Choosing Toys for Special Needs Children

As a special needs parent, everything I do is intentional to maximize development and growth in my special needs children. One thing I do intentionally is choose specific toys for my children to play with. Great toys for special needs children include:

·         Toys that work on motor skills (gross/ fine)

·         Toys that work on cause and effect relationships

·         Toys that are stimulating (tactile, visual, auditory, olfactory, taste)

·         Toys that incorporate taking turns

·         Toys that encourage imaginary play

·         Toys that are motivating to your child

When picking the perfect toy, I first think about what skill I want to work on that day: fine motor, gross motor, cause/ effect, turn taking, imaginary play, or speech. After I decide upon a skill, I select the toy or allow the child to choose from a toy selection. Here are specific toy examples that go with each skill:

Fine Motor

·         Lacing boards
·         Puzzles
·         Beading
·         Tweezers game
·         Arts and crafts (cutting, gluing, coloring)
·         Play dough
·         Kinesthetic sand
·         Marble Maze

Gross Motor

·         Baseball
·         Soccer
·         Basketball
·         Scooter board
·         Trampoline
·         Hop Scotch
·         You and Me exercise dolls
·         Bike
·         Push toys

Cause/ Effect

·         Toys with buttons
·         Toys with lights
·         Blocks
·         Stacking Rings
·         Bowling
·         Shape sorters
·         Pop Up Toys

Turn Taking

·         Balls (take turns kicking and passing)
·         Cars or trains on a track/ ramp
·         Board games
·         Building activities (take turns stacking)

Imaginary Play

·         Kitchen/ picnic set
·         Tool workshop set
·         Dolls
·         Super heroes
·         Army men
·         Puppets
·         Dress up

Motivating/ stimulating Toys

·         Bubbles
·         Whistles
·         Drums
·         Shakers
·         Bells
·         Plasma light
·         Sand wand

Toys can help increase and develop language, as well as, teach cognitive skills. They can be a very helpful tool to use at home. I hope this list helps you as you plan playful times with your child.