Guidelines To Buy Toys For Children With Special Needs

Parents give a lot of importance to the toys they select for their children. With so much variety in toys, parents ensure to buy toys that are both fun and educational. The whole process of selecting toys becomes more difficult in case of children with special needs.

Considering this variety, parents struggle to figure out if the toys match up to their child’s abilities. Here, I have stated few guidelines that you can use to select toys for your children. Take a look.

• Ask how can your child learn and develop skills with the help of a toy. As a parent, you need to combine your child’s interests and abilities to select a toy for him/her. Do not follow a generic approach. Instead of blindly looking for educational and creative toys, try to incorporate your child’s interests. Observe your child and see what interests him/her. Do not helplessly surrender to your child’s whim.
• Understand your child’s development rate. Understand what mindset he/she presently has. Search toys corresponding to that. It is advisable that you always read the toy label for the age recommendations mentioned on it.
• Always choose open-ended and well-constructed toys that are safe to play. Choose toys that encourage your child to use his/her imagination. As a parent, you need to ensure that the toys you bring are flexible and keep your child active. Toys should offer a multi-sensory experience to your child. Few examples of such toys are balls and building blocks.
• Many websites focus on kids with special needs. They provide comprehensive information on this matter and help you select the best toys for your child. Here, they talk about children’s different skills like cognitive, sensory, physical and communicative abilities. You can get summarised information about each toy benefit and few innovative play ideas.
• It is advisable that you form a list of toys based on your child’s strengths and weaknesses. You need to emphasize upon two important factors – the fun element of the toy and the therapeutic value of the toy. For instance, if your child needs to improve his/her concentration and visualization power, choose a toy that is more or less like a web or a jumble.
• Several play centres mainly focus on children with special needs. Take help of these. Visit these centres and have a talk with the staff and administrators present there. They will help you understand the intellectual level of your child and ways to improve his/her skills through play.
• Many toy-manufacturing companies like Melissa & Doug have toys specifically designed for children with special needs. You can check out their websites and read the information stated there. These websites offer recommendation on toys for children who have some physical and developmental disabilities.

Additional guidelines for autistic children

Autistic children do not have the same play interest like other children. When you plan to buy toys for your autistic child, make sure to consider few factors. Take a look.
• Observe your child when he/she is playing. It is important to note that many autistic children have a habit of playing with certain toy parts. They do not play with the whole toy. Here, you can study as to which are the parts that appeal to them like – soft texture or bright colour.
• It is advisable that you select toys that improve social skills and sensory stimulation. These types of toys can be everyday toys meant for all children or special toys designed for autistic children.
• At times, you can let your child get messy by playing with unconventional toys, for example, moulding clay, paints, colours, sand etc. Even uncooked rice and lentils are great things for your child to play with.

MICHAEL is a renowned writer who has written several articles on a wide variety of topics. In this article, he talks about the importance of Melissa & Doug and Guidelines to buy toys for children with special needs.

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