What gift ideas do you have for your special needs child?

[rafiki]

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[wonderchica]

Keepon. Originally used for therapy for autistic kids, now available at Toys R Us. He interacts with kids and draws their attention back to himself while being very simple. Plus, he dances and is ridiculously cute.

 

[SweetMissMagnolia]

that is cute~!

[JessicaLady]

My son has always been a builder. I cannot understand what he says he's made half the time but he enjoys it. So, we have a LOT of blocks, legos, kinnex, zoobs, etc.

 

He also likes to dress dolls and barbies. We also have a set of magnetic paper dolls AND wooden puzzle pieces where you can dress the bear. It helps to orient him to what kind of clothes you'll wear in what weather.

 

Big fails: anything for imaginary play--dress up clothes, play kitchen, even games haven't worked, little people, etc.

[wy_kid_wrangler04]

Ds will be getting alot of legos and play doh!! :thumbup1: He LOVES doing dot to dots so we are going to get those because he REALLY struggles with number order & ABC order. He can say his ABC's but not put cards in ABC order. I am going to get a bunch of books of varying difficulty. I might do some paint by numbers also to kinda help with those skills.

[peacefully]

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[tlcspcarcetc]

Anything scientific. My mom got her triops one time and she loved those things. We had a funeral ceremony for Sam the Triop when he died...she cried for days. She loved that little guy. She also got a pair of rats for a birthday last year and they have been her most favorite present by far.

 

She loves crafty type stuff, too, though she's not super great at it. Books (because she is a reader). Anything to do with animals. This year, I'd like to get her a trampoline...I think they would LOVE that...all of the kids would.

 

Could someone explain the twizzler to me? It just looks like a plastic bar on a rope. Is it springy or what?

[Critterfixer]

My SN son will be getting a wind power turbine kit to build. Fans are his passion. (Used to be helicopters).

My other son asked for dynamite, to blow stuff up with! He is getting a volcano kit.

[houseofkids&pets]

My ds11 told his church group that Santa is bringing him a $2000 train layout. (This is a child who could not add up coins to make one dollar, but seems to have learned that thousands of dollars means A LOT of trains). I feel bad since I know already he will be disappointed. He tends to pick out collectible models of vehicles and trains on ebay that are too expensive (especially since he will put it through a train wreck or tornado, etc. and it won't last long).

 

That said, trains are a huge hit, as well as working garbage trucks. Although he is not really into pretend play, he will put small dumpsters around the house and drive his Waste Management truck around to pick up the garbage. I am looking at subscriptions to a train magazine for kids so he can receive some mail.

 

Legos, play dough, wikki stix or bendaroos, creating objects with Model Magic that he can paint when it dries, and kits to make a volcano. He likes wii Music and will play it with siblings. We just got a toy book in the mail and I am interested in "Domino Express Racing" from Goliath, I think. The one thing that he really dislikes is structured board games.

 

My ds with autism is in public schools since I don't feel I could meet all of his needs and I am currently homeschooling his younger brother who was diagnosed in June with dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia. The difficult thing with many of our kids is finding toys that they enjoy, but that are somewhat age appropriate. The sixth graders in my son's inclusion class really are not interested in listening to his stories about Blue's Clues or the Teletubbies. So, I do try to mix in some items that "neurotypicals" enjoy. Sometimes it works, other times..not so much.

[chiguirre]

GW usually makes his own toys. His preferred materials are plastic bottles to cut up and pipe cleaners. I'll get him a bunch of clay and pipe cleaners for Christmas and he can make whatever he wants. He's also a huge Wiggles fan (I think because they are grown men singing and dancing around and he can model them) so he'll get a couple of dvds.

 

Geezle loves vehicles. His current favorite are Cars cars, but he's liked transformers too. He loves B movies, too.

 

Every large, expensive, must-have toy has flopped here and I've given up on them.

Edited October 18, 2011 by chiguirre

[PeterPan]

Ds will be getting alot of legos and play doh!! :thumbup1: He LOVES doing dot to dots so we are going to get those because he REALLY struggles with number order & ABC order. He can say his ABC's but not put cards in ABC order. I am going to get a bunch of books of varying difficulty. I might do some paint by numbers also to kinda help with those skills.

 

Have you tried any dot to dot apps? I have a couple free ones I got for my android phone, and ds enjoys them IMMENSELY. They're really marvelous, because they light up the next dot to hint, have selections for easy to hard, have a pleasant voice say the letter/number after you touch it, are beautifully colored, and then pop up a word they read aloud with the final picture. You can also set the app to let them draw the lines rather than the app completing the lines. So it wouldn't necessarily build tracking or fine motor, but it still has a lot of value, kwim?

 

Dd is keen on fruit ninja, which again is processing speed. But we were talking dot to dots. :)

[elise1mds]

Snap circuits/electric kits, any science-related kits (rocks, chemistry, make-your-own whatever, etc.), and lately puzzles have all been hits. He also loves his weighted blanket. He *had* been saving his money for an iPod Touch, but when he reached his goal and then discovered that the Touch doesn't make calls or send texts, he changed his mind and now plans to purchase a swing seat (like the HugglePod on HearthSong) for his bedroom and save the rest for a 'rainy day.'

[wy_kid_wrangler04]

Have you tried any dot to dot apps? I have a couple free ones I got for my android phone, and ds enjoys them IMMENSELY. They're really marvelous, because they light up the next dot to hint, have selections for easy to hard, have a pleasant voice say the letter/number after you touch it, are beautifully colored, and then pop up a word they read aloud with the final picture. You can also set the app to let them draw the lines rather than the app completing the lines. So it wouldn't necessarily build tracking or fine motor, but it still has a lot of value, kwim?

 

Dd is keen on fruit ninja, which again is processing speed. But we were talking dot to dots. :)

 

 

 

I didn't even think about that! Thank you :D

 

 

What is fruit ninja?? :confused:

[Nature]

Puzzibits, fractiles and Magnetix have been some of my ds favorites.

[Joyofsixreboot]

Ds wants a new iPod. His is a hand me down is dying BUT the new one must be exactly the same. Not sure I can find one.

Edited October 21, 2011 by joyofsix

[SweetMissMagnolia]

zach's into video games and ROBOTS at the moment-so I've found a few robot kits and other puzzle/educational games---he saw alot of education games/equipment at geoffreys and I'm going to get those for him....found alot from RAINBOW RESOURCES too......

[jenbrdsly]

If anyone has any gift ideas for a 13 year old boy with severe Autism, please let me know! My SIL is very generous with us and sends expensive gifts to my children every year.

We always have a lot of trouble thinking of gift ideas for my nephew who has Autism. Over the years we've bought a lot of presents from the Beyond Play catalogue. When he was little I bought the echo microphones and speaking tubes. We also tried boomwackers. The biggest hit has been rainbow ribbon wand sticks.

Now my nephew is 13 and it's getting even harder to think of things because he doesn't speak and hasn't really made any developmental leaps since he was two or three, (nor has he had any real therapy, which is a whole separate story). I know my nephew enjoys music and can follow conversation, so was thinking I might send him the Beethoven Lives Upstairs and Mr. Bach Comes to call CDs. But then I mentioned this to my MIL and she launched into a twenty minute monologue about Beethoven and syphilis and mercury poisoning... Ugh! So maybe I'll just stick with the Bach CD?

It's so hard to think of things, but I would like to send something nice. The clay would have been a good idea but my SIL will not allow anything messy.

[AmyinMD]

This is on my list for my 3.5 year old with Autism. He's a big sensory seeker and loves this swing at therapy. It's only $42 and rated to 200 pounds.

 

http://www.southpawenterprises.com/Therapy-Net-Accessories-P150.aspx

 

 

I'm mostly looking at therapy catalogs for ds. He doesn't really play with toys aside from puzzles. We keep them on a cart in the garage or ds puts all the pieces in the clothes chute so I'm not really looking to add anymore.

 

I think we're going to invest in a 4' by 8' mat for Christmas as well. Ds loves to crash so that would give him some padding.

[Hwin]

I'm thinking of getting him Wedgits. He has the same interests as most neurotypical kids, but definitely needs toys to build/fiddle with.

[littleWMN]

I'm looking at this digger for my dd, who will be newly 6 at Christmas. She doesn't love to play outside but there's something similar at a nearby playground that she loves and spent a lot of time on.

 

http://www.magiccabin.com/product.asp?section_id=2001&department=1404&search_type=category&search_value=5401&cm_val=&cm_pos=&cur_index=&cm_type=&pcode=1520

 

Other that that, we are thinking of a grocery cart, a bike (she's finally ready for one with training wheels), and some puzzles. She probably won't get all of this but her birthday is in December too so this is what all we are looking at.

[Jennifer-72]

I am not having much luck coming up with anything for this year.

 

Some past hits have been:

 

Sandwich Stacking game - Ds enjoys playing all the games they have listed in the booklet. It has also been a fun way to target auditory memory and direction following skills. Lately, I have been using it as part of our movement break by incorporating various animal walks.

 

Blast Pad

 

Make n Break Board Game

 

Marble Works

 

Playmobil

 

Swingball

 

Some ideas I have for this year are: an inflatable punching bag, Qbitz, one of the Lego games (all of ds's playmates are very into lego so I am hoping to spark some interest in Lego.), simon flash cubes.

[DandelionMom]

Aspie mom of 2 Aspie/Savant kids,

 

Best past gifts:

Kitchen tongs (they are turned into all kinds of creatures)

Paper clamps

Whisks

Cardboard boxes

Bag of craft supplies

Sticks and rocks

Camera tripod (but not for a camera)

Yarn

 

 

Ideas for this year:

Metal strainers (to make a robot)

Cheese graters (but not for cheese)

Sticks and rocks

Still looking for ideas.....

[rafiki]

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[Walking-Iris]

Art supplies are always a hit. I'm surprised at all the building toys posters are talking about. I love building toys but my son just does not. He has a hard time manipulating legos or even planning out how to build an object. He struggles with fine motor skills. So playing with tinkertoys or lincoln logs are more like a torture therapy session than play.

 

He craves large movement so I'd like to get him a swing for his room and a bike---his pedaling skills are finally maturing. Outdoor sports games are fun too---badminton or a tether-ball kit.

[prairiewindmomma]

IKEA has a great inexpensive indoor swing, fwiw.

 

Have you ever seen a sky chair? We put our children in them while at the local Renaissance faire this fall and we could hardly convince them to leave...

http://skychairs.com/