[carole]

my 10yr old son (LS hemi) Thomas finds game consoles games quite difficult (he trys but usually ends up stuck on level 1); am wondering if a nintendo 'wii' would be good as its more physical interaction maybe could be way of doing physio ??? any tips, advice or experience. His other brothers want an XBOX 360 for Christmas but trying to cater for all of them. be great to hear from anyone who already owns one.

Look forward to seeing any comments.
Carole

[*wendy*]

carole search the wii on here, theres a few posts about it and all of them are good!!

daniel like the wii sports the best, it hasn't got him to use his hand but he stands better and it really is great exercise. oh he also like the "cars" driving game too, he doens't play the game by the rules but i let him get on with it and he loves it!

try and do some of the boxing and you'll understand!! plus there's loads of adults games that are great too!

[madisons-mummy]

i agree with wendy there fun for all the family!!!

madi has got a dora game for my ninteno wii shes not that good but she loves it lol x i think its good for hand eye co-ordination to xxx

[jaynepick]

Hi
Sam is 8 ( next week ) and had an XBox for Xmas last year as he was always trying to get on his older brothers. He has LH hemi and is really quite good on it ( often beating his buddies) ... the sports ones seem the best - and it really helps his finger movement in his left hand ( he did start trying to do both buttons with his right hand but quickly sussed it out !!)..

To be honest we brought a Wii last year as we thought it would be good for him but having to use the other bit ( not sure what it is called) with his hemi hand was quite hard and he got very frustrated about it . ... he plays it at his friends but prefers the XBox - he is currently sitting with his brother and dad writing down the England team so he can use the same players on his XBox FIFA 10 game !!

He also uses his DS more than he used to - the games with the pen are best but he has tried to use some of the harder games and sort of gets there in the end.... places like gamestation will let you try out the games (2nd hand ones) for a week and if he can't play them you can exchange them till you find a good one... I've found them really helpful

Hope this helps - XBox wins hands down in our house ( and keeps them occupied when I manage to get 1/2 hour watching the tv !!)

Jayne xx

[arabella]

Hi

Matthew is 9 and has LH. We got a Wii for exactly the same reasons - anything else he had tried had been really difficult for him and frustrating. The Wii is much easier for him even though he has little fine motor function in his left hand - he still manages to use both the controller and the nunchuck. If there is something really difficult he gets his brother to use one fo the controls whilst he operates the other.

This being said, I hate the ###### machine as its a nightmare to get him off it!! I blame father christmas ...!!!!

seriously though, i would recommend it

arabella

[carole]

hi, thanks for comments and advice. think i will write to Santa for wii. goin to look into some suitable games now. many thanks for all comments.

C x

[Hettie'sMum]

There was an article in the most recent hemihelp mag about someone who found the Wii to be really good physio for her son - all the balancing and slaloming type sports games on there...

[Nicky]

Hi there,

My son Connor is six with left sided hemi. We have been through many traumas with him trying to find computer things he can use. He absolutely loves all things technological and computers etc which is great but he really struggled trying to play on his dads old PS2 and always needed someone to help with the left side controls. Last Christmas my dad bought us a Wii and it has been brilliant. After a few tantrums while he got used to it, Connor can now play Mario Karts as well as anyone with two good hands and he really enjoys the Bowling and golf on the Wii Sports game. He also plays a driving game called Off Road and some of the activities on Wii Play. We have now added to it by getting Wii Fit and the balance board. This is brilliant as he has to shift his weight to his left side and he doesn't even realise it is a kind of physio. As well as some of the Wii fit games that he enjoys (Ski slalom, ski jump, penguins etc) we have found a game called Family Ski which Connor manages to play - this is played with a balance board or just with the controller and nunchuck and amazingly Connor likes playing with the controller and nunchuck in his left hand (which I thought would be too difficult for him). He still finds some things too hard and there are some games he can't play but we have definitely found this to be the best way for Connor to be able to play computer games without needing someone to help,

Hope this helps,

Nicky

[Garden]

Hi, our son is 9 and has right sided Hemi. We got the Wii last Christmas and it has been brilliant for him. He loves playing most of the sports. Over the year we got Wii Sport, Sport Resort and Wii Fit. It is a great mixture of balancing, stretching and also challenges his concentration. It is hard to get him off now. The good things is though, that we often play as a family and he beats me on some of the balancing games now! It has also been great for building his confidence.

Hope this helps,

Garden

[rory]

hi

in case the issue hasnt been resolved

how good is your sons finger movement on his affected hand? most of the games on the wii (at least for th older ages bracket and talking to my friend a large porportion of the others) require the use of a nunchuck (the bit that plugs into the remote) and the manipulation ofa joystick on said nunchuck- which i found impossible very annoyed as i loved the idea behind it. however i do own a XBOX 360 and somehow (dnt ask how im not sure anbd can only show people if i am playing) am able to manipulate the whole thing with mynon affected hand to a considerable level im not the best and most of my mates can do it better however that just akes victory sweeter right


good luck

R

[helenmallett]

rory, on Jan 14 2010, 05:22 PM, said:

hi

in case the issue hasnt been resolved

how good is your sons finger movement on his affected hand? most of the games on the wii (at least for th older ages bracket and talking to my friend a large porportion of the others) require the use of a nunchuck (the bit that plugs into the remote) and the manipulation ofa joystick on said nunchuck- which i found impossible very annoyed as i loved the idea behind it. however i do own a XBOX 360 and somehow (dnt ask how im not sure anbd can only show people if i am playing) am able to manipulate the whole thing with mynon affected hand to a considerable level im not the best and most of my mates can do it better however that just akes victory sweeter right


good luck

R

My son Jack (L/S hemi) is 8 and strugles with the nunchuck and just holds it in his unaffected hand with the oother controller. Like yourself, he has found a way to use his non affected hand to manipulate the whole controller - so much for the extra OT!!!!

[rory]

hi
hurrah lets here it for boys and our love of games console
R