Make A Wish ideas needed

[SondraC]

I posted this on the disabilities forum, but thought I would get more responses here.

We are in the process of doing Make A Wish for my ds 14, and was looking for ideas that people have done or know of. He loves water, so we thought maybe a pool, and he loves his barney tapes.

Any thoughts?

Edit: We are not interested in a trip

 

[Darcy03231]

Are you looking for trip ideas? If so, Universal Studios has Barney there. All of the on-site hotels have really nice pools. Our favorite is the Hard Rock.

 

[disney1990]

Our granddaughter took her Make a Wish trip to Australia. They had a fantastic trip.

 

[SondraC]

Something other than a trip.

 

[dakcp2001]

WIthout knowing your area, it is hard to make a suggestion for something involving water without taking a trip. Do you live near water? Anyy hotels near your home with nice pools or water parks? Any nice boats or pirate ships you could take a ride on? Is there an aquarium near you?

WHat does he like about water? Being on a boat? Swimming? There are a lot of us here on the board, we will help you think of something spectacular! We just need some more details please!

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

Well, I don't know where in PA Export is... not sure if that is near water or not, so!

How about a hot tub? I'm not really familiar with all the things Make A Wish is able to provide, so excuse the ideas if they are not appropriate to that agency.

Barney Tapes...hmmm... could you get Barney to visit?

 

[SondraC]

Well, I don't know where in PA Export is... not sure if that is near water or not, so!

How about a hot tub? I'm not really familiar with all the things Make A Wish is able to provide, so excuse the ideas if they are not appropriate to that agency.

Barney Tapes...hmmm... could you get Barney to visit?

Export is near Pittsburgh. We are starting to lean towards a hot tub.

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

Ah, ok then. Not really near the coast and you don't want to travel.

A hot tub would be a good idea to bring him his love of water at temperatures that he could enjoy during the entire year.

Perhaps you could also pair that with a visit from Barney? Surely there must be a costume shop that would rent a Barney costume?

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

Sorry, meant to add that if you don't go with a hot tub, perhaps a full jacuzzi tub in the child's bathroom?

 

[TiggerTails57]

I was going to say a DCL Cruise...........(no trips)

I like the hot tub idea.

 

[Magic Mom]

How about an Endless Pool Swim Spa. Its a small swim current pool/hot tub combo. It's good for water therapy, big enough to splash around in, but still has the features of a hot tub.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

Just so you know, they are going to go by what your son says. If he is nonverbal, they will have a nonverbal interview. Typically they will separate the child and parents (although you will still be able to see him) to make sure that he is not being pressured.

With that out of the way: Why not look at the wish.org website? They have lots of wishes there by category. He could look with you and get some ideas.

He will also need 2-3 choices. They will look at the feasibility of the choice and make sure that it is medically appropriate for him. Make A Wish also relies very heavily on donors and there is a strict budget for each wish. So it will depend on the price tag of the item and whether or not they can get it donated. They will always try to do what they can to get him his first choice, but be prepared that you may need a back up.

I volunteer with my local Make A Wish, so let me know if I can help you with anything. Good luck on your wish!

 

[SondraC]

Just so you know, they are going to go by what your son says. If he is nonverbal, they will have a nonverbal interview. Typically they will separate the child and parents (although you will still be able to see him) to make sure that he is not being pressured.

With that out of the way: Why not look at the wish.org website? They have lots of wishes there by category. He could look with you and get some ideas.

He will also need 2-3 choices. They will look at the feasibility of the choice and make sure that it is medically appropriate for him. Make A Wish also relies very heavily on donors and there is a strict budget for each wish. So it will depend on the price tag of the item and whether or not they can get it donated. They will always try to do what they can to get him his first choice, but be prepared that you may need a back up.

I volunteer with my local Make A Wish, so let me know if I can help you with anything. Good luck on your wish!

They were just at my house last night and believe me there was no "interview" with my son. I hoped they were going to give me some ideas, look around my house and come up with choices, but they just asked what did I want for him.
Actually 3 of my friends just went through the process and they never separated them either, and some were verbal.
Also, he can't sit and look over anything to help pick something, he doesn't have that level of comprehension.

 

[SondraC]

How about an Endless Pool Swim Spa. Its a small swim current pool/hot tub combo. It's good for water therapy, big enough to splash around in, but still has the features of a hot tub.

I did ask about those and they don't think they are approved, only pools & hot tubs.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

They were just at my house last night and believe me there was no "interview" with my son. I hoped they were going to give me some ideas, look around my house and come up with choices, but they just asked what did I want for him.
Actually 3 of my friends just went through the process and they never separated them either, and some were verbal.
Also, he can't sit and look over anything to help pick something, he doesn't have that level of comprehension.

Huh, that's weird. I guess your chapter does it differently from ours. Based on your description, I'm wondering if one of those endless spas would even be safe for him since they require the user to maintain a constant pace while swimming. It sounds like a hot tub or pool might be your better bet. Those can be subject to zoning laws and the chapter will assess your ability to keep up with the maintenance, increase in homeowner's insurance, etc.

One that they do a lot, particularly for kids who have lower levels of functioning is a room makeover. There are some neat ones on the wish.org website. Maybe they could do some kind of aquarium theme for his room?

Here is their webpage with some of the different room/home makeovers they have done.

I'm thinking that might be a good choice based on how you've described your son. YOu could think about his interests, the kinds of things he would want in his room, etc.

 

[FireDancer]

By no travel do you mean none at all or no long distance? If it is just that you don't want to go far perhaps a trip up to Presque Isle State Park which is right on Lake Erie would be cool? If you really mean no travel at all I think a pool with a slide or other water accessory like they have at the Hippy Dippy pool at Pop would be cool. I mean the water showers or sprayers, not sure what to technically call them.

Can you son help in the decision making since it is his wish that is being granted? I always just assumed the Make a Wish people asked the child what they wanted, provided they were able to answer one way or another.

I thought Make a Wish was only trips, I learned something new today.

 

[SondraC]

By no travel do you mean none at all or no long distance? If it is just that you don't want to go far perhaps a trip up to Presque Isle State Park which is right on Lake Erie would be cool? If you really mean no travel at all I think a pool with a slide or other water accessory like they have at the Hippy Dippy pool at Pop would be cool. I mean the water showers or sprayers, not sure what to technically call them.

Can you son help in the decision making since it is his wish that is being granted? I always just assumed the Make a Wish people asked the child what they wanted, provided they were able to answer one way or another.

I thought Make a Wish was only trips, I learned something new today.

No, Make A Wish does all kinds of things. My son (14) is severely autistic (although that is not qualified him) so communication is next to impossible with him other than eat, drink & nite nite.

Also, no trips at all. He is too unpredictable to do a trip that might be overwhelming.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

By no travel do you mean none at all or no long distance? If it is just that you don't want to go far perhaps a trip up to Presque Isle State Park which is right on Lake Erie would be cool? If you really mean no travel at all I think a pool with a slide or other water accessory like they have at the Hippy Dippy pool at Pop would be cool. I mean the water showers or sprayers, not sure what to technically call them.

Can you son help in the decision making since it is his wish that is being granted? I always just assumed the Make a Wish people asked the child what they wanted, provided they were able to answer one way or another.

I thought Make a Wish was only trips, I learned something new today.

Each chapter operates a little differently. Our chapter talks to both the family and the child. We have something we can do known as a nonverbal interview for children who cannot speak.

MAW grants all kinds of wishes. The very first wish that started the organization was a little boy in Arizona who wished to be a firefighter. We grant many of those kinds of wishes, allowing kids to live a dream job for a day. Make A Wish has also done shopping sprees, room makeovers, celebrity meet and greets, wishes for a big ticket item, etc.

There are four main categories of wishes. I wish to:
-have
-go
-be
-give

The last one was added within the last year or so because kids were using their wishes to do something for others.

It can take several meetings for the wish team to figure out the child's wish. They do try if at all possible to make sure they are getting what the chidl wnats and not what the fmaily thinks they want or may be pressuring them into. (I'm not saying that is the case with this family.) If you want to see some different kinds of wishes, you can go to the wish.org website. There they have a collection of wishes that have been granted, sorted by theme.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

Sondra: Did you see my post about the room makeover? Would that work for him?

 

[tiggger1]

according to the site they do have the swim spa..

http://www.wish.org/stories/fantasy/pool_and_spa/ryan_swim_spa