Hi everyone, today I am going to talk about therapeutic toy selections for children, but first we need to talk about play.  “Play” is critical for children in order for them to develop their social and emotional skills as well as their motor skills.  Through exploration and play, children develop the strength, balance, coordination, eye-hand skills and regulation skills their bodies need in order to be happy children that show an inner desire to learn.  Skill development should come naturally as children explore, so appropriate toy selections are important for children as they need to have the right opportunities to acquire new skills and build their self-esteem.  Children who don’t get enough play time, especially physical activity, often have a hard time sitting still, focusing on tasks or school work, calming down, falling asleep or managing their own emotions or behaviors.  This is where sensory integration therapy and sensory-based toys become extremely beneficial.

So what type of toy can a parent make to save money?

Try: making play dough with a fun new recipe off the internet; or filling balloons with sand, rice, flour, sugar or salt to make hand-sized squeeze balls (for sensory calming and hand strengthening).

Therapeutically, these are the most common items I have seen parents purchase from therapy catalogs or websites:

  • Bodysox- these are common to allow kids to calm as they climb in this big spandex bag and usually cover their faces for less visual stimulation and then push against the spandex to get resistance to their muscles for calming. Kids can walk, crawl and roll in these, or get pulled around on the carpet for a calming ride.
  • Jigglers- these are oral vibration toys that are turned on and either held or chewed on by a child, when they need calming to their nervous system, or when they need greater awareness and sensation to their mouth for better eating, talking and less drooling.
  • Physioballs/Exercise Balls- these are great for people of all ages as they come in many sizes and textures now. They are often used to work on balance, strengthening and stretching or deeper breathing, but can be used for many other play activities if you allow the adult or child to use their imagination!
  • Dizzy Disc- this is an excellent sensory stimulating product that activates the vestibular system (the receptors in the inner ear that detect movement) to improve a person’s balance, posture, attention and awareness of their body in space (so kids are less clumsy and more attentive). This is an excellent product used for many children with attention difficulties as they often under-register movement and therefore need lots of it!
  • Seating cushions- these are very common in schools and for sitting at a desk or at the dinner table at home. They allow people to wiggle in their seat, in order to activate their vestibular system (the receptors in the inner ear that detect movement). These cushions come in child and adult sizes and help people of all ages to sit still in their chairs for longer without the need to wiggle around or feel restless/inattentive. The seating cushions that come in the shape of a wedge are also excellent to help improve posture.

Please listen to the full podcast show for more details on how to use these common items, or just be creative and have fun with your child, whether you buy therapeutic toys or make them yourself.  And, if all else fails and you don’t know what to do, just know that the kids are the experts in finding different ways to use toys and objects.  Have a great day!

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