OT Gift Guide for Children with Sensory Processing Issues
Judy Benz Duncan, Occupational Therapist
TheraPlay4Kids.com - OT Gift Guide
Looking for a gift idea for the holidays, a birthday, to celebrate a special accomplishment, or just because you feel like it?
Following you will find well over 50 OT recommended gift ideas for children with sensory processing and integration disorders.
TheraPlay4Kids.com OT Gift Guide
Reports indicate that as many as one out of every six children in the U.S. experiences a sensory processing issue on some level. They may be oversensitive, under-sensitive, or alternate between the two, exhibiting a combination of sensory related responses and behaviors.
Trying to find just the right gift for a child with sensory processing concerns is often frustrating and tricky. Children with sensory issues may process sights, sounds, smells, tastes and touch differently than a neuro-typical child.
Some children are sensory seekers, and others may be sensory avoiders. When looking for toys for a child with sensory processing disorders it is important to know just what kind of input they gravitate towards, or away from.
TheraPlay4Kids.com OT Gift Guide
My list of recommended toy or gift guide gives a good foundation of what your child may most typically accept, use, and interact with. Most of these toy and gift ideas would be a great addition to your sensory child’s life – maybe in limited use sessions, and in moderation, but for those items that your child may avoid, presenting the opportunity for play is a great learning experience!
My list of toys and gifts cover a broad spectrum of needs – there are a variety of OT recommended items for children with sensory seeking / avoiding needs:
TheraPlay4Kids.com OT Gift Guide
o Proprioceptive Input (the crashers, fallers, pushers, pullers, climbers)
o Vestibular Input (the swingers, sliders, rollers, spinners)
o Tactile Input / Need to Touch (those who seem to touch everything, rub items, touch others, like to get messy, like to keep a foot or hand on you at all time, and so on)
o Oral-Motor Input (the kids who are constantly putting things in their mouth, including non-food items, those who lick just about anything, or chew on their clothes, shoes, furniture, those who seek out spicy or flavorful foods, and so on)
o Smell / Olfactory Input (enjoy smelling everything from a toy, scented soap, shoes, the dog, etc)
o Visual Input Seekers (children who want to spend extended time watching toys and gadgets that light up, spin, move, flash, flicker, change colors). Slow, rhythmic visual input is usually calming.
o Hearing / Auditory Input Seekers (may want to hear noise and lots of it, may like loud sounds and music, often tend to make noises all on their own)
TheraPlay4Kids.com - OT Gift Guide
Ready? Ok – Here’s a pretty extensive list of sensory related items that your child may love to get as a gift!
Happy Shopping!
TheraPlay4Kids.com is not recommending specific sites to purchase these items and none of these have an affiliate link attached to it – look at your local mass marketing stores like Target, Walmart, K-Mart, Amazon, or just Google the toy/gift type and you will end up with dozens of places that sell the product.
TheraPlay4Kids.com OT Gift Guide
1. An Indoor Trampoline – great for indoor play, especially when you can’t get outside to run, jump, and play. Child sized trampolines that fold up for storage are a great find. Look for a trampoline with a net or balance bar, and always supervise for safety! Observe all safety precautions.
2. Cocoon or Snuggly Swing / Indoor Swing - Many children with sensory issues find it calming to swing; it helps them regulate their bodies. Some sensory swings create a feeling of being in a cocoon, while other swings help with proprioception. Setting up a small swing inside the house can give them the freedom to swing away when it’s raining out or you can’t get to the park.
3. Play Tent / Child Size Pup Tent - A small tent offers a private space where your child with sensory issues can curl up with a favorite stuffed toy or weighted blanket and have their own quiet space to calm down in. The play tent can also serve as a play space to share with other kids or an adult. Make it a comfy space with a few throw pillows and blankets in a theme they choose.
4. Bean Bag Chair – These are great for bodies that like to wiggle and move, or need a smooshy spot to crash in. They are portable and can be taken from room to room, on a trip, or used in their play tent.
5. Fish Tank – Real ones are great, but if you don’t have a lot of time to spend cleaning and taking care of a live tank, they do sell mechanical ones where there is a light, waving grasses, and swimming fish to watch. The movement and bubbling sounds provide a nice calming experience.
TheraPlay4Kids.com - OT Gift Guide
6. Body Sox / Sensory Body Bags – these come in a large variety of colors, sizes, and even theme designs. You can find the stretchy material often an enjoyable tactile experience, and if your child will tolerate, you can fill up their body sox / sensory body bag with soft toys, balls, textured materials and the like to share their space with.
7. Headband Headphones / CozyPhones – some children enjoy listening to music, or use headphones to help cancel out overwhelming background noises. Bulky headphones can be irritating and uncomfortable. Look for fleecy comfy headband headphones that are actually soft enough to sleep in, wear on extended car trips, or for traveling.
8. Play-Dough - Who doesn’t like Play-Dough? You can squish it, mash it, mold it, sculpt it, cut it and create whatever your imagination (and hands) wants. Check out the Blog on TheraPlay4Kids.com for all the different things you can do with Play Dough, as well as a recipe to make it!
9. Silly Putty – This is another great gift for children who have busy hands
10. Coloring Books and Crayons – Always a good standby! See the Blog on TheraPlay4Kids.com on Beyond Coloring
11. Water Beads – A great invention! Put them in water and they expand. Water beads are bouncy, squishy, and a great sensory idea.
12. Noise-Blocking Headphones – These are for kids who often get overwhelmed by sounds, making it difficult to venture out into the world. A good pair of noise-blocking headphones can make a big difference in how they handle certain social situations.
TheraPlay4Kids.com - OT Gift Guide
13. Puzzles – Big floor puzzles, felt puzzles, 3-D puzzles, textured puzzles – there are puzzles for everybody’s needs
14. Squishy and Sensory Tactile Toys – Another type of sensory toys where there are hundreds of types, colors, textures, and level of squishiness out there on the market! Gather a collection of different textures, squish effects (some are nubby, some light up, some are almost sticky feeling), colors, and sizes!
15. Bouncing Balls and Therapy Balls – Look for playground balls in a variety of sizes to toss, catch, kick, and also look for therapy balls that your child can sit on, lay on, lay over, and bounce on.
16. Weighted Blanket and Weighted Stuffed Animals – All of these are great, and the weighted stuffed animals come in a large variety to please any child (and adult)
17. Legos – Little hands love big Legos and construction type toys. Small ones are great if they have the fine motor skills, but if not, go for the larger ones. You can find them in a tub, or handled bag for easy storage and to move from room to room fairly easily.
18. Disco Light ball or the more calming Fairy Light Strings – great visual fun; mood lights and toys that light up are fairly common to find. Check for choking hazards and child appropriateness.
19. Fidget Spinners and Fidget Cubes – These come in an amazing variety of types which include color, sound, light, combination puzzle like fidgets and so on! Collect a variety of types which are small enough to pack in the glove compartment or a travel bag for fidgeting on the go! See the Blog on TheraPlay4Kids.com for the Different Types of Fidgets.
20. Lava Lamp – Pick the color combination you love! Watch for child-safe lava lamps as many get very hot to the touch, and could break open if knocked over.
TheraPlay4Kids.com - OT Gift Guide
21. Chewelry – If you have a “chewer” to buy for, there are sensory chew products that number in the thousands! You can buy chew safe necklaces, bracelets, pencil toppers, chew stixx, and well, you name it! Sensory chew items provide a safe, non-toxic alternative for children with sensory input disorders.
22. Spirograph
23. Kaleidoscopes
24. Bubbler fidget
25. Sensory Bottles – You can make your own – see Blog here on TheraPlay4Kids.com for making sensory bottles
26. Child-Safe Music Boxes / Wind-Up Musical Toys
27. Scooter Board or actual kid-scooters
28. Riding Toys - Bike, tricycle, big-wheels
29. Bop it inflatables – for the floor or to hang from a bar
30. Climbing cargo nets and rope ladders - Check that items are child safe!
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31. Vibrating toothbrush – double-duty purpose!
32. Musical Instruments - Drums / bongos, Musical bells, Child’s Band set with variety of child-size instruments
33. Kinetic Sand / Moldable Sand – A less messy sensory play where the sand sticks to itself rather than you. Clean up fairly quick and easy without the mess of real sand getting into everything. Great moldable texture that you can build with.
34. Pop Tubes
35. Scented Play Doughs
36. Scented Markers
37. Scratch and Sniff Stickers
38. Finger Paint
39. Ocean Wave Light or Liquid Nightlight - Turn off the lights and let the mesmerizing lights of the ocean reflected on the ceiling (along with ocean sounds with some) provide a calming and relaxing atmosphere.
40. Ball Pit / ball pit balls – You can turn a small children’s wading pool into a ball pit – just add the balls, or a boat load of small stuffed animals to roll around in!
41. Wobble Chair - Some kids like a little wiggle when they sit and this chair is perfect to help them wiggle and it promotes good posture.
TheraPlay4Kids.com OT Gift Guide
42. Velcro Toys - Velcro toys provide sensory input when pulling pieces apart. You can find Velcro food activities, blocks, and puzzles that all stick together with Velcro. One example of a Velcro food game is a pizza that is in six pieces that stick together with Velcro and then you Velcro on your choice of toppings from pepperoni to mushrooms – you “cut” it apart with a spatula of sorts. Fun game that gives a lot of sensory input.
43. Magnetic Blocks - Building with magnets is a fun sensory experience that encourages creativity – watch for any choking hazards!
44. Puzzle Ball - It’s a combination toy that acts like a fidget, puzzle and a toy, all in one!
45. Spin Disc Toys - There are several types of spin discs on the market – some have handles to help your child hold on, some have a center base to wrap arms and legs around, but the end result is the same – spin, spin, spin! For some children with sensory issues, the spinning motion helps their sense of proprioception while they are having a great time.
46. Flex Bands / Theraband Products - Some kids with sensory issues might need to work on their muscle tone and enjoy the pressure and stretchiness of flex bands. These stretchy flex bands can be used for therapy, but some kids enjoy using them as a sensory and hands-on activity.
47. Sensory Activity Boards - Sensory boards are perhaps one of the most common activity toys to find at libraries, a doctor’s office, and quiet areas. There are dozens upon dozens of sensory boards and sensory activity centers out there on the market – you may find more than one that you’d like to have on hand!
48. Finger Paints - You can buy them or simply use yogurt, pudding, or make your own homemade version.
TheraPlay4Kids.com OT Gift Guide
49. Slime or Gak – Sensory play that is slippery, slimy, gooey, and oooey – If your child loves this kind of texture, these products would make a great gift idea. See the Blog on TheraPlay4Kids.com on Making Slime!
50. Sensory Play Table or Sensory Boxes – You can purchase one already made and then buy the fill ingredients OR buy a large flat plastic storage container and build your sensory table from there. Kids will love it either way! See the Blogs on TheraPlay4Kids.com for making sensory boxes for all the different senses.
51. Pin Art - Pin art is a great sensory experience for hands, face, arms and knees. Kids seem to love it and will spend an extended time just playing with it and making it change before their eyes.
52. Mini massagers – For the head, back, legs, arms – these come in mini sizes, can be manually used or some come with battery power.
53. Soft Fuzzy Stuffed Animal Pals – any size, any favorite color, collect a few special friends to give to a lucky child
TheraPlay4Kids.com OT Gift Guide
Hope this list gives you a good starting point when looking for a gift or toy for a child with a sensory processing disorder.
TheraPlay4Kids.com - OT Gift Guide