My Favorite Accessible Gifts

I know that, overall, finding gifts can be tough, especially finding things for someone who is disabled and has specific needs, like those that come with spinal muscular atrophy.

Gift-giving guide for someone with disabilities

Here are a couple of ideas.

Keeping warm

Hand warmers/heated blanket I don't use these unless absolutely necessary because it's tough to drive and have my hand warmer nearby. But I love the famous Hot Hands ones that everyone loves. They're very helpful! Going along with that, being chronically cold, I can't sleep without my heated blanket. It's a Winter must-have! A family friend got me mine, but Walmart has great ones!

My favorite fashion find: hoodies Let’s be honest, sometimes fashion can be tough for us, so one of my favorite combos that I've just started to do is wear a hoodie or sweater and then a puffer underneath. Originally, I never understood this combination together, I thought it didn't keep you warm, but as long sleeves hurt my shoulders a bunch and driving gets harder for me, mom and I tried it one day and I love it! Of course I definitely still wear regular jackets but I live in mostly hoodies in the winter anyway so this worked out.

Wheelchair accessories

Chair bag Let’s be honest, we have a lot of stuff and need somewhere to put it. For me, I love a side pocket bag to attach to my chair because mom and I often get drinks from Starbucks or water in the Summer and so I finally found a great one on Amazon. I definitely love the Cure SMA tote for bigger items as well, it's my favorite!

Insulated drinking cups As far as portable cups go, I love Starbucks tumblers because they keep my drinks at whatever temperature I need and for at home cups, the Starbucks cold cups are very easy for me to lift and reusable which I love!

Phone holder At the conference this year, my friend Janelle had a beautiful rose gold phone holder and asked where she got it, Amazon and I ordered it immediately. It's so helpful! I had trouble before finding ones that stayed on my chair and this one is very sturdy especially I drove my chair around NYC a few times this year! The dips when crossing the street can be a lot and my phone never fell! It was very helpful to look for directions on it as we walked! So grateful to my friend Janelle!

Comfort while traveling

Travel pillow And finally, a travel must-have! We traveled a lot this year and it can be a lot physically for me sometimes, so I know something that we all talk about in the community is what pillow is the best? Mom and I tested some and we found a great one! I can't find the exact one, but definitely look for a long pillow! That really helps my back. By that I mean that it's very supportive towards my back and helps me stay up and be comfortable. (Which is super important!) It can absolutely be hard to find the right things when it comes to traveling, but as long as I have this pillow, my phone, lap desk, headphones and a snack, I'm good!

These are a few of my favorite must haves. Best, Kellie.