At Blue Bird Day, our team of multidisciplinary therapists are always thinking about ways for our families to reinforce the work we do at our clinic at home. Holiday gift giving is the perfect opportunity to give children with developmental conditions, such as Autism, ADHD, or sensory processing disorders gifts that will promote their development!
Below are sensory smart toys, recommended by our speech language pathologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, developmental therapists, and behavior therapists.
If you order from Amazon, consider using AmazonSmile to support our friends at the Chicago Autism Network!
Vestibular
For your movement seeker, these are great options. For most children, linear motion is generally calming, and rotational or orbital movements are alerting. Click here for more information on vestibular sensory processing from a Blue Bird OT.
Proprioceptive
Need some big crashes and squeezes? Think about getting your child their own crash pad or body sock. Tents and ball pits are also great ways to help build body awareness by tapping into your child’s proprioceptive sense.
Visual
Our technology-focused world has led to a lot of visual stimulation, here are some toys to engage your child’s visual sense off-screen. We also recommend trying out this activity at home!
Tactile
If your child is a messy play fan, tactile toys are always a hit! Massagers are also great ways to provide a lot of calming tactile sensory input.
A Sensory Table to keep things relatively tidy
Oral
For your child who is constantly putting hands or toys in their mouth, we recommend chewies! You can also incorporate electric toothbrushes and straws into your daily routine to provide your child with increased oral sensory input.
Auditory
Does your child enjoy making noises just for fun? Encourage their auditory exploration and promote cause and effect play with these toys!
For the auditory sensitive child, we recommend noise cancelling headphones.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to your therapeutic team at Blue Bird Day. Your child’s team can make additional recommendations specific to your child’s interests and sensory profile!
Happy sensory smart shopping!
Blue Bird Day fosters socialization, sensory regulation, and pre-academic learning in children ages 2-7 years in therapeutic rotations that simulate preschool and kindergarten settings. Our compassionate therapists practice a relationship-based and family-centered approach, provide parent training, and collaborate on goals and individualized intensive treatment plans for your child.
We believe in a collaborative and multi-disciplinary team approach to therapy. A team of occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, dietitians, developmental therapists, behavioral therapists, physical therapists, and therapeutic assistants are created for each child to ensure child and family are fully supported and the best possible results are achieved.
Options for individualized, group and virtual therapy sessions are available as well.
Want to learn more or you have a specific question? Feel free to connect with us here!
