Educational Christmas gifts?

[freeindeed]

My dd2 is visually impaired & developmentally delayed--I would say she's currently on the level of a typical 12-18 month old. I'd love to get her some toys, books, games, etc. for Christmas that would help her in development, particularly with her speech and vocabulary. Any ideas? Thanks!

[Ottakee]

My dd2 is visually impaired & developmentally delayed--I would say she's currently on the level of a typical 12-18 month old. I'd love to get her some toys, books, games, etc. for Christmas that would help her in development, particularly with her speech and vocabulary. Any ideas? Thanks!

 

I don't know what they currently offer but http://www.timberdoodle.com was where I bought a lot of stuff for my girls when they were younger. The Lauri puzzles were great.

 

We also had a book called First Thousand Words (or something like that) that had photographs (much better for my kids than drawings) of each word. We literally read the 1st copy to death and had to buy a 2nd one. They just loved that and we could start out with them pointing to what I said or me just saying the word for what they pointed at and then later I could point and they could give me the word.

[Ottakee]

My dd2 is visually impaired & developmentally delayed--I would say she's currently on the level of a typical 12-18 month old. I'd love to get her some toys, books, games, etc. for Christmas that would help her in development, particularly with her speech and vocabulary. Any ideas? Thanks!

 

The wedgits from http://www.timberdoodle.com are also great for her age now as well as when she is a bit older.

[PeterPan]

Is she getting speech therapy? You might ask her SLP what they suggest. I've been buying my ds things that are conducive to interaction similar to what they do in the therapy sessions. He does PROMPT, so it's usually a lot of play where we put stuff on, ask for more, etc. The therapist has a terrific set of stamps he loves. (punch stamps that make little flowers and things) They play with glitter glue a lot. I just got a set of glitter glue at the dollar store in fact. Puzzles that have knobs would work. Our Toys R Us sells them in their puzzle section. Not pegs, because that takes 2 yo dexterity. Not crepe foam like the Lauri puzzles. 1 yo's use knob puzzles or chunkies. You'll see them both in that section.

 

Lift a flap books.

 

I got a whole bag of little board books with a picture on each page. It's such an adorable thing, good for this age, good for later.

 

I have wedgits, but I don't really get them. Now pop beads, those were HUGE at that stage and are still loved around here. They don't hurt if you throw them, and if you get several sets you can make necklaces and things.

 

Does she have a doll that makes sounds or that she can feed with a bottle? She'd probably enjoy that. Anything with music. Well I just missed that she is visually impaired. No wonder you feel challenged! So the music is good. Does she have a play table that has the music and things to fiddle with on all sides? Stacking cups?

 

Don't know if any of that was even useful or applicable, sorry. My ds likes anything with buttons or noise or gadgets. Once you find her nitch, it will be easier to select things she likes. Just takes a while for it to become obvious. Would she like a softcover photoalbum with large face pictures of relatives? That's something I did with my dd.

[gingersmom]

I would ask your child's speech and occupational therapist (assuming you have one). That is what I did when my son was receiving services.

[merry gardens]

Some speech therapist recommend toys like whistles and bubbles to help with tongue and lip development.

 

I got a bathtub whistle by Ambi for one of my children for Christmas. It's shaped like a bird and I think it makes a tweeting sound when filled with water and blown.

 

There are some fancy bubbles sets with retractible wands available, but the regular cheap bubbles make nice stocking stuffers too. Here's an article by a speech therapist on how she uses bubbles for speech therapy. http://mommyspeechtherapy.com/?p=38

 

I just discovered while composing this post that Mommy Speech Therapy has a link to another speech therapist's list of the PAL awards (play on words) with recommendations for best toys to promote speech. Here's that link http://playonwords.com/articles/playonwords-2010-pal-award-winners-best-language-toys-games-and-books/ Here's a page with her suggestions for toys she recommends for children age 0-3 http://playonwords.com/blog/category/birth-3-year-olds/ There's tons of information there.

[ElizabethB]

Talking Letter Factory DVD.

[PeterPan]

We have the Letter Factory dvd. I like it, but I really don't get the reviews I had seen from people saying it boosted their dc's speech. It's still very passive and isn't going to change if the dc physically can't imitate the sounds. So it has made no difference with my ds, except that he enjoys it and will sit there. I think it would help if a dc has an auditory problem and just needs to hear the sounds. I do like that it creates a familiarity with sounds which I can use as a springboard, but it's not really more than that, not for us. ApraxiaKids sells singing cd's that are slowed down for kids with apraxia, etc. I don't know for all types, but I'm realizing that stuff at normal speed probably isn't going to have the same effect for kids with speech issues.

 

Now to check out that PAL listing. That sounds terrific! Our VT did a list of toys for visual processing, wish I could have attended. It's not hard to find stuff, once you know what you're looking for. Unfortunately, all the things that would have been beneficial to dd when she was little she tended to buck (puzzles, anything involving scanning, etc.). If you're working a weak point on them, it's going to feel like work. :(