- Make sure your child is secure in whatever position he is using for play (laying, sitting, standing). When your child’s body is well supported he is free to use his hands for play. (Consult with your child’s therapist about using pillows, wedges and other equipment for positioning support.)
- Make sure your child can see her hands while interacting with a toy.
- Help your child learn by modeling or demonstrating how a toy can be used. You may need to begin by using hand-over-hand assistance to help your child play with a toy.
- If your child needs to be guided to use his hands, try sitting behind him. Providing assistance from behind is better than pulling from the front.
- Prevent toys from sliding out of reach by using textured adhesive tape or other non-slip material to anchor them to a stable surface such as a rug, highchair tray, small table or bench.
Toys/Features to Look For
- Toys with knobs, levers, buttons, switches and holes for exploring and manipulating (turning, poking, flipping, putting in, taking out, stacking up, etc.)
- Toys that encourage exploration of visual details and various textures
- Toys that respond to manipulation with visual and/or sound feedback
- Toys that require little pressure or accuracy to manipulate or activate
- Toys with multiple access areas that result in different responses
Play Stages
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Experience Stage: Using senses to explore a toy
Children love exploring by putting objects into containers and taking them out. This toy has 12 brightly colored, fun-shaped pieces that are just the right size to pick up, mouth, bang together, stack, and throw. Play with the blocks with and without the shape-sorting lid. This toy can also be combined with other toys to create a variety of new activities.
Click here to find out what you can do to help your child play and learn with this toy.
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Discovery Stage: The toy guides your child's play
The popped-up shapes on this toy turtle’s back will make your child want to push them down—using either his hand or the hammer to tap the shapes back into the turtle’s shell. When all of the shapes are down, the turtle’s head pops out of its shell; children love to push the head back in to start all over again!
Click here to find out what you can do to help your child play and learn with this toy.
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Expanding Imagination Stage: Finding even more ways to play with a toy
This toy offers lots of flexibility and promotes creativity as your child’s abilities to draw, manipulate objects and use her imagination develop. Only slight pressure with the special pen or stamps is needed to create high-contrast lines and designs on the magnetic drawing screen. Sliding the knob back and forth erases the designs, leaving a fresh screen to begin again.
Click here to find out what you can do to help your child play and learn with this toy.
