a dear friend of mine has a 5 year old disabled son, he is severely physically handicapped but is ok mentally, although sadly his condition doesnt allow him to speak or make himself clear which is very frustrating for him. Luckily his parents are doting and know what he means most of the time. AnywaY  they are not too well off & the lad doesnt get too many things (they also live in quite a poor country where the social funding we take for granted is not on offer) and i would like to get a few small presents for him but without looking patronising, as my friend is very proud. I wondered if anyone knows the sort of things suitable for such a child? He goes swimmming once a week and loves animals and sounds if that helps. He has virtually no hand control so anything requiring dexterity is not feasible. Any ideas gratefully received.

What about RDA?

Edit - phone rang whilst I was writing it. What about a voucher for a RDA lesson is what I wanted to say!

Try getting in touch with a paedeatric occupational therapy department somewhere. They will know exactly which way to go. :-)
Good Luck Karen

RDA:_they dont have it in his country unfortunately.

What country is it, just for some other info as to what you can get?

How about something like a 'sounds of the rainforest' CD?

http://www.play.com/Music/CD/4-/633195/The_Rainforest/Product.html

How about some story tapes - if you can get hold of some Big Mack switches ( which can be operated either by turning his head or slightly moving his hand) he can operate the tape player himself. How's his vision ? - if it's good then DVD's or if he has a computer then some games ? - again he can play these independently with the right hardware. Difficult to be more specific unless we know which country he is in.

Good luck :D

Yvonne

slovakia