Shopping list
June 8, 2009 by Jill Cornfield
Filed under Health
Alex’s birthday is coming up, so that means errands. Friday we’ll probably take some cupcakes and treat bags for his classmates. We nearly always go for a red-white-blue theme since his birthday is Flag Day. I like to take a bunch of little toys and put them in the middle of a bandana, which I tie with some curling ribbon. I’ll probably use cake mix and homemade frosting for cupcakes, and somewhere I think we have some tiny flags on toothpicks to stick in them.
Photo by Acidcookie (flickr.com)
The hardest thing is presents. What does Alex want? He loves things that a 4-year-old would love. Is there a way to get him to play with things that are more age-appropriate? Sometimes the fun of birthday shopping for Alex can be absorbed into a larger anxiety project of things we should have done: get him to play board games and understand simple card games. Too bad Candy Land isn’t Hot Dog and Pretzel Land. Might have more appeal for a boy who doesn’t like gum drops and candy canes.
My family is gathering to celebrate next Saturday, and nobody really knows what to get him. And that includes us. Here’s my tentative, maybe-something-will-excite-him list.
1. Jar of plastic beads (would love to see him beading quietly with Ned while we listen to music or just enjoy the relative silence)
2. Picnic basket (if he has his own, and packs it himself, will he want to go on a picnic and not bolt?)
3. Paint (the boys can paint together and we’re out of most colors)
4. Detailed toy animals (Alex loves these – but what does he really do with them?)
5. Deck of Old Maid cards? If a 4-year-old can play that, Alex probably could. I know he’d like the pictures and the matching aspect; would he get the whole you-me, waiting-your-turn part?
6. Little toy vehicles (see No. 4)
7. Beanbag? Hammock? Tunnel? Searching for “gifts for autistic kids” led me to a site (one of many) that suggests gifts that tie into certain behaviors. Alex has been rocking back and forth lately – maybe one of these would be fun for him.
8. Balance board (found this on another gifts list – Ned agrees it would be fun for Alex. “And me too,” he points out.)
A lot of my student’s Alex’s age really enjoy small blow-up ball pits. The kind they’ve liked has somewhat tall sides and it is small enough to crawl into and cover themselves up with the balls but large enough to jump on. They also have fun playfully throwing the balls at friends, so Alex and Ned may enjoy that too.
We were thinking of a ball pit for Alex! Someone also suggested just using the balls (which you can buy separately) in the bathtub. But we decided not to because 1) the balls would wind up ALL over the apartment and 2) this way the ball pit at Ikea remains a special draw! Thanks, though, for a great idea.