The holiday season is upon us! With that we put a call out on our Facebook page asking members of our autism community about what toys they would recommend buying for their loved ones on the autism spectrum!
Below is a list of what our community recommended. You can read the full list on Facebook here. See something missing on this list? Tell us what you would add in the comments!
Marble Run
Marble Run is a fun game that teaches logic and helps with fine motor skills! Read more here.
Legos
Minecraft
Jennifer suggests a combination of both Legos and Minecraft as our kids tend to be fascinated by blocks and building. In particular she suggests the Lego Minecraft Cave available here.
Thomas The Tank Engine
Amy writes, “there have been several studies done as to why children on the spectrum connect with Thomas the train.” To take it further, there seems to be a fascination in our autism community with trains so Thomas would be a great add for the holiday season! Read more here.
Puzzles
Julia suggests puzzles especially focused on children with autism’s key interests. One in particular she mentioned is the All Aboard Train Puzzle that’s perfect for train enthuasiasts in our autism community. Read more here.
Melissa and Doug Brand Toys
Debbie suggests Melissa and Doug Brand Toys as they are great for play skills, life skills and even executive functioning skills. For younger kids or kids who prefer less sophisticated toys, they make musical instruments and other cause and effect toys. Read more about their selection here.
Indoors Bean Pit
Luz suggests an indoors bean pit! She writes, children will love an indoors bean pit from anywhere on the autism spectrum. This has been loved in my home by many children. Just buy a sand box big enough so you can enjoy it with your children and fill it half way with beans. Could also be made into a swimming pool but it’s out of season. Read more here.
Body Sock, Weighted Blanket & a Mini Trampoline
Cassandra suggests these sensory item toys specifically for children with autism. You can read more about a body sock here, a weighted blank here, and a mini trampoline here
Holiday Bonus!
Would anyone be interested in reading one of my books on growing up with autism? 🙂
Consider gifting one of my books to anyone with a loved one on the autism spectrum. I was nonverbal till 2.5, diagnosed with autism at 4 and have now been speaking around the country for over 8 years on the topic at over 800 venues. Both books, Defining Autism From The Heart and Autism and Falling in Love are $40 total (I’ll pay the S&H on my end). You can make your payment on PayPal at https://www.paypal.me/
Kerry Magro, a professional speaker and best-selling author who is also on the autism spectrum started the nonprofit KFM Making a Difference in 2011 to help students with autism receive scholarship aid to pursue a post-secondary education. Help us continue to help students with autism go to college by making a tax-deductible donation to our nonprofit here. Also, consider having Kerry, one of the only professionally accredited speakers on the spectrum in the country, speak at your next event by sending him an inquiry here. If you have a referral for someone who many want him to speak please reach out as well! Kerry speaks with schools, businesses, government agencies, colleges, nonprofit organizations, parent groups and other special events on topics ranging from employment, how to succeed in college with a learning disability, internal communication, living with autism, bullying prevention, social media best practices, innovation, presentation best practices and much more!
We’d also appreciate if you could start a Facebook Fundraiser to support our nonprofit’s scholarship fund! You can learn more about how you can do just that here
