We have a son of 4 years, CP, arms < legs are effected, GMFCS=II, and we think that we can enrich his therapies with WII.
We tested WII sports en WII fit with the balance board that we lent from friends. Our son still needed a lot of support with playing.
Still I think it is the right way, but we need easier games for him.
Hoe can propose us games to start with for kids at such a young age?
On internet I discovered mama cooking for the upper limps en family ski, Mario's Olympics games maybe for balance exercises. Are they suitable for our case, any other suggestions?

And... Are there special designed games for CP children?

Thanks!

Vivian

I have a niece his age and she's pretty feisty with the Wii she's just got to the stage where she can play without a lot of help, I'm afraid there just aren't a lot of games for the 7 and under crowd. I'm not aware of any games specifically for CP but my mother works in a post-op therapy facility and I can tell you what they're doing with their Wii.

They're primarily using wii sports resort and bowling is fairly popular. The controls are exactly the same as in wii sports but the game itself does a better job of interpreting your movements. I think he could probably play the lower levels of sword fighting and basketball, he'd probably enjoy playing the airplane games very much, especially in two player. The game will largely work only his arms at first but he'll definitely find the games easier to control than the original wii sports.

If you tried the original wii fit you should take a look at wii fit plus, there are a lot more game in that one that my niece plays.

Depending on his motor skills you might want to consider Walk it Out. He would need to maintain his balance and walk in place in time to music. You can play with a balance board or without. You would need to set it on the easiest possible levels for him but he should find it easy enough to manage.

I'd also look into renting any of the Wii Party titles from your local video rental store. You obviously don't want to spend a lot of money on games he can't play but you can test drive them that way and see which ones aren't overly challenging.

Maybe someone else can weigh in on Super Monkey Ball? I don't have it myself so I don't know if it comes with a "kiddie level" If it does it would likely be an excellent choice for balance.

Dear Nienna,

thanks for your efforts to help us further.
Is your niece also disabled?
Our son can walk several x00 meters, without struggling, but he can not jump nor run until now. I am really curious how he will manage it, but I have good hope.
I got a lot of ideas from your posting, thanks

Vivian

It starts out right after Sora, Donald, and Goofy are walking on that road that they were walking on at the end of Kingdom Hearts. They end up in Castle Oblivion, realm of the cards and memories.













Bachelorette Party

My niece is actually ahead on everything for her age with the exception of motor skills, which are pretty normal. I'm sure that being the same age they probably have similar attention spans and interests though. So I'm mostly just comparing what a normal 4 year old likes.

Hi Vivian.

How does your son find his other therapies? Wiihabilitation.co.uk recommends its use as a distraction or reward. The Wii games could be a fun way for him to move, instead of 'therapy', in the idea that just about any physical activity is good activity. Frustration with the 'win/lose' aspect of it would be the hardest part. however, sometimes I find that the Sports Plus bowling is harder because it picks up wobbles in my movements. The wii fit hula hoop game would be easier for him to do than with a real hula hoop, and it would loosen up some overtight muscles in his hips. However, wii fit in itself is probably not a good idea, as it plays very sad music when you don't win.

Wario Ware Smooth Moves would be fun to try together as a family, but you might have to do the hard work of unlocking the game first.