Holiday Gift Ideas for Children on the Autism Spectrum
It’s the time of the year for holiday shopping, wrapping presents and preparing for Christmas! The relatives are asking for ideas for presents for your children, and you're wondering what to say to them, or maybe you need some ideas yourself! Well, here is a quick list of some gift ideas for your children.
Toddler
Dimpl - This toy features five silicone dimples that are satisfying to push in and out. This is a good toy to give to someone who often enjoys playing with buttons and bubble wrap.
Stack and Count Parking Garage - The stack and count parking garage is a fun toy that features numbered wood peg cars painted in bright kid-friendly colors. Children will have fun as they stack the cars in the garage. Great for teaching counting and number recognition.
Monster Bowling Game - This is a plush bowling game with silly monster faces that kids love. This is great for active play, hand-eye coordination, imaginative play, sensory play, and more!
Spin Again Toy - A stacking toy that mixes colors and tactile textured surfaces. Each disk when placed on the rod twirls as it descends down the rod.
Aquapod - A vinyl pod that fills up with water that offers hours of fun! It comes with fish in it. This is a great way to offer kids a unique sensory experience.
Teddy Bear Wear - A cute teddy bear that offers the opportunity to learn to button, zipper, snap, fastening and tying. This is a great way to encourage those fine motor skills, self help skills, color recognition and more.
Spike the Fine Motor Hedgehog - This adorable game is the perfect way to work on those fine motor developmental skills. This game is designed to work on hand-eye coordination, dexterity, problem solving, and so much more. Kids will love this adorable hedgehog.
Oombee Cube - This is a shape matching cube with a unique design with pieces that won't go missing. Kids love to match the shapes to their corresponding holes. This helps develop hand-eye coordination, spatial reasoning, and motor skills.
Peek 'n Peep Eggs - Everyone will love this adorable toy. Each egg that comes with this toy has facial features on the chick. On the bottom of each egg features a shape that young learners can match to the bottom of the egg carton. Pushing down on the chicks will make them chirp. This is a great toy to teach cause and effect, matching, shapes, counting, fine motor skills and more.
Seek-A-Boo - a language building matching game.
Wiggly Giggly Ball - A fun ball that moves and giggles when your child shakes or moves it around.
Preschool
Sound Puzzles - Sound puzzles are so much fun for kids! Placing the corresponding piece into its matching space will create sound effects for kids to enjoy. These are great first puzzles for kiddos.
Teachable Touchables - This toy set comes with twenty tactile squares that makes ten sets. These have been used by Speech and Language Pathologists to create a way to work on expressive and receptive language skills. These are great for kiddos who like sensory objects.
Hot Dots Phonic Fun - This introduction to phonics is great for young kiddos. These help build vocabulary and teach skills for school.
Magnetic Fishing Puzzle - This is an adorable fishing game that will help kiddos train their hand-eye coordination, visual perception, fine motor skills and more. Kiddos will love going fishing with this toy.
Honeybee Tree Game - This multi person game will keep your kids busy. This game helps kids work on fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and more. Kids pull out the branches and if bees fall they hold on to them. At the end of the game, whoever has the least amount of bees is the winner. This is a great game to teach kids how to play games with others, and how to wait their turn.
Pattern Blocks - This is a great introduction to matching shapes to pictures. Kiddos will love these adorable photos and matching or building the pictures with the wooden blocks.
Friends and Neighbors: The Helping Game - This game helps to teach kiddos about emotions and empathy. This game is such a fun game for kids to play. This teaches kids to play together.
Feed The Woozle Game - A cute game that helps build gross motor skills, dexterity and more. This game introduces cooperative play with kids. This means that everyone is on the same “side” and not competing against each other. This is such a cute and fun game!
Wooden Blocks - Wooden blocks are a great way to teach open play with kids. There is so much you can do with them, endless possibilities!