Disabled children are often up in a wheelchair and find it difficult to integrate with classmates, who are running around, sitting on the floor and playing games on the playground. By making them cool, we draw their friends to them, allow them to integrate and thereby change their lives.
It is so important for disabled children to look cool. They are already at a disadvantage, with a body that does not function the way they want it to or a body that does not look the way other peoples bodies do…but there is a lot that we can do to make them look cool.
Here are some ideas….
1. Drooling is a huge problem in disability
Look at options for medication or medical operations to turn saliva glands around and therefby decrease the amount of drooling.
Fun Bandanna
Instead of wearing a bib, why not use a cool looking bandanna
2. Wheelchairs
Amber in her beautiful butterfly chair!
When looking at a new wheelchair, find one that lets you see the person and not the wheelchair. As an added bonus it is lovely to have something on your wheelchair that will draw people to you. Something fun, something different or something of interest. Here is a look at what Amber has done with her wheelchair.
3. Cool stuff
Singing, dancing dolls
Young children love cool stuff, especially if it is electronic, moves and has music. There are some great toys that you can give your child to take for a show and tell at school. This will allow your child to be part of the activity that everyone else does every morning in circle time and also get their peers to come to them and engage with them. Just make sure it is nice and hardy to withstand little fingers.
4. All by my self
It is really cool when young children can show off to their peers and do things all by themselves. Getting toys, remote control cars, etc switch activated gives your child the opportunity to show off what they can do…and there is nothing like the smile on the face of a child who is proud of themselves.
5. The computer/Tablet PC
And of course, there is nothing as cool as having a tablet PC or computer to do your school work on….but we will leave this discussion for another day!