When searching for gift ideas for a child with CVI, take a whole-child approach. What does your child enjoy? What motivates them? What upsets them? What provides calm?
To help get you started with gift-giving, we created a guide with over 100 ideas—all informed by parents and caregivers from our CVI Now community. This guide is meant to offer inspiration and by no means is exhaustive or definitive, just a place to find some CVI gift ideas.
And be sure to check out the CVI parent’s guide to the holidays to learn more about why holidays and celebrations are challenging for many with CVI and eight questions to consider to help approach gift-giving for your child with CVI.
CVI parents/caregivers, how have you made the holidays accessible for your child? What gifts are on your list? Join the CVI Now Parents Group to be a part of the conversation.
Weston loves his Squeaky Sneakers which fit over his SMO’s (supramalleolar orthoses). He compensates for his vision by relying on his hearing, so these sneakers are a big win. He also benefits from bright Traffic Cones to navigate playing outdoors. As a sensory seeker, Weston loves his fur rug and his Saucer Swing. He loves the sound that Boomwhackers make when he throws them on our black driveway. He also enjoys throwing his brightly colored indoor/outdoor Stepping Stones and listening to them boom! This year, Weston’s big gift is an experience at the Special Olympics.
A few CVI gift ideas for those who seek sensory input (swinging, vibration, tactile, pressure, fidgets) to support their learning and regulation.
There is no denying that Savannah loves music as her entire body lights up to the sound of different instruments. Her favorite is Tabletop Chimes. They are shiny, create motion, and are easily accessible for her fine motor difficulties. When she is hard at work in her stander, Savannah enjoys playing Meowsic (an interactive cat piano) or a Keyboard. This year, Savannah will be receiving a switch-adapted Polaroid camera and a switch-adapted CD player so that she can listen to Taylor Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version). Both items can be adapted by Adpatabliities. We also added the Glo Pals Sensory Jar to her wish list, as she enjoys lights and sensory toys.
Many with CVI and their parents/caregivers report that there is a serious love for listening to and making music, and we include a few CVI gift idea options for different instruments and music-listening toys and systems.
Henry has a passion for riding trains and buses, so the best gifts are connected to this love. A few favorites: MBTA train toy models and MBTA t-shirts and sweatshirts. For his birthday, a fellow CVI friend got him this train toy with music, lights, and movement. The DRIVEN toy vehicle line is great to go back to again and again. Fidgets and sensory toys are always a win because he can get into them immediately, like keyboard fidgets. We got him the Pop It! Pro last year, and while the light-up game goes a bit too fast for him, he really likes engaging with it. The best gift is a train ride to get his favorite dairy-free ice cream.
Some with CVI are drawn to light and motion to support visual attention and recognition. Light-up items may offer needed visual sensory input, and items with motion may help a child with CVI track the item, but the motion might also offer some type of vibration.
CVI gift ideas for items to help adapt and create an accessible environment in the home and for learning, for example adding tactile elements to appliances, bring learning to accessible visual fields, ways to add light or color, and supports for the sensory environment.
When Omer was younger, he liked to play with the LED Hoover Soccer Ball, something that could be used on the floor or a tabletop surface. He also enjoyed Lightahead® Artificial Mini Aquarium, a light-up aquarium with fake fish. Games are a good family activity and Omer enjoys playing Yahtzee and UNO with his family. This year, Omer wants to experience different adventures such as climbing a wall, dancing, or racing in a racecar throughout Meta Quest virtual reality.
CVI gift ideas to support sensory exploration and play, along with game night ideas.
The path to literacy and numeracy is rooted in the unique needs of your child with CVI. Below are just a few CVI gift ideas for some fun and accessible items that may support literacy and math concepts at home.
Cause and effect toys can be engaging for some with CVI, where pressing a moment or giving some type of input causes the toy to do something (light up, move, make a sound).
Some of the most thoughtful gifts can be the ones that help keep other items running, a gift card to help you stock up on much-needed items, or a donation to a disability non-profit.
Some with CVI also have motor complexities (up to 70% of kids with cerebral palsy have CVI). Below are CVI gift ideas to make interaction and play accessible.
For more ideas, read the Perkins’ gift guide for children who are blind or have low vision, and check our guide to what CVI parents never leave the house without.