Developmental and educational toys on their own are still not enough to help a child with special needs. But fortunately you are able to very easily help your children learn through play. What I have found for example are blowing toys can help to overcome language delay or sensory toys can help with touch reluctance in a child who has autism.

I have noticed is that children do most of their learning through play so children with special needs can be disadvantaged if their play skills are impaired. Children who have autism most often lack an interest to play and will need encouragement to participate in activities.

As the special needs kids are at times restricted in their social skills some other special needs children make it difficult for them to accept social interaction during play.

The importance of play becomes so valuable and will help in language development. But sometimes we as adults need to re learn how to play again. Presenting children with a box full of different array of toys is not sufficient enough to help develop their play and interactive skills. Just by incorporating a few minutes playing with them daily is enough to make such a big difference in connecting with your child.

One of the first things you can do in initiating play with a child with special needs is to gain your child’s attention. Often they need to be distracted away from their solitary play or their favoured activity.

When you have your child’s attention the next step is that you need to hold their interest long enough to give them enough of a chance to practise the activity and get to like it both of which will build confidence and eventually mean they will want repeat it time and time again.

The aim is to start with a very simple game of peek a boo and then you could later introduce bubbles, balls, bean bags and hand puppets are very simple devices for attracting a child to join in with a game and can be started easily anywhere at any time.

I have found the most effective toys are that where there is something you press or roll as the child quickly will learn that if he does one thing something else will happen press the button and a light comes on, or roll the toy a certain way and character pops up or a sound is produced.  For instance, with a toddler playing with a sound puzzle box and he puts the correct shape into the right hole it makes a squeaky noise, so then the child tries then to repeat the squeaky sound.

There are pop up peg toys or ball games which are games that encourage involvement which is excellent as normally the child is reluctant to involve you in their play or to interact during play.

The ramp game is fun as you are holding onto the car or ball at the top of the slope and countdown saying are you ready here we go 1,2 3 now! But only letting go if your child looking at you and you must make a noise when the ball, car gets to the end, this will add to the child’s enjoyment as well as interaction.

I think what is frustrating is when the child’s special needs were identified I found it extremely difficult that I couldn’t find a shop selling the kind of toys I wanted for my child. I found there were plenty of either preschool educational toys but I was disappointed that I had to search to find toys that were suitable.

It is all very well having special toys but it is important that you know what to do with them in order to engage your child in play.  The toys and the play side of things are so important in the development of a special needs child and I believe gives tremendous value as the child is gets pure enjoyment out of the toy and it allows you to get that little bit closer to them through the aid of fun and play.