There are millions of children living with autism around the world, and as a parent it can be hard to sometimes figure out ways to make their lives easier.
After all, children with autism tend to have issues fully grappling with things with sensory stimulations. For that reason, they have special needs that their parents, siblings, teachers and friends have to pay attention to.
Without a doubt, children with autism are just like children without autism in the sense that no two are exactly alike. However one thing that has been found to help children with autism across the spectrum are autism sensory toys.
So, what are autism sensory toys and how do they help? Continue reading to find out!
What are autism sensory toys?
Autism sensory toys – or just sensory toys as they are often called – are made specifically for children in order to help them develop their physical and mental abilities. It allows them to engage with their senses in a less distracting way and allows them to do so in a safe and controlled environment.
What are the primary benefits of sensory toys?
There are a large number of benefits of autism sensory toys. Here are three of the most commonly identified.
Autism sensory toys help children with autism relax, focus and calm down. This can be especially useful for children who struggle with anxiety when in unfamiliar or uncomfortable settings. Instead of feeling overwhelmed, children can instead focus their energy on their sensory toy, thus allowing them to control and calm the situation.
Autism sensory toys allow children to develop important learning skills such as planning, negotiating, and sharing. For many children with autism, these kinds of skills can prove especially difficult. Autism sensory tools give them a healthy outlet to learn about and experiment with these important skills that can often be quite hard for children with autism to master.
Another important benefit of autism sensory toys is that they help children with autism develop and refine their gross motor skills, such as picking up and handling both large and small objects, as well as understanding basic rules and activities that they are otherwise unfamiliar with.
Three popular examples of autism sensory toys
While there are a lot of different sensory toys for autistic children on the market, parents don’t have to worry about spending a large amount to get their collection started. Here are three of the most popular sensory toys that children seem to love!
- Scented clay – great with enhancing sense of smell and touch and can be used to create anything from bowls to little figurines
- Slime – promotes sense of touch especially and is interesting because it exists somewhere between solid and liquid
- Finger and footprint painting – allows children to use their sense of touch to create and play with paint with very little restriction
Conclusion
As you can see, autism sensory toys can be wonderful for children. All you have to do now is figure out which option is best for your child!