lot of emphasis placed on neuro plasticity now, its working on the principle that although one area of the brain isn't able to function to it's full capacity, with repeated and specific physical therapy and stimulation other areas of the brain are trained to take over some of the lost functions. It's an incredibly interesting area. Good luck.