Top 20 Holiday Gift Ideas for Medical Mamas and Disabled Kids!
Plus: Oklahoma eliminates DD waitlist; Virginia Congresswoman bookends her political career with medical mamas; Disability advocates worry HCBS could be cut under Trump
It’s that time of year when we get to think about what things might make our loved ones’ lives a little easier. If you have a hard-to-support kiddo or medical mama on your list, here are some practical gift ideas they’ll really love. (The following are Amazon affiliate links and as an Amazon Associate, I earn a small percentage of qualifying purchases.)
I have tried out many of the products on this list or they were recommended by Medical Motherhood readers. Happy shopping!
For people who like warmth (who doesn’t?): Any heating pad would work but this one is huge, affordable and on sale. I use one for my tired neck and my son likes to have it to relax his spastic muscles.
For the traveler (even if it’s just trips to the hospital): This backpack has so much clever storage and is a great value.
For the tech-obsessed: This battery pack holds a charge very well and is excellent for on-the-go portable power.
For kids who can’t be bothered with sleeves: This poncho is warm, thick and easy to pop on.
For kids who need easier pants: Tear-away pants (with snaps) offer easy access to diapers, knee braces or AFOs.
For ankle-foot orthotics users: These long socks help protect legs against skin breakdown and the compression helps with circulation.
For those who like audiobooks: An Audible membership is great for parents who want to be entertained while caregiving, or for kids who can’t manipulate or attend to a physical book.
For those who need help remembering meds: This medication alarm device is not cheap but it is effective as it has multiple clear signals for when it’s time to take meds.
For those who struggle with impulse control: This combination lock box can help control access to desserts and snacks. It is also good for unsafe items that kids can get into the moment your back is turned.
For sensory avoiders: This pod swing can help create a cocoon of safety and regulation.
For sensory seekers: This magnet doodle board can be hours of clean fun.
For scent-sory seekers: These bath bombs can be great to help mom unwind or to make bath time more fun for kids.
For folks who want to nonverbally communicate their moods or desire for interaction: This small pin is great at showing a person’s social battery or mood at a glance.
For syringe-users: This little pouch attaches conveniently to a bike frame or wheelchair and is big enough for an epipen or insulin.
For parents who are always reheating their coffee or tea: This mug-sized heating plate will keep it warm all morning long, no matter the interruptions.
For kids who need encouragement to get in the shower: This LED light shower head could make it more interesting.
For those who need ALL THE CHARGING PORTS AND CABLES! This travel-sized expander is great for creating lots of charging spots with one outlet. Extra iPad or other USB cords make great stocking stuffers too. There are never enough chargers!
For those with lots of electric medical equipment: There are so many cool outlet expanders on the market for your home.
For moms who regularly interact with non-family members in her PJs: These sleep bras are a nice way to feel a little more contained.
For moms who need pajamas that don’t obviously look like pajamas in case they need to leave the house in them: These wide-leg yoga pants are comfy, machine-washable and don’t look out of place anywhere.
Of course, you don’t have to spend anything to give medical mamas the gift of your time! Moms would love free babysitting, an offer to finish a chore that is far down their to do list or a “chore date” where you chat over coffee but also work together to fold and put away laundry or some other menial task.
Whatever you pick, just knowing that you were thinking of them will make all the difference!
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Medical Motherhood’s news round up
Snippets of news and opinion from outlets around the world. Click the links for the full story.
• From The 19th: “Inside Rep. Jennifer Wexton’s emotional final meeting with the families who started it all”
In 2019, newly elected Rep. Jennifer Wexton held her initial constituent meeting with the members of Little Lobbyists, a national advocacy organization for children with complex medical needs. Mothers brought their children and talked about the impact of federal policies in their lives.
Last Friday, the same group returned to attend Wexton’s final constituent gathering.
[…]Wexton, a Democrat representing Virginia’s 10th district, served two terms in office. Last year, she announced she would not be seeking reelection due to her diagnosis.
She adapted to serve out the rest of her term, using a walker to get around the hill; the condition causes rapid loss of balance, movement, speech and more. Earlier this year, she made history by being the first member of Congress to use a text-to-speech device to deliver comments on the House floor. More recently, she started using an AI recreation of her voice, assembled from audio recordings of speeches and interviews she has given over the years. She used the same voice to deliver her remarks at the meeting.
[…]Wexton supported disability issues before she developed her disability. Elena Hung, executive director of Little Lobbyists, noted how remarkable that is.
“The way it usually happens is, it hits the elected member personally. Either they receive a diagnosis or a family member of theirs receives a diagnosis. That wasn’t the case with the congresswoman. I feel like she cared about it before it hit her personally,” Hung told The 19th.
A group of parents founded Little Lobbyists in 2017 in response to Republican efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act and cut Medicaid — moves that could have rendered their medically complex children uninsured and without treatments necessary for their survival.
[…]In 2020, during the early, terrifying days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Wexton intervened to help [Little Lobbyist co-founder Tasha] Nelson’s family navigate quarantine. Nelson’s husband is a federal worker with a security clearance and initially, he was not allowed to work from home like other federal workers. This was particularly dangerous for Jack — cystic fibrosis puts him at high risk of severe complications or even death if he contracts COVID-19. Wexton helped change the policy so that workers who were high-risk or who had high-risk family members, like Nelson’s husband, could stay home.
“I reached out to her office and explained what families all over the country were experiencing, and she immediately went to the Senate Intelligence Committee, educated them on this and within a week of my call to her office, families like ours were protected and able to stay home and keep their high-risk members safe,” Nelson said.
While Wexton is retiring from Congress, she expects to continue advocating on disability issues as long as she is able to. […]
• From Disability Scoop: “Disability Advocates Sound Alarm Over Possible Medicaid Cuts”
With Republicans set to assume control in Washington, disability advocates are warning that proposals are in the works to drastically reshape Medicaid and undermine the nation’s system of home and community-based services.
[…]“We are extremely worried about Medicaid right now,” said Nicole Jorwic, chief of advocacy and campaigns at Caring Across Generations, an organization advocating for caregivers and people who rely on them. “We have already heard that Republican leadership is looking into ways to cut Medicaid, like they proposed in 2017 and again in the 2023 debt ceiling fight, with either draconian work requirements or block granting. Either would put at risk the whole home and community-based services infrastructure.”
Traditionally, the federal government has provided matching grants to states to help pay for the cost of care for anyone eligible for Medicaid, no matter how expensive.
However, during his first term, Trump and Republicans in Congress repeatedly pushed to transform Medicaid into a “per-capita cap” or “block grant” system. Under those models, the federal government would instead provide a fixed amount of money to states each year for the program.
Such a change would put pressure on states to limit spending and jeopardize funding for disability services, advocates say.
“If Congress were to block grant the Medicaid program, it would eliminate the minimum standards, leaving all decisions to states on eligibility criteria and scope and duration of services,” said Katy Neas, CEO of The Arc of the United States. “Such changes could force impossible choices. Would states decide to finance health and developmental services for children with disabilities or would they only finance nursing home care for older adults? Would states pay for services that allow an adult to live at home or would that adult be forced into a nursing home or hospital?”[…]
• From KOCO (Oklahoma): “Oklahoma families with children who have disabilities talk DDS's 13-year waitlist ending”
Thousands of Oklahoma families waited more than a decade to get help for their children with developmental disabilities.
On Wednesday, the Department of Human Services said the 13-year waitlist is over and the state is helping new families.
"It's just been a blessing," Monique Sitton, whose son Josiah was on the waitlist, said.
Josiah was one of more than 5,000 Oklahomans who joined the Developmental Disabilities Services' waitlist. Like the others, he waited 13 years for care.
"I kinda forgot about it. I just kinda went on with life and all the challenges you know with autism," Sitton said.
This year, Josiah's mom finally got the call. Now, she's employed as his caretaker and helps Josiah with everyday tasks like doing laundry and finding him a job.
"I became his home-trained specialist. So, I felt like, 'Hey, mom is the best sometimes,'" Sitton said.
[…For another family, the help came too late.]"DHS made the promise of 'Well, we have all these resources and help. We'll just get you [on] the waitlist.' And the relief never came," [Kianna] Archer said. "My parents basically struggled our entire teenage years until Frankie turned 18, and they were able to place him in a long-term care facility. And that's where he's been ever since."
Frankie's family gave up his spot to help another family.
Now, DDS officials said they're working to restore that broken trust, beginning with 3,000 Oklahomans who have joined the waitlist since 2022. And they said they will never close the door on wait-listed families. […]
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