Gift Ideas for a Mom That Has Special Needs Kids

People often don't understand how time consuming and stressful it can be to take care of kids with special needs. Kids without any health, physical or other issues can learn to entertain themselves at an early age. They don't need as much care and supervision, and their mom can pretty much do what she needs to do during the day.

So my first gift suggestion you could do for mom any time of the year, and I suggest you give it to her as often as you can, is to give her a break from the kids. Is her house on your way home today? Stop by and let her do something for herself for an hour. She could take a nap if she was up with her child a lot that night. Take a walk, wash her hair, run to the store, go to dinner with her husband. Maybe even just enjoy your company. It doesn't matter what she does. Her just knowing that she'll actually have a little time to herself that day will lift her spirits and she'll be better able to deal with what else may come along that day.

It will also let her know that she's not 'alone'. Many moms that have special needs kids tend to lose friends, become isolated, become depressed, and on it goes. Her friends need to step up to the plate and show her that they are a TRUE friend and that they are there for her. She may not be able to return the favor as easily, but that's what makes a true friendship. To be able to happily give without receiving.

One other note: it will give you a chance to get to know her kids better. Which in turn will help you know what gifts you might give them at Christmas or on their birthday. I've written a lens called "Toys and Gifts for Special Needs Kids'. It's full of ideas, and even a few videos to keep you entertained :0)

Cerebral Palsy, Autism, Education Laws, 'there's a book for that'. Consider what stage she's at right at this moment. Did she just find out that her child has a disAbility? If you yourself have never gone through this, you can't image the feeling. Chicken Soup for the Soul, Children with Special Needs would be great for her to read.

How about her child. Is something going on with them at the moment? Behavioral, feeding, emotional? Buy her a book that will help her deal with that situation.

Many kids with special needs receive Early Intervention services, from birth to age three. You could buy her the book titled "The Early Intervention Dictionary: A Multidisciplinary Guide to Terminology".

Are they are currently in school, or going to be starting school soon? Her child may be entitled to services at public schools starting at age 3. If so, the child will have an IEP, or Individualized Education Program in place for him/her. It spells out exactly what they are entitled to in school, from riding on a special needs bus to therapy to what classroom they will be in. It will include goals for the year, both academic and functional. You may think that their son or daughter will automatically receive the services that they are entitled to. But this isn't always the case. Educators and parents don't always agree on what the child needs. You can buy the book Wrightslaw: Special Education Law for mom. It will help her to understand the special education laws and give her the tools she will need to fight for her child's right to services should she need to do this. An invaluable tool to have.

Here are some more suggestions. Amazon is chuck-a-block full of great books for mom!

Many special needs kids have feeding issues. From having an aversion to particular textures to not eating at all and requiring tube feedings and everything in between. Our own son used to be tube fed every night, until he received his kidney transplant. Then all of a sudden he was absolutely starving. It took a few years, but he now gets all of his nutrition through drinking and eating soft or pureed foods.

There are some appliances in the kitchen that are invaluable to us. One is our Kitchen Aid food processor. We quickly found that buying a cheap model was a waste of money. They simply cannot handle years of pureeing cooked meats. I have used our food processor to puree supper for Nick every single day since the year 2000. It's extremely durable.

Another appliance that I absolutely love is our Vita-Mix blender, which unfortunately was accidentally broken by someone in our family (I won't mention who). This blender would have lasted forever if something other than food hadn't been inside the container when it was filled with ingredients and turned on. It makes absolutely wonderful juice. It can handle whole apples, the core of pineapples, and frozen fruits and vegetables like you wouldn't believe. And for someone that needs to pack a lot of nutrition into a small amount of food, juicing is the way to go. You can even sneak in stuff like flax seed and other nutritional goodies. And if mom's into whole, natural foods, you can even purchase a separate dry container so she can grind up her own grains. And it's not just great for someone with feeding issues, it's great for the entire family. I can't wait until I can afford to buy another one.

The third appliance that I get a bit of use out of is our stick blender. It's great for pureeing soft foods for smaller meals, such as eggs or tuna fish. I really wish I had the little chopper container with a blade rather than having to find a small, deep bowl to use. Someday..

Maybe the price of some of these appliances are simply too much for you to handle. But how about everyone in the family pitching in and buying them as a truly awesome Christmas or birthday present? The Kitchen Aid food processor and Vita-Mix will last indefinitely, so they are well worth the money.

Worth mentioning: the Vita-Mix will definitely puree foods like meat, etc.. But since this thick food is in a deep blender, it's a real pain in the butt to try to get it all out. I definitely wouldn't want to have to use it for this purpose every day. That's why I like to have the food processor as well.

Wiggle, squirm, hands grabbing, eating the hair. Mess, mess, mess!!! This was us trying to give Nick a haircut. We would put off giving him a haircut for as long as possible. That is until we discovered the Flowbee! If you've heard of this crazy contraption, you may be laughing at me right now. If you haven't, I'll explain to you what it is.

The Flowbee is a hair cutting tool that you attach to a vacuum cleaner. You turn the vacuum on, turn the Flowbee on, and the hair is then sucked up into the Flowbee and cut to the desired length. All of the hair trimmings go straight into the vacuum rather than on the person. We still need to trim Nick's sideburns, around the ears and at the top of his neck, but other than that, haircuts are a breeze now.

I need to warn you that there is quite a bit of noise when you use the Flowbee, so be sure that the person that it will be used on doesn't have a problem with noise. It could be a simple aversion to noise, or it could actually trigger a seizure, so it's important that you know if it's okay to use the Flowbee with them.

There are lots of great tools that mom can use for a child with feeding issues. From a baby having difficulty sucking on a regular bottle, to oral stimulation before feeding. Sit in on one of the child's occupational therapy sessions if you have the time to do so. Mom will appreciate your interest, and you'll get some ideas on what mom might be able to use.

Below I'm giving you just a few suggestions on feeding supplies and books. Hope they help :0)

If a mom's special needs kid has to take lots of meds, or has other medical issues, she can get very stressed out if she's not organized. Especially if she's new to it all. Believe me, I know. Nick's currently on about a dozen meds because of his kidney transplant, cerebral palsy, seizures, etc.. He was on even more when he first had his transplant. Simply trying to make sure that I didn't forget one could be extremely nerve racking when I first started out. After 9 years, I can almost do it with my eyes closed. You can help keep her stress to a minimum by providing her with some basic tools for the job.

I hope that I gave you at least an idea of what to get a mom that has special needs kids. You can help make her life just a little bit easier and more enjoyable with even a simple visit. Remember, she's not just a mom. She shouldn't be excluded from activities because she has special needs kids. She's a person, just like you. With needs, fears, and an exhaustible energy if not given help along the way. So remember, be a friend first. Then go from there :0)

Also:

You can find the RSS feed to The disAbility Support Network below. I always post new Squidoo Lenses to my blog.

Please feel free to sign my guest book.

I also created a Twitter Storm for this lens. You can find it below. Follow along & join in!

Thanks for visiting, and happy shopping!