The holidays are upon us! Getting something fun and safe for a loved one on the Autism Spectrum can be challenging, but thanks to Kelly Cuthbert, a pediatric occupational therapist who works with children on the autism spectrum, we have some wonderful recommendations for those that might not know where to start. Check out this great list she put together!
All the links below will also connect you to Amazon Smile. If you've selected Brandon's Voice as your charity of choice, not only are you getting a loved on a cool gift, you're also supporting us!
Crazy Aaron’s Thinking Putty: With many different colors and visual effects, you’re sure to find one that is enjoyed and visually stimulating for each kiddo (and adult!) on your list. Additionally, this putty has a great resistive texture that helps to add that heavy work component. You can stretch it, bounce it, snip it with scissors, hide beads inside to dig out, the options are endless!
Get it here!
Parachute Toys: While this may seem like a simple toy, it could help to provide your child with the visual input they are craving! Watching things fall is very visually stimulating, and can be used as a calm-down method or a preparatory activity before attending to a task. Plus, your child will get some additional gross motor input by walking up and down the stairs!
Get it here!
Marble Run Set: This toy not only works on problem solving, visual motor and fine motor skills, it is also a great way to provide some additional visual and auditory sensory input. With an infinite number of ways to build creative structures, this will be a toy that is hard to get bored of!
Get it here!
Crayola Globbles: Another simple, yet stimulating gift idea! Great for any kiddos that enjoy squishing, smashing and throwing. These colored balls have a great squishable texture and the ability to stick on walls and surfaces (without leaving a sticky residue). They can be used with targets or you can simply throw them and watch them slowly fall off the wall.
Get it here!
Banzai Bump N’ Bounce Body Bumpers: If your child is always on the go-go-go and enjoys activities that involve running, climbing, jumping, crashing etc., then this is the gift for them! With gross motor sensory seekers, we encourage parents to find a way to incorporate safe roughhousing, as that is what their body needs!
Get it here!
Silly Poopy Hide and Seek: A new toy on the market that is sure to bring smiles to faces. Playing together, you take turns hiding the rainbow poop emoji, and it calls out funny little clues to help find where it is hidden. This toy can help children to focus on the sound and be able to locate where in the room it is coming from. The ability to isolate a sound can help in many everyday contexts!
Get it here!
(it's sold out on Amazon, so we're linking to their site!)
Fat Brain Toys Hey Clay Kit: This kit comes with a downloadable app that provides step by step visual directions on how to create each character out of the clay provided. Creating the characters helps to refine those visual-motor and fine motor skills important for other activities such as handwriting or dressing, and the visual guide is great for visual learners. It comes in a variety of categories such as animals, monsters, dinosaurs and more.
Get it here!
Coogam Wooden Blocks Puzzle: For some kiddos, completing puzzles and finding patterns can be a way to regulate. This puzzle contains bright visually stimulating colors, and an endless amount of shapes and pictures you can make. Not to mention the various educational benefits such as maintaining attention, fine motor skills, visual motor skills, color and shape recognition, and problem-solving.
Get it here!
Fat Brain Toy's Door Pong game: Another new toy on the market, this toy works on large body coordination, visual motor skills and timing in a fun way! You secure this toy to a doorway and the ball is tethered to a string. This setup takes away the ever so frustrating chase after a rouge ping-pong ball and provides a less frustrating way for children to work on this skill.
Get it here!
Lite-Brite: An upgraded version of the toy we all loved and grew up with! Other than being totally cool and fun, this toy has a wide array of benefits including visual stimulation, isolating the pincer grasp, direction following, increasing attention to task, and sparking creativity!
Get it here!
National Geographic Geodes Kit: If you have a kiddo that likes to crash, bang and throw items, then this toy is for them! You use a hammer to open the rocks and explore all of the sparkly nooks and crannies within. It’s a great way to incorporate that input they are craving in a functional and appropriate way.
Get it here!
Melissa & Doug's Scissor Skills Activity Pad: As a pediatric OT, I find that very often children are not being exposed to using scissors. While we know the thought of your child with scissors may be scary, scissor skills are a vital part of development and increase the skills necessary for participation in many other activities. This activity pad includes lots of motivating images to help increase your child’s interest and grow their skills.
Get it here!
Stomp Rocket Launcher: Your kids will have a BLAST playing with this toy. Jump or stomp on the launch pad and watch the rocket soar into the sky. Great for coordinating gross motor movements, visual tracking, and learning cause and effect.
Get it here!
CUTE STONE Color Changing Kitchen Sink Toy: Water play is a quick and easy sensory play activity that lots of kids enjoy. This toy sink has the ability to circulate water and is the perfect example of functional sensory-rich play. While working on bilateral coordination, your child can wash the dishes and move water from one container to another watching the plates change color in the water.
Get it here!
Flybar's My First Foam Pogo Jumper: If your kiddo is often seen jumping on beds and couches, then this is the toy for you! Working on balance, hand eye coordination and gross motor skills, this foam pogo stick can be used indoors or outdoors and is adjustable to grow with them. It also provides a bonus of auditory stimulation with a “squeak” on every bounce.
Get it here!
Once again, thank you to Kelly Cuthbert for sharing this wonderful list that she put together!
