Talking to Parents, Teachers, and Therapists About Toys for Children with Special Needs

Childhood development can be tricky to measure, as it doesn’t always align with chronological age. This can be especially true for children with special needs. But there are six play milestones that can be measured, and that children can tackle at their own pace: Shared Attention, Social Engagement, Two Way Interaction, Shared Problem Solving, Creative Thinking and Logical Thinking. Each stage builds upon the previous, allowing children to learn the fundamentals, and apply them to specific situations with greater understanding. Toys can help to promote play and children will be more engaged when the features of the toy match the characteristics of the stage. 

The first stage, Shared Attention, encourages sensory exploration, sensory experience and physical proximity. The focus is to allow for two or more children to interact and understand physical boundaries as well as gain exposure to different sensations. The second, Social Engagement, emphasizes person-to-person connection and a shared experience. The goal in this stage is to provide the basics in interaction between two people, like waving or hugging. Third, Two Way Interaction, is a stage similar to social engagement, but also encourages the child to take initiative in a conversation and reciprocate actions, which could be as simple as rolling a ball back and forth.

Next is Shared Problem Solving, where children engage in longer periods of shared attention and handle complex emotional exchanges. In this stage they are also encouraged to seek and receive help. This stage includes toys like building blocks or puzzles, anything that can be put together and takes some level of concentration. The fifth stage is Creative Thinking, where children begin to use their imagination and think symbolically. This can begin as imitation of parents or elders and evolve into less realistic themes and more conceptual. 

The last stage, Logical Thinking, is when children begin to connect ideas to gradually make a story, question their surroundings and, when they receive answers, deepen their understanding of the world around them. This post was based on an article in the August 2011 newsletter from the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association. Visit astratoy.org for more information on specialty toy retailers and the organization itself.

To purchase special needs toys to incorporate into your child's play, visit playabilitytoys.com.  

Free Play versus Educational Videos

In this era of constantly updating technology, it stands to reason that education and learning materials would grow and adapt with these changes. But not all changes may be as beneficial as they claim to be. The American Academy of Pediatrics has released a statement encouraging children under 2 to play freely and interact with others instead of watching educational TV or videos. In fact, videos marketed as educational may not have any effect on your child’s development after all. AAP believes toddlers learn best from unstructured play, both with parents and siblings, and independently. 

Importance of Parents Encouraging Creative Play

Creative playtime is as key to a child’s physical, mental and social development as it is to their happiness. When a child is given the freedom to explore the bounds of their imagination, he or she is developing necessary skills for a fulfilled life. Parents can help foster creativity in their child’s play and become instrumental in their creative development.

Why is the creative process so important?

 Play is more than just a good time for children. Play is the way children learn about the world and about themselves. Creativity in play teaches children how to express and cope with their feelings, thinking and problem solving skills, and important cultural and social cues. Something as simple as a greeting is a great example of a social cue children can learn from playing pretend. Creativity can also encourage independence and free thinking in children; how to make decisions and what results from different choices.

The creative process is more important that the end result.

If a child is coloring, the finished picture is less important the act of coloring itself. Not only is the act the fun part, but it can say a lot about who the child is and how they think. What colors, prints or patterns did the child choose? The creative process is all about trying new ideas and new ways of thinking about problems in a fun and encouraging way. It is also important for a child to try many different activities. The greater the exposure to different situations, experiences and materials, the wider the child’s range of creative expression.

What can parents do to encourage the creative process?

Let children tell you about their creation and refrain from guessing or judging what they have done. Encourage your children to make their own choices and let them take you along for the ride. And don’t allow yourself to shy away from creative play with your child because you think you are not creative perhaps creative activities with your children can get your own creative juices flowing! 

Further Reading

PBS: Creative Play

For toys and games to incorporate into your child's creative play, visit playabilitytoys.com.