Christmas for the Special Needs Mom

Any parent of a severely disabled child will tell you that Christmas is a huge pain in the ass. Don't get me wrong; we love showering our kids with presents. What parent doesn't? But finding the right kind of presents can be a nightmare. My son, for example, loves superheroes. They are like Pokemon to him in that he wants to collect them all. Problem is, he has very little control of his arms. That means his action figures remain inactive all year long unless I help him play with them. And sadly, I am about as good with sound effects and play fighting as I am at keeping up this blog. 

So, every year, I go out in search of the perfect gift for him. I have a list of all the things it has to be. First, it has to be awesome. Second, it has to have sound effects since my sound effect board is broken. Third, it has to do something. He is 14! He wants action and speed, and he wants to control it. I don't mean that he wants to hit a switch and watch a frog dance; he wants to control what it does when he wants it to do it. 

Where oh where is the Nintendo Power Glove when I need it?

Each year, I find a toy to get excited about. Then I sell an organ to afford it (not really). Come Christmas Eve, I am so excited for him to see it and play with it that I look like a squirrel that mistook catnip for delicious pastries. I bounce up and down squealing at higher pitches than a recorder in the hands of a two year-old. Then, Christmas morning, he opens that coveted gift that Mom was so excited about. 

It runs; it jumps; it dances! All you have to do is touch this tiny little button on the remote. Which he can't do.

This happens every time.  

Well, except one. My best friend bought him Bigfoot. That thing has a remote with HUGE buttons, and he still loves it. 

But he also loves dinosaurs. 

We bought him Crusher (the interactive dinosaur) one year. While it does respond on command, the commands have to be spoken. My son is non-verbal. 

The struggle is real, folks. 

Why cant we just have amazing toys that don't cost a million dollars and can be used by any child who has limited motor function, and doesn't say "ages 2-4," huh? 

Christmas shopping sucks.

*This blog post has been brought to you by the number 7 and the time I cleaned my son's room and found all of his unopened toys from last year.*