Gift Ideas for the Autistic Child

While walking around Target recently I searched for some items that would be appropriate and of interest to my non-verbal son Matthew, who is presently ten.

I found some great prodycts at Cadaco. A few years ago they were still carrying Spell Time, but it appears to be discontinued. I do like Long-Neckers game.

I liked the color scheme of the Sort Em Out Board by Ryan's Room. This brand also sells wooden toys, Hispanic-American, Asian-American and African-American dolls.

For my higher functioning son Nicholas, who is now thirteen, I found the Practicing Pragmatics in the Super Duper Catalog. This site has free shipping to USA and Canada. These fun decks cost $10.95 and are stored in a metal tin.

I purchased several years ago The Socially Speaking Game, that sells at Super Duper for $28.95. This is a board game that we have brought to Summer Camp and the Social Skills training group Nicholas used to participate in. You can play the basic or advanced levels.

It is suggested for an adult to be the facilitator for the group. This game is for role-playing and problem-solving activities. This is for 2-6 players that are ages 7 and up. The approximate time for playing a round is 20-30 minutes. There are 100 question cards plus an 8-page teacher’s notes booklet. This is suitable for a group or classroom environment, as well as a family game to practice everyday social skills.

Beyond Play sells a set of six bright color ribbon wands for $26.95 that I plan on purchasing for Matthew. They also sell two different sizes of glitter wands for $2.95 and $4.95, which seems like a great bargain to me. The Glitter wands are in their sensory exploration section, while the ribbon wands are under Musical toys.

Matthew likes to play this Color & Shape Bingo Game. I also wrote down on the bottom of each card the corresponding color. This sells for $9.99 at the Trend site, plus there are other bingo games and learning charts. Don’t miss their Clearance Center for stocking stuffers and gifts for students and classmates.

Another option for the higher functioning child is to order the Weird 'n' Wild Creatures story cards that arrive every three weeks. A few months ago I sent away for this set for Nicholas. The cost for each mailing is $8.20. He has a neat black box to store all these cards like T-Rex and Wolverine. This also includes trading cards.

Back when Nick was only three years old, I started ordering the Wild Life Explorer cards, and now we have three large books filled with the cards. He references these cards on a daily basis. This has been the best investment for Nicholas over the years as he is a huge animal lover and wants to work with them someday. I spent a few years ordering this and then we stopped.

You can order these online or call them toll free at 1-800-444-9270. This is a great idea for a gift for a child since they get their collection about once a month.

I found a Leap Frog product called Leap-in-Line that is very similar to Connect Four. This toy works on letter, color and shape recognition for ages three and older.

Since Matthew enjoys watching Thomas and Friends, I was glad to find a Spelling wipe-off activity book. I bought this for Matthew and it was utilized in his floortime sessions in the home.

We have the Hot Hoops game that Nicholas enjoys playing with. This easily expands to fit onto a table and closes into a size that is easy to store. It is great for solo play or two players and needs no batteries.

A few months ago Nicholas picked out the Deal or No Deal game since he liked watching the show last season, but now is on later this year. This is for 2-6 players over the age of eight. It is entertaining, plus you get the suitcase.

Educational Autism Tips for Families 71 page resourceful ebook for families entering the school system with a recent autism diagnosis. Find out what issues take place over the course of a school day and meet these challenges head on.