Last-minute toy ideas for kids who have disabilities
by Beth
Christmas is this Sunday already? Hanukah starts Sunday, too?
Yikes!
If you’re having trouble coming up with an idea for a special gift for a special kid, don’t despair. Once again this year, Toys “R” Us has published its free toy-selection guide for parents and friends of children with disabilities. The Toy Guide for Differently-Abled Kids features items that promote the development of specific skills, such as auditory, language, visual, tactile, fine motor, thinking, self-esteem and social skills.
Toys in this guide are not categorized by disability nor by age. Instead, symbols are assigned to each toy based on different skills — this way gift-givers can choose toys that build or reinforce a variety of skill sets.
Our son Gus is a young adult now and living with three other guys in a group home in Wisconsin. While most of the gifts in the Differently-Abled Toy Guide are not age appropriate, we were still able to find a perfect gift in the catalog for him this year.
Gus misses hearing our voices sometimes, so we got him a recordable Christmas book. The recordable book allows my husband and me to read and record a Christmas poem out loud to him. This way when Gus turns a page, he’ll hear us reading. Now all Mike and I have to do is sit down and make the recording…happy holidays!