Briar loves playing with her new switch-adapted My Walking Pet puppy. She has hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy and dystonia, and doesn’t have much use of her arms and legs, but using the , she can play with the toy by herself by lightly pressing the switch.
“She’d sit there and we’d put on the barking switch, so she would sit in her chair and watch her show, and you could hear the dog just barking, and she just laughs,” her mother Jenn shares. “She has some sense of independence when she can play with this, she doesn’t have to rely on any of us to turn it on for her, she can make him go when she wants.”
Briar received the toy and switch from our campaign in time for Christmas, thanks to the support of our donors, volunteers, and supporters, along with a switch-adapted Calming Vibes Walrus toy and a selection of other switches.
While she has been working with clinicians on using switches, these are the very first switch-adapted toys that she owns.
“It’s a toy, but it’s so much more to her,” Jenn says. “Just seeing her smile because she can control a toy herself is huge.”
Jenn is grateful to everyone who supported #HackingForTheHolidays, and made it possible for Briar to play independently.
“It’s incredible, we’ve looked online to see how much accessible toys are, and it’s too much. It’s way too pricey for a kid to play with it for the typical lifespan of a toy,” she says. “With inflation and all the other expenses of having a critical care child, we can’t just go out and get her a new toy every time we see something.
“It’s just really incredible to see people volunteering their time to help kids who can’t use typical toys,” she continues. “We really do appreciate everything and every step that goes into it.
“Thank you so much for bringing her joy this Christmas.”
This post originally appeared on the ɱٱ.