Small gift ideas for special needs teens

[sksjasams]

My DH has been driving special needs school bus for the last several years. He has always had young students in the past...4K to 5th grade.
This year, he also has some upper middle school kids who are in grade 8-9.

Each year before winter break, he likes to give the kids a small gift. For example, last year I found some Webkinz on sale for only $3. Young kids are so easy to shop for, but what about those teens?

I believe he has 3 boys and a girl that are older. Does anyone have any suggestions for a small gift for that age in the $3 price range?

Thank you for your help!

 

[daughtersrus]

My DH has been driving special needs school bus for the last several years. He has always had young students in the past...4K to 5th grade.
This year, he also has some upper middle school kids who are in grade 8-9.

Each year before winter break, he likes to give the kids a small gift. For example, last year I found some Webkinz on sale for only $3. Young kids are so easy to shop for, but what about those teens?

I believe he has 3 boys and a girl that are older. Does anyone have any suggestions for a small gift for that age in the $3 price range?

Thank you for your help!

What type of needs do the students have? Are they congnitive? Physical? BehavIor?

 

[sksjasams]

What type of needs do the students have? Are they congnitive? Physical? BehavIor?

I believe the boys are autistic and the girl is hearing impaired...

 

[NYEmomma]

B&BW lotion for the girl, or some lip gloss, nail polish, etc. Girls of all ages like that stuff. Should be fine if she's just hearing impaired.

No clue on the boys... I live in an all girl house, lol!

 

[daughtersrus]

I believe the boys are autistic and the girl is hearing impaired...

Autism is such a wide spectrum. I'll assume that their needs are more severe since they are riding a differnt bus. Many kids with autism like sensory things. Maybe a squishy/spike ball. I have seen them in the $1 section at Target and at Dollar Tree.

For the girl with hearing impairment, maybe a trendy nail polish or even a small gift card to Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, Target...

It's very kind of your DH to give gifts to the students. Most of my DD's drivers/paras on the bus do as well. We give them gifts as well since they are responsible for our DD's safety 3-4 hours a day.

 

[DaughteroftheKing]

Finger lights are popular and can be found in 3 packs for about $1.50-$2. I'd suggest that or a roll of decorative duct tape for the boys. I like the person above who said lotion or nail stuff for the girl.

 

[3boymthr]

I have to say he should probably keep it generic - the same item for all the kids - just because there are some parents - especially parents of a teenage girl who might take him giving gifts the wrong way.

Unless allergies are an issue I'd go with a small gc to a donut shop or ice cream shop or something similar. I don't know a single teenager that doesn't like donuts or candy or ice cream. You could do this for all the little kids as well.

 

[JanaDee]

We had a bus driver in our district that gave out huge peppermint sticks at Christmas. Everyone loved them, no matter their age.

Something like this..http://www.amazon.com/Jumbo-Peppermint-Stick-4-5oz-PACK/dp/B000YHMSD6.

 

[sksjasams]

I have to say he should probably keep it generic - the same item for all the kids - just because there are some parents - especially parents of a teenage girl who might take him giving gifts the wrong way.

Unless allergies are an issue I'd go with a small gc to a donut shop or ice cream shop or something similar. I don't know a single teenager that doesn't like donuts or candy or ice cream. You could do this for all the little kids as well.

I do think something less personal than nail polish/lotion would be appropriate. I am fine though with different gifts for the big kids vs. little kids. I was hoping to get an actual item rather than a gift card, because it would seem more special and it is not as easy to tell how much was spent that way...

 

[2littleprincesses]

I work in a school with an autism program for middle school students. They all seem to love this:

http://www.officeplayground.com/Thinking-Putty-Glow-in-the-Dark-2-inch-P2564.aspx

 

[Luv Bunnies]

Autism is such a wide spectrum. I'll assume that their needs are more severe since they are riding a differnt bus. Many kids with autism like sensory things. Maybe a squishy/spike ball. I have seen them in the $1 section at Target and at Dollar Tree.

For the girl with hearing impairment, maybe a trendy nail polish or even a small gift card to Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, Target...

It's very kind of your DH to give gifts to the students. Most of my DD's drivers/paras on the bus do as well. We give them gifts as well since they are responsible for our DD's safety 3-4 hours a day.

Not necessarily on the bolded part. My DS took a special bus because his home school didn't have a program for him. He had to bused to a different school in our district. He's mildly autistic, but has his likes and dislikes, just like any other teen. Last year his driver made goodie bags for the kids on the bus. They contained candy canes, chocolate, individually wrapped cookies, etc. She handed them out at each stop, so the parents could see them (in case there was anything in them the kids shouldn't have). I thought it was a nice gesture!

 

[v.t.]

What about the giant Christmas pens and pencils they sell at the dollar tree. It seems kids of all ages love those things. The giant peppermint stick is a good idea if the parents have been asked about dietary restrictions.

 

[barkley]

I would avoid anything edible b/c I can tell you from doing snacks for ds's asd group-the range of food allergies these kiddos can have is crazy. ALSO-one of the very common issues with asd (seems like boys in particular-but that's just my experience) is healthy eating. SO MUCH TIME is spent in group/life skills classes working on healthy eating habits-and giving a kiddo some well intentioned treat could result in a gorge fest their parents will in no way appreciate.

scented things are really iffy too-these kids can be so sensitive to smells that if they put something into their backpack that put them off they could end up insisting that the entire contents of the backpack/the backpack itself is forever 'toxic' (tons of fun when it took you months to find the one backpack on earth that the kid can tolerate carrying).

with the kids in ds's teen group it seems like the boys speak one language-VIDEO GAMES, and the girls-FROZEN. if you could get some pencils at walmart or the dollar store that had some video game and frozen figures on them-they would LOVE THEM!