There are no two ways about it; the festive season is definitely a time for children.  For your child with special needs, this Christmas shouldn’t be any different for them. While chewies can be essential, for most parents, this is a tool used in everyday lives, and so when it comes to Christmas, they are looking for something their child with special needs will love, something that is a bit different.  Last week we spoke about a number of toys that are perfect for your little one this Christmas. Here is the second instalment of our two-part special to help give you inspiration for this years gifts.

Fidgets

Fidget toys from a practicality sense are brilliant for occupying fiddly fingers and aiding focus, but they make for fantastic fun for your little ones too. They come in all shapes and sizes. You can look at a wide range of bendy and flexy toys - the equivalent to Stretch Armstrong to you and me - to be squeezed, tugged, and pulled at your child's content.You could consider colourful twisty toys, which allow your little one to continuously make new shapes and sizes out of the original design. Tactile rubber puffer balls have also always remained a hit, made up of dozens of rubber hairs - these quirky balls hard to put down.

Audio toys

Musical play - while often a choice regretted by parents around December 27th - can have some wonderful benefits for your child with special needs. Experimenting with a variety of sounds can positively influence a child’s ability to listen. While some children with Autism face acute hypersensitivity to certain noises, musical instruments can offer a gentle and fun solution to help encourage them to create and embrace a selection of percussive sounds and vibrations for a multi-sensory experience. Keyboards and tambourines could be a solution, but if you are looking for something lighter on your little one's eardrums, you could consider an ocean drum - filled with tiny grains that resemble the sound of the lapping ocean - or water flutes. A toy they can have fun experimenting with a variety of water levels while creating their own soothing music in the process.

Alternatives to instruments could be Tickle Buddies Monkey - this cheeky chappy will laugh hysterically and shake with his giggles - providing hours of entertainment for your little one. Noise boxes are a great stocking filler. You can choose from a variety of animal sounds that when upturned will make the noise of your child’s favourite animals, and help them experience some new ones too!

There are many online stores available for you to find the perfect gift for your child with special needs this year. We recommend trying;

https://www.sensorytoywarehouse.com/

www.exploreyoursenses.co.uk/

www.specialneedstoys.com/uk/

www.glow.co.uk/sensory-toys-lighting.html

We hope that our gift ideas to help you with your Christmas shopping and find the ideal presents. We’d love to hear from you. Post a picture below of the sensory toys that you can’t wait for your little one to unwrap this year.