Special needs or hard to buy for child?

cymrubaby

Hi all, my son is 4 with lots of special needs. He has a few sensory issues which means he needs extra stimulation from toys such as vibrations, lights, noises etc.

He basically has the abilities of a 10-12 month old and so most of his toys tend to be in that age group. As you can imagine there's only so many toys you can buy from that age group when you are repeatedly buying that age group every single year. he's either had the toys already or he still currently has them. Add that to the fact that I also have a 17 month old you can see my predicament when it comes to buying birthday and Xmas gifts that they haven't already seen.

Well, whilst browsing through Asda today I noticed that they have several small toys by FirstAct Discovery. They are things like a wooden train whistle, egg-shaped shakers and jingle taps. All of these toys seem to be good quality, wooden toys and I know my son will absolutely LOVE them to bits. They're on offer any 3 for £5 (or £2 each) and will make excellent gifts or stocking fillers for a special needs child or even a young child you are finding difficult to buy for.

I know it's not a huge saving but it all helps and I just hope this post helps someone who might be stuck for something to buy.

P.S Not sure how long offer lasts for but I saw no date so presuming it's a long-standing seasonal offer?

moyilla

Thank you for your post :T

I have to agree with you, there are only so many things you can buy before buying the same thing over and over again or have to start paying £100's :eek:

Can I ask,do the toys look like they will cope with biting? I have to be so careful as my daughter eats/chews everything :rolleyes:

cymrubaby

moyilla wrote: »

Thank you for your post :T

I have to agree with you, there are only so many things you can buy before buying the same thing over and over again or have to start paying £100's :eek:

Can I ask,do the toys look like they will cope with biting? I have to be so careful as my daughter eats/chews everything :rolleyes:

Ah yes, I know what you mean. My son mouths absolutely everything too - especially if it vibrates (my vacuum cleaner and hairdryer are his Gods! :rotfl: ). The whistle and egg shakers look like they can withstand a good chew as they are quite chunky and hard for little mouths to clamp onto but the jingle taps would be quite easy to chew. They look sturdy enough but I wouldn't like to say that they would definitely survive. There are other ones to choose from though so hopefully there'll be something else you could pick instead.

HTH.

moyilla

Thank you

Chips15

I have the same difficulties with getting toys for my 9 year old autistic son. I think I've found one that he'll love called "Moon in My Room" from Argos:

http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Search?storeId=10001&catalogId=1500001151&langId=-1&searchTerms=moon+in+my+room

It gets pretty good reviews:

http://www.fatbraintoys.com/reviews/toy_companies/uncle_milton/moon_in_my_room.cfm

It would be a great idea if other people could post things that they have found that suit children with special needs.

xx_lucy_xx

Hi There i work for & run "glotime" website.

We have loads of light up, sounds, tactile toys for cheap prices, i am not spamming i just get a lot of customers in a similar situation to you

claire21

I don't know a lot about special needs but this jellyfish lampquarium had changing lights so thought I would post. 20% code available also

http://www.whsmith.co.uk/CatalogAndSearch/ProductDetails-Jelly+Fish+LampQuarium-33362694.html#

audiobore

Not sure if you've looked at tangle toys. My autistic daughter loved hers. I think we bought it from amazon for not very much money.

jap200

My son loved a thing called a Mozart magic cube. It is basically a large cube with one big chunky button on each face. Each button plays the tune of a single instrument in a variety of different mozart pieces. By pushing/hitting the buttons the instruments drop in or out of the piece that is playing.



I have had a quick search and can't find it in the UK. It is made by Munchkin and the details are here on their website:
http://www.munchkin.com/products/detail.html?pID=253
It might be worth looking on Ebay if you are interested - I can't recommend it highly enough.

What is particularly nice about this toy is that it makes a very welcome change (to parent and child) to the dreadful 'music' that many kids toys play.

We passed this on to a friend who had a child with visual impairment and she loved it too. However, I would say that it appealed to every child (no matter what age or ability) who picked it up in our house - and adults had fun with it too.

Miss_Kitty_Fantastico

what about the new photo album from tomy £19.99 from amazon

basically you put a photo in each slot say of mummy and then mummy records a message

they are suitable for 6 months onwards but great for lots of ages i think

sorry i dont have a link

hth

cymrubaby

Thanks for the wonderful responses everyone - it's helped me so much. I can't think of how many times I've been stuck for things to buy so all of these ideas are a refreshing change.

Emma x.