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Special Toys for Special Toddlers
Finding the Right Toys for Toddlers with Autism, Hearing and Other Developmental Issues
By Lisa A. Goldstein
A child's job is to play and develop new skills. Most children between the ages of 1 and 4 are able to do this easily. But what about children with special needs?
"These children present with areas of deficits at an early age," says Dr. Patricia Quinn, clinical assistant professor of Pediatrics at Georgetown University Medical Center and a developmental pediatrician. "They need to work to improve various skills as part of a structured program. For these kids, it just won't happen if we don't work on it. The best way to improve skills is through play. The toys you as a parent choose are extremely important for these children."
For autistic children, basic toys work the best, says Dr. June Shapiro, a licensed clinical psychologist with specific expertise with autism and a mother of five children, the eldest of whom is autistic, from Brooklyn, N.Y. This means toys made of wood or colored plastic without pictures of characters.
"It is most helpful to have toys which do not make sounds," Dr. Shapiro says. A toy piano might work, but not the typical "educational" toys. "Many children on the spectrum will simply press the buttons and not get anything out of an 'educational' toy," she says. "The instructional words do not mean anything at all to most children on the spectrum. My spectrum child simply made something that resembled hip-hop music out of the words."
Gopi Patel, a special educator who works with the team at Ebeanstalk.com, a site dedicated to providing the learning and educational toys that promote a child's development, offers the following suggestions: