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Table of Contents
Learning About Specialneedsgifts.Com 10 Free Ipad Apps That Teach Cause & Effect Skill Builder Categories Defined Top 10 Toys For Infants To 4 Years Old Keeping Calm During The Holidays Top 10 Toys For 5 Through 9 Years Old Tips For Busy And Crowded Holidays Top 10 Toys For 10 Through 15 Years Old Choosing A Skill Building Toy For Your Special Needs Child 2 3 4 7 9 11 13 15 17
Articles in this Skill Building Holiday Gift Guide are the opinions of the authors and may or may not reflect the views of the website or its owners. SpecialNeedsGifts.com always welcomes opinions of an opposite nature. For more information, please visit us online at SpecialNeedsGifts.com 2013 SpecialNeedsGifts.com and Individual Authors.
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can learn the basic concepts of shapes, colors, and numbers while developing sensitivity and creativity. FingerPiano Lite It allows you to play the piano with your forefinger. Christmas Piano Play or sing along to Christmas carols on a real piano right on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch! Giraffes Matching Zoo This is a vibrant and exciting mind development game designed for children, but fun for all ages. Every adorable animal makes a unique and entertaining sound. Tiltoria Tiltoria is an animated light show, music visualizer and psychedelic paint box all in one to sooth and excite at the same time. Make Shrek Roar Use Butterpants to help you annoy Shrek. Punch the button, and the little boy will badger the big ogre and cause him to bellow out his enormous ogre roar. AlphaBaby Free Touch the screen to show and hear letters and shapes. Flick them to send them flying across the screen. Press them and the letters shrink and grow. Record your own voice for the letters and shapes. Add your own images from the camera or photo library, and record captions to match.
child to use their arms and legs like balance games, racing games, or outdoor sports equipment are perfect for promoting gross motor skills. Language and Speech Infants begin to develop language and speech skills well before they utter their first word. However, these skills can only be measured as the child begins to use language. In order to use language effectively, children must develop receptive and expressive language abilities. Receptive abilities refer to the child's ability to understand the messages that are being communicated to them. For a young toddler, this may mean understanding simple phrases like "all gone", and for an older toddler, this may mean developing the ability to understand simple requests. Expressive abilities refer to the child's ability to use language to express themselves. This ability first presents itself in gestures. In fact, many parents find sign language to be a helpful tool in promoting
language and speech development in children who have difficulty with expressive language. Eventually, expressive language skills become the ability to speak in sentences and tell complete stories. Toys that boost a child's vocabulary or encourage them to work through a story can help to promote these skills, especially for children who have a developmental speech delay. Social Skills and Self Esteem Humans are naturally social creatures, and the development of social skills happens naturally as children spend time with other people and get to know their environment. Until the age of three or four, most children prefer to play on their own in parallel play, but as they get older and develop the necessary social skills, they become ready to play with others in cooperative play. Toys that promote cooperation, communication, and interaction are ideal for promoting social skills in children. As children play these games, they learn how to handle conflict, how to read other's emotions, and how to interact with others. Through positive social
interactions, their self-esteem also has the opportunity to thrive. Self-esteem is the way that children think and feel about themselves. Unfortunately, many children who have special needs, in particular, can suffer from low self-esteem, especially if they are teased or harassed by their peers. Toys that allow a child to follow their own interests can boost self-esteem. As a child becomes proficient at something they care about, it can make them feel accomplished and increased self-esteem will ensue. Once a child has an adequate amount of self-esteem, they will have better tools for dealing with their peers and approaching any challenges that come their way. Visual and Spatial Perception Visual and spatial perception refers to a child's ability to see the world around them and make sense of it. Spatial perception refers, in particular, to the ability to gage the relationship and distance between two or more objects. As visual skills develop, they help the child with reading, math, and handwriting. Children who have difficulty with visual perception may have trouble identifying objects or figuring out
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which direction those objects face. Spatial skills help children to identify distances. Children who have not fully developed their spatial skills may struggle to accurately see heights and distances, and this can make them appear clumsy. Toys that promote visual and spatial perception include shape puzzles, nesting toys, and books with mazes or dot to dots. Activities that encourage a child to repeat a pattern can also be useful for fostering these skills. Cognitive Skills Cognitive skills are all skills that are related to thinking, understanding, learning, and remembering. In a very young baby, cognitive skills first express themselves in subtle ways like the baby's ability to track a moving object or focus on a human face. As a child increases their cognitive abilities, they will be able to play with words, seek information, and share descriptions with others. Cognitive skills can be advanced with toys that encourage sorting, sequencing, counting, and memorizing.
person to figure out what is going on in their own body and in the world around them. Children who have difficulty with sensory processing may feel overwhelmed by their environment and may need toys that help to calm and relax them. Toys that promote sensory processing or sensory integration encourage a child to process information from their senses and respond to that information.
Oral Motor Oral motor skills are expressed in an infant's very first skill which is sucking. This is one of the four reflexes with which most infants are born. As a child develops the rest of their oral motor skills, they will learn to speak clearly and perform tasks like eating or chewing gum. Children who need help with the development of their oral motor skills may need to get oral sensory stimulation using toys that allow them to chew, bite or blow. Blowing bubbles is a perfect example of this.
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Sensory Processing Through a complex series of brain actions, sensory processing allows a
First Years Stack N Count Cups Counting and stacking work the motor skills and cognitive skills while allowing creativity in building fun. Balancing the cups can be
socialization skills when enjoyed in group play. Sometimes children simply enjoy the soothing nature of holding the textured balls while sitting and drawing or listening to a story. Oball Rainstick Rattle Encouraging interactive play, this fun rainstick rattles with multicolored beads makes soothing raindrop sounds. 30 finger holes make this ball easy for baby to grasp roll on the floor or pass to a friend or parent. Children are enamored by the cause and effect of the balls movement and sounds. VTech - Rhyme and Discover Book Age-appropriate vocabulary and nursery rhymes introduce familiar animal names and sounds. Sing-along songs encourage verbal skills and familiar melodies and sing-along songs promote parent-child social interaction. The twinkling lights and bright colorful graphics attract a baby's attention. Gross and fine motor skills are developed through the turning of pages and sliding of buttons. Nursery rhymes and songs develop patterning and repetition as well as rhythm and memory.
English with new words and greetings. Fosters thinking skills and encourage problem-solving with numerous action/reaction activities or make this a social experience through sharing and team development. KidCo Go-Pod Baby Activity Seat The KidCo Go Pod Portable Activity Seat for Baby is smart and fun way to keep your baby active at home or on the go. Five nylon loop toys and drink and snack holders keep your child happy and stimulated. Build fine and gross motor skills as your child practices standing as well as playing. Edushape 4" Sensory Balls Baby can squeeze, roll, throw, kick and see through these textured play balls. The sensory ball improves handeye coordination used to improve
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Create a "quiet zone." Special needs children may feel their stress levels rising as the level of noise and activity around them increases or continues for an extended period of time. You can defuse this situation by reserving a particular room or area of the house as a designated "quiet zone," a place your child can go to get some much needed peace. The Autism Society recommends that you work out a visual cue or other system that your child can give you when it's time to escape the holiday hubbub.
Decorate differently. Unusual or unexpected decorations can be a source of stress and confusion for special needs children who do not like their regular environment disrupted by sudden change. According to the Autism Society, you can make this aspect of holiday cheer more cheerful by making your child part of the whole shopping and decorating process, and by putting the decorations up gradually. This participation helps put them back in
control of their surroundings and prepares them for the final result. Make sure your child knows how to handle (or not handle) these decorations once they are set up.
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Watch your own stress levels. Your child may not be the only one who needs a quiet zone or an easy decoration schedule! Holiday stress can infect any of us, and Friendship Circle warns that this stress radiates outward toward our loved ones whether we're aware of it or not. Reduce your child's stress by reducing your own. Enlist friends and family members to pitch in with the holiday preparations, plan with care, and allow plenty of downtime to catch your breath. Keep in mind that you cannot prevent every little thing that might occur, and don't blame yourself (or other adults) for any bumps in the road you might experience. Focus on the joy of celebrating this time of year with our loved ones, and you're bound to have a happier holiday.
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WEDGiTS Deluxe Set The open ended design of WEDGITS stimulates children's perception and reasoning skills as they experience different ways to stack, nest and align these rhombus and octahedron shaped toys. The Sneaky Snacky Squirrel Game Develops matching, sorting, strategic thinking, hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills and prehandwriting skills. This game is played with others working on social skills, sharing and taking turns as well.
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Mighty Mind Kids learn about visual and spatial relationships. The colorful tiles provide open-ended play for children to explore creativity, problem solving, patterning and duplication abilities at many skill levels. Battat RainMaker The auditory and visual effects of falling beads can sooth and comfort both children and adults when their surroundings become too much for their sensitive personalities.
Melissa & Doug Sandwich Stacking or unstructured play as you would like. There are also other photo cards Games packages on emotions and nouns Inspiring children to burn calories which can added to expand the childs while improving their memory and vocabulary even more. matching skills will put fun on the menu every time. Let children be Perplexus Epic Maze creative and expand the play to real life play with making sandwiches or The Perplexus Mazes tasting some of these foods for the first develop hand-eye time. Lessons on nutrition and coordination and balanced eating can also be a part of puzzle solving skills this game. for children of many age groups and abilities. Remember, a gentle tap, a quick jerk, or a slight movement may be just what you need to stay on track. These small movements fine tune motor skills while providing a goal for success. Token Board It is perfect for giving children focus and teaching cause and effect lessons. Organization and structure are often very helpful and sometimes crucial for children. Children can be rewarded Language Builder Photo Cards for completed Picture Nouns tasks and learn The Language Builder Picture Noun responsibility and Card set is a tremendous tool for goal setting. teaching key language concepts to preschool age children; children and Melissa & Doug See & Spell adults with autism, developmental delay or speech/language delay; or to Enable children to discover reading anyone first learning or re-learning and spelling with the help of sturdy basic language. wood puzzle pieces and pictures. The cards can be Develop fine motor skills and introduced in cognitive skills as the puzzles are put groups such as together and then clothing items, expand the play vehicles and colors with use of the and you can even track the dates when letters to spell and these concepts or cards were read new words introduced. This can be as structured and items they see.
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going first to see if they offer any accommodations for sensory sensitivities. You might find they already have tools in place, particularly if the event is for children. #3. Give Your Family Time To Move. There are plenty of holiday performances and other events that ask kids to sit still for long periods, and that might not work for your kid and your family. If exercise helps, do that before heading out to the event, but also be sure to incorporate opportunities for your kid to move around if they need it. #4. Let Your Kid Pick Their Clothes. Of course we all want the lovely holiday photo of our kid all dressed
up and sparkly for the family photo albums but if your child has sensory issues wearing fancy and uncomfortable clothes can be impossible. Its simply not worth the fight to get a sensitive kid to both wear the nice clothes and take the nice photo. Choose the one that will make it easier for everyone. #5. Plan Ahead When It Comes To Food. Kids with sensory issues often have strong food preferences, and while it would be lovely for every event to accommodate your childs tastes, its pretty unlikely. If youre eating
out, it never hurts to call ahead and see if the menu has things your kid likes, or if the kitchen doesnt mind making something. If you cant be sure, bring food with you just in case. The biggest key to surviving the holidays is two-fold: keeping your kid apprised about what will happen and when, and making sure you relax yourself. And if it seems too stressful or like it might not be the best day for that particular outing? Give yourselves a break and stay home. Some of the best holiday memories come from the quiet moments, after all.
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cognitive skills, and interpersonal skills. Fine motor skills are rewarded as each person takes their turn. Gymnic / Hop-66 26" Hop Ball Promote body coordination, balance and lymph circulation while getting a fun workout. This ball can also be used instead of a chair for children requiring constant motion and activity often giving enough instability to allow the child to concentrate on their lesson. Spirograph Design Tin Set The simple geared design, allows anyone to draw elegant and artistic designs. Great toy for developing creativity and coordination. The distinctive wheels and rings of the Spirograph cleverly combine the principles of art and mathematics in a way that has inspired and delighted generations. Many special needs children are constantly drawing and the Spirograph set gives them another level of creativity.
Rubiks Cube This is a stimulating and challenging puzzle developing problem solving skills and motor skills. Some special needs children have high levels of spatial awareness leading them to enjoy the hands-on puzzles. The Ultimate Fidget Fidgets are often used to calm and redirect a childs focus. By keeping the body muscles busy, the mind can be allowed to absorb the lessons being taught. This fidget is so small that it fits in a childs/teens pocket to provide self-assurance while not attracting attention. Fidgets can instantly relieve the stress and anxiety of almost any situation. They are also used as manipulators to encourage fine motor skills. Bop It XT This is a great game to work on hand-eye coordination, concentration and memory. Fun music and irreverent commands make the Bop-it XT game interactive while keeping the play lighthearted and fun. This is a game for all ages and skill levels which can be played alone or in
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groups. Its versatility will provide lasting play. MindWare KEVA Contraptions Fostering unlimited creativity and experimentation, KEVA planks build an early understanding of proportion and balance, while teaching the basic principles of physics and engineering. Build fine motor skills and problem solving the ball track structures go from basic to complex as the childs skills develop. Upper Bounce Trampoline and Enclosure Set Jumping can be creative and soothing for the overly energetic. Develop gross motor skills and social skills with the ability to jump with friends and family. The trampoline enclosure provides a safe environment to relieve stress and inner energy and allow a child to re-focus.
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Challenging While a toy that is too difficult may discourage or frustrate a child, a toy that is just challenging enough will motivate and inspire them. Look for toys that provide several layers of challenges or toys that can be adapted for varying skill levels. A set of blocks can initially be stacked in short towers of two or three blocks, but as the child gets ready for something more challenging, those same blocks can be transformed into an elaborate castle. Simplicity and versatility are key if you want to find something that will challenge your child through several developmental stages. Promoting Inclusion Inclusive toys promote group interaction and social skills. If you want to foster cooperation, look at games or activities that are designed for groups of children. If you are trying to promote social skills and self-esteem, look for toys like scooters or bikes that make it fun for special needs kids to join
other kids. Versatility and Adaptability Toys that are versatile and adaptable foster creativity and selfexpression. By using a single toy in multiple ways, your child will hone their problem solving skills and advance their language skills. Engaging Children will constantly use and repeatedly return to toys and games that are interesting and engaging to them, but they may shy away from or even refuse to play with toys that have been forced upon them. If your child isn't interested in the toy you have selected, leave if for a few days and introduce it at another time. By letting your child actively seek out the toys that interest them, you encourage them to work on the skills they are most ready to develop. By keeping toys fun, you will make learning fun, and remember to celebrate every skill development no matter how large or small!
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