Post by Amy Lombardi on Mar 31, 2009 11:50:17 GMT -5
Subject: Toys and games??
Name: Jill Wellner
Date Posted: Oct 28, 08 - 3:17 PM
Email: Click here to Email
Message: Hello everyone!
I am searching for ways to keep my son entertained. We seem to be hitting that point where his vision loss is preventing him from doing many of the things he loves to do - sports, video games, movies... He still attempts all of these, but seems to lose interest quickly and then stampers around the house in complete boredom and gets himself into trouble.
Nicholas is 7 and has the late on-set Infantile form. He is only experiencing vision loss and behavioral problems at this point. Any suggestions on toys, games or activities your children enjoyed in this stage would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you all!
Jill Wellner
Name: Tini
Date Posted: Oct 28, 08 - 5:08 PM
Message: Hi Jill,
Start thinking auditory and tactile. Jeff used to love the toy Bop-it. I discovered it as I was scanning the toy section one year at Christmas. It was annoying but it kept him busy and helped on coordination skills. I also bought him a cheap keyboard that we kept on our kitchen counter and he would come and play it throughout the day. Jeff loved it, he always made sure the volume was full blast so it really annoyed everyone, and he was happy he accomplished being a pest especially to his sister. That keyboard never left our counter for ten years! Legos were a godsend and he still builds with them now at age 20. He has a zillion matchbox cars that he used to sort and count endlessly. It always amazed me he knew what car he was holding. He still goes through them now on occasion. There is a tactile snakes and ladders game that Jeff enjoys. Another game was Trouble, with the pop it dice. We had to tell him what the dice said but he could feel the holes and count how many to move.
Be imaginative and open minded as you go up and down the toy aisles, you may be surprised what you find that fits your son's personality. When Jeff could no longer do video games we got him an Aladdin hand held game, he couldn't do the game but it made noise when he pushed the buttons and he thought he was playing it. Nobody told him any different It was great!
Good Luck on your quest, if you find something great be sure to share it with us!
Name: Glenda Flatt
Date Posted: Oct 29, 08 - 5:25 AM
Email: Click here to Email
Message: We are still going thru this. Everyone in our family is asking for ideas for Christmas. Nick is a hunter so we do hunting calls and different things to do with hunting, you just have to find what interests them and go with it. I have even went into the preschool and smaller toys like talking dinosaurs, etc. anything that makes noise they seem to love!! (as you already know) We did K'nex building sets for awhile. I keep a small tote with several different things in it in the living room for him to sit and play with...works pretty good for awhile.
Please let us know if you find anything interesting!!
Glenda
Somerset, KY
Name: Amy K--Coordinator of Family Services
Date Posted: Oct 29, 08 - 5:48 AM
Email: Click here to Email
Message: Hi Jill--
We are having our November Monthly Chat on this exact subject. In fact, Tini will be co-hosting it with me. We are going to talk about appropriate toys and games for the children. The chat is set for November 24th at 9:00pm EST. If you can't make it, let me know and I'll send you the chat transcript.
I'll post a reminder closer to the date but just wanted to give you a heads up.
Name: peg davis
Date Posted: Oct 29, 08 - 11:13 PM
Email: Click here to Email
Message: hello! my son loved GI joes, star wars and all the figurines--i went through and numbered them on the feet and had a cheat sheet for people who worked with him--he would know the name but couldn't remember but if you said the wrong name he would know--i also put string on the bottom of the feet of the good guys--he used his tongue for the feeling--the paint is worn off most of the guys--it amazed me how many bad guys got broken and had to replaced--lol
with the girls they continued playing with barbies--hannah loved counting her pennies while she watched movies--they never stopped watching their movies---do that to this day--Holly loved her boom box--she loved playing it as loud as it would go so i had Bill put in a screw so it couldn't go that loud--she could or i should say we could turn it down so she was happy with it when she turned it back up!!
hannah continued playing games and holly would be included but wanted to do her own thing--holly spent hours using making tape to tape on barbie shoes--if i gave her a rool of tape she was happy--
i never had much trouble finding gifts for them--i continued getting them what they got in the past--figurines and barbies and movies--whatever they were interested in i would get for them--some are still in the orginal boxes--Peg
Name: Janie
Date Posted: Oct 30, 08 - 7:41 AM
Email: Click here to Email
Message: I can relate to the tape Peg. For Chris it is making knots out of thin rope. He can do that for hours, keeping his hands busy. And Star Wars figures. We use boxes as space ships, etc. A new item for him is burning his favorite music on the computer. I like that one! From there, he listens on and on.
Name: Jill Wellner
Date Posted: Oct 30, 08 - 8:28 AM
Email: Click here to Email
Message: WOW! I love all the responses! Thank you! You all have some excellent ideas and I look forward to the November chat!
Thank you all!
Name: Mary Beth
Date Posted: Nov 2, 08 - 8:28 AM
Email: Click here to Email
Message: Hi! My son likes trucks - mostly fire trucks. He's 13 with JNCL and if you don't keep him busy he gets miserable. Bop It was excelent game and kept his busy. He now likes those fur real animals especially the ones that you can feed or vioce activated. He also likes playing cards war/go fish we have braille cards for him. He doesn't always read them correctly but we help him out. He just loves to win!!! But the his vision teacher found him a game called Web Chase -it's done in braille/print and your spider has to collect the pray from the web. 2-4 players It's long but fun especially with more players. Birthdays and Christmas are so hard for finding toys for family to get. Can't wait for next months chat.
Name: Corrina Dahl
Date Posted: Nov 2, 08 - 12:19 PM
Message: Hello!
Clifford's favorite toys are his cars. He plays baseball with them and names them after favorite ball players. He does enjoy legos and he will play trains with his brother now and then.
He can't see to play computer games on his own anymore. However, several of his games have a function where the computer plays the computer and he enjoys that. There are a couple of games we have like chutes and ladders and candyland where we put the mouse on the "spinner" and he clicks that when its his turn and the computer moves his player for him. He also likes have us play these games with him.
We also play board and card games with him and help him do those. He too likes the game Web Chase and he likes another called Braille Baseball. He also has three electronic maps, one for the USA, one for jungle animals and one for dinosaurs. We have adapted these by putting braille where the buttons are for him.
As to movies and TV. Clifford most enjoys movies and TV shows that he had seen before he lost his eyesight. However, we regularly go to the movie theater to see new movies and many of those become his favorites. We try to sit away from others and I tell him whats happening. If the plot is complicated I try to read the book to him before we go to see the movie. I did this with both the Narnia movies.
There was a period of time when he was around 7 or 8 that he seemed unable to sit still to play very long and he didn't sit and watch tv too much either. This was the time period where his behaviour started to get more and more impulsive/hyper. This preceeded his having seizures. Once he got on medication for seizures and behaviour he began to be able to enjoy his toys and movies again. Clifford is 11 with JNCL.
Name: Sue Inks
Date Posted: Nov 5, 08 - 4:57 PM
Email: Click here to Email
Instant Messenger: trappedonland
Message: "Bop It" toy, Furbies, Fur Real pets, VTech and LeapFrog toys with buttons, etc...these are the ones that keep Sarah occupied for long periods and she consistently goes back to. She really loves things that are battery operated and provide her with auditory feedback. She loves the furbies because they respond to voice commands...still creeps me out a little when I walk by her room and hear her say "knock knock" and then her Furby answer "who's there?"
Name: Janie
Date Posted: Nov 7, 08 - 7:27 AM
Email: Click here to Email
Message: And don't forget the greeting cards that you can record your voice on and/or play music. Chris loves his Star Wars ones. You simply open the card and it plays for you.
Name: Sue Inks
Date Posted: Nov 7, 08 - 8:13 AM
Email: Click here to Email
Instant Messenger: trappedonland
Message: Amen to that! I hear starwars theme and "wipeout" daily..
Name: Corrina Dahl
Date Posted: Nov 7, 08 - 2:17 PM
Message: Yes, Clifford loves those things. He also has had those musical toothbrushes.
Name: Jill Wellner
Date Posted: Oct 28, 08 - 3:17 PM
Email: Click here to Email
Message: Hello everyone!
I am searching for ways to keep my son entertained. We seem to be hitting that point where his vision loss is preventing him from doing many of the things he loves to do - sports, video games, movies... He still attempts all of these, but seems to lose interest quickly and then stampers around the house in complete boredom and gets himself into trouble.
Nicholas is 7 and has the late on-set Infantile form. He is only experiencing vision loss and behavioral problems at this point. Any suggestions on toys, games or activities your children enjoyed in this stage would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you all!
Jill Wellner
Name: Tini
Date Posted: Oct 28, 08 - 5:08 PM
Message: Hi Jill,
Start thinking auditory and tactile. Jeff used to love the toy Bop-it. I discovered it as I was scanning the toy section one year at Christmas. It was annoying but it kept him busy and helped on coordination skills. I also bought him a cheap keyboard that we kept on our kitchen counter and he would come and play it throughout the day. Jeff loved it, he always made sure the volume was full blast so it really annoyed everyone, and he was happy he accomplished being a pest especially to his sister. That keyboard never left our counter for ten years! Legos were a godsend and he still builds with them now at age 20. He has a zillion matchbox cars that he used to sort and count endlessly. It always amazed me he knew what car he was holding. He still goes through them now on occasion. There is a tactile snakes and ladders game that Jeff enjoys. Another game was Trouble, with the pop it dice. We had to tell him what the dice said but he could feel the holes and count how many to move.
Be imaginative and open minded as you go up and down the toy aisles, you may be surprised what you find that fits your son's personality. When Jeff could no longer do video games we got him an Aladdin hand held game, he couldn't do the game but it made noise when he pushed the buttons and he thought he was playing it. Nobody told him any different It was great!
Good Luck on your quest, if you find something great be sure to share it with us!
Name: Glenda Flatt
Date Posted: Oct 29, 08 - 5:25 AM
Email: Click here to Email
Message: We are still going thru this. Everyone in our family is asking for ideas for Christmas. Nick is a hunter so we do hunting calls and different things to do with hunting, you just have to find what interests them and go with it. I have even went into the preschool and smaller toys like talking dinosaurs, etc. anything that makes noise they seem to love!! (as you already know) We did K'nex building sets for awhile. I keep a small tote with several different things in it in the living room for him to sit and play with...works pretty good for awhile.
Please let us know if you find anything interesting!!
Glenda
Somerset, KY
Name: Amy K--Coordinator of Family Services
Date Posted: Oct 29, 08 - 5:48 AM
Email: Click here to Email
Message: Hi Jill--
We are having our November Monthly Chat on this exact subject. In fact, Tini will be co-hosting it with me. We are going to talk about appropriate toys and games for the children. The chat is set for November 24th at 9:00pm EST. If you can't make it, let me know and I'll send you the chat transcript.
I'll post a reminder closer to the date but just wanted to give you a heads up.
Name: peg davis
Date Posted: Oct 29, 08 - 11:13 PM
Email: Click here to Email
Message: hello! my son loved GI joes, star wars and all the figurines--i went through and numbered them on the feet and had a cheat sheet for people who worked with him--he would know the name but couldn't remember but if you said the wrong name he would know--i also put string on the bottom of the feet of the good guys--he used his tongue for the feeling--the paint is worn off most of the guys--it amazed me how many bad guys got broken and had to replaced--lol
with the girls they continued playing with barbies--hannah loved counting her pennies while she watched movies--they never stopped watching their movies---do that to this day--Holly loved her boom box--she loved playing it as loud as it would go so i had Bill put in a screw so it couldn't go that loud--she could or i should say we could turn it down so she was happy with it when she turned it back up!!
hannah continued playing games and holly would be included but wanted to do her own thing--holly spent hours using making tape to tape on barbie shoes--if i gave her a rool of tape she was happy--
i never had much trouble finding gifts for them--i continued getting them what they got in the past--figurines and barbies and movies--whatever they were interested in i would get for them--some are still in the orginal boxes--Peg
Name: Janie
Date Posted: Oct 30, 08 - 7:41 AM
Email: Click here to Email
Message: I can relate to the tape Peg. For Chris it is making knots out of thin rope. He can do that for hours, keeping his hands busy. And Star Wars figures. We use boxes as space ships, etc. A new item for him is burning his favorite music on the computer. I like that one! From there, he listens on and on.
Name: Jill Wellner
Date Posted: Oct 30, 08 - 8:28 AM
Email: Click here to Email
Message: WOW! I love all the responses! Thank you! You all have some excellent ideas and I look forward to the November chat!
Thank you all!
Name: Mary Beth
Date Posted: Nov 2, 08 - 8:28 AM
Email: Click here to Email
Message: Hi! My son likes trucks - mostly fire trucks. He's 13 with JNCL and if you don't keep him busy he gets miserable. Bop It was excelent game and kept his busy. He now likes those fur real animals especially the ones that you can feed or vioce activated. He also likes playing cards war/go fish we have braille cards for him. He doesn't always read them correctly but we help him out. He just loves to win!!! But the his vision teacher found him a game called Web Chase -it's done in braille/print and your spider has to collect the pray from the web. 2-4 players It's long but fun especially with more players. Birthdays and Christmas are so hard for finding toys for family to get. Can't wait for next months chat.
Name: Corrina Dahl
Date Posted: Nov 2, 08 - 12:19 PM
Message: Hello!
Clifford's favorite toys are his cars. He plays baseball with them and names them after favorite ball players. He does enjoy legos and he will play trains with his brother now and then.
He can't see to play computer games on his own anymore. However, several of his games have a function where the computer plays the computer and he enjoys that. There are a couple of games we have like chutes and ladders and candyland where we put the mouse on the "spinner" and he clicks that when its his turn and the computer moves his player for him. He also likes have us play these games with him.
We also play board and card games with him and help him do those. He too likes the game Web Chase and he likes another called Braille Baseball. He also has three electronic maps, one for the USA, one for jungle animals and one for dinosaurs. We have adapted these by putting braille where the buttons are for him.
As to movies and TV. Clifford most enjoys movies and TV shows that he had seen before he lost his eyesight. However, we regularly go to the movie theater to see new movies and many of those become his favorites. We try to sit away from others and I tell him whats happening. If the plot is complicated I try to read the book to him before we go to see the movie. I did this with both the Narnia movies.
There was a period of time when he was around 7 or 8 that he seemed unable to sit still to play very long and he didn't sit and watch tv too much either. This was the time period where his behaviour started to get more and more impulsive/hyper. This preceeded his having seizures. Once he got on medication for seizures and behaviour he began to be able to enjoy his toys and movies again. Clifford is 11 with JNCL.
Name: Sue Inks
Date Posted: Nov 5, 08 - 4:57 PM
Email: Click here to Email
Instant Messenger: trappedonland
Message: "Bop It" toy, Furbies, Fur Real pets, VTech and LeapFrog toys with buttons, etc...these are the ones that keep Sarah occupied for long periods and she consistently goes back to. She really loves things that are battery operated and provide her with auditory feedback. She loves the furbies because they respond to voice commands...still creeps me out a little when I walk by her room and hear her say "knock knock" and then her Furby answer "who's there?"
Name: Janie
Date Posted: Nov 7, 08 - 7:27 AM
Email: Click here to Email
Message: And don't forget the greeting cards that you can record your voice on and/or play music. Chris loves his Star Wars ones. You simply open the card and it plays for you.
Name: Sue Inks
Date Posted: Nov 7, 08 - 8:13 AM
Email: Click here to Email
Instant Messenger: trappedonland
Message: Amen to that! I hear starwars theme and "wipeout" daily..
Name: Corrina Dahl
Date Posted: Nov 7, 08 - 2:17 PM
Message: Yes, Clifford loves those things. He also has had those musical toothbrushes.