Holiday gifts for kids with special needs: Wish list 2013

I've done three guides with holiday toys for kids with special needs (here, here and here). This season, with the unprecedented holiday of Thanksgivingukkah rapidly approaching, I'm sharing my shopping list for Max. Based on suggestions from his therapists, it includes stuff that helps with fine-motor skills, gross motor skills, speech and learning. But of course, some is just for f-u-n. Feel free to leave comments about the gifts that you're getting for your kids and why, so other parents can get yet more ideas. 

Doodle-Track Car Set

Use the mat or draw a line on any sort of paper and the car follows it. (Just be careful your child doesn't draw a line to, say, Disney World.) Comes with car, playmate, decals and a special pen.

All Surface Connect-A-Scooter

Max uses one of these at school, and his physical therapist suggested we get an all-surface one he can use outdoors. It works on abdominal muscles, squatting and navigation skills. At school his PT has him do an obstacle course around small cones, or grab for puzzle pieces with knobs (Melissa & Doug make good ones).

YayLabs Play & Freeze Ice-Cream Maker 

It's not just an ice-cream maker, it's a science experiment (and a great way to encourage a kid with fine-motor skills to use a bilateral grasp). Available in a pint or quart, the ball has two compartments: one for ice and rock salt, the other for ice-cream mix (not included, you can just use cream, vanilla and sugar). Kids shake, roll and pass the ball to activate the ingredients and 10 minutes or so later, you've got soft-serve ice-cream. Make sure you save some for the kids. He, he.

Squiggle-Wiggle Writer

A vibrating pen does loops, circles or curves, depending on how closely it's help to the paper. Max has loved using this in therapy; the OT says the weight and vibration give sensory input, and encourage a good grasp. Each set comes with nib attachments in five colors: black, blue, purple, pink and green. Tip: Borrow it to make writing checks for bill payments significantly more amusing!

Articulation Station App

Designed for iPad, iPhone and iPod and available on iTunes, this app comes highly recommended by Max's longtime speech therapist. It's created by speech-language pathologist (and mom of four) Heidi Hanks, and is geared to letting kids practice sounds. The ones kids most struggle with are included, and the app has a record/playback function. At Max's most recent session, he and the therapist worked on the initial and final "m" sound and he could grade whether or not he thought he said it correctly, which he loved (he nailed it). At the word level, you can choose flashcards or play a matching game and isolate sounds. Kids can also practice words in a sentence and read stores. Parents can purchase individual sounds, or get theArticulation Station Pro for $49.99. I've read up on reviews by speech therapists, and the consensus is this is the most comprehensive articulation app out there.

Melissa & Doug On The Go Colorblast!

Max has liked enjoyed this during occupational therapy; you color in the pics on the 24 pages with the special magic marker, and hidden sea creatures appear. It's good for increased finger strength, the OT says, along with visual vigilance, attention span and attention to detail. There are also books about vehicles, animals and dinosaurs.

Melissa & Doug Paint With Water - Ocean

Another water-play activity that encourages grasp...and fun!

Zig-Zag Drops Liquid Motion

It may seem random, but it's lightweight and easily fits into Max' hand—and it worked to get some supination during a therapy session (as in, when your hands and forearms rotate so palms face up, a position not naturally in Max's movement repertoire). If nothing else, our family can just sit around the kitchen table, zen out and sing Kumbaya.

Learning Resources Twist & Match Monsters Game

The game has six different colored cords that correspond to different parts of a monster. It works on bilateral coordination, matching and the concept of top, middle and bottom.

Mindware My First Marble Run

Great for grasp, cool to watch. Comes with 32 pieces including a jingle ball.

Uncle Milton Fireworks Light Show

This thing-a-mig doesn't actually set off fireworks in your kid's room (though that would be interesting, if illegal in some states). You, and hopefully your child, press a lever to project several images of fireworks onto a wall, with exploding sound effects. No learning value whatsoever (and not appropriate, as one Amazon reviewer said, "for bitter teenagers.") For a kid who's scared of live fireworks yet still fascinated by them, though, it could just be The Best Thing Ever. See a demo on YouTube video.

Mindware Imaginets

Boosts fine-motor and visual-thinking skills; kids can put together animals, faces, cars, approximations of Mommy's beautiful, smooth, unlined face and more. The magnetic board doubles as a dry-erase board, so kids can draw backdrops, too. Did I mention Mommy's beautiful, smooth, unlined face?

Alex Toys Slimy Sticky Silly Stuff

Cool science explorations and tactile fun with creating slime, putty, bouncy balls, crystals, jiggling bugs and glowing snow, with a booklet of 50 more concoctions to make. Plus a recorded device that says, "Kids, don't get the goop on the carpet!" As if.

Tubtime Fishing Set 

Fun in the tub as kids work on hand-eye coordination and supination. Comes with one magnetic pole that extends to 18 inches, eight floating plastic fish and a storage case. Sorry, but I will be unable to come to your home to help pull your kids out of the bath when they refuse to.

And last, but so not least:



And if you'd like to check out gift guides from other years....

Great toys for kids with special needs 2015
Great toys for kids with special needs 2014
Great toys for kids with special needs 2012
Great toys for kids with special needs 2011
Great toys for kids with special needs 2010