Toys for young Blind/VI kids- What to look for

I am always on the lookout for good toys for Tom. You have to put a little more thought into your purchase when you are buying a toy for a blind/vi child. Here are some things to consider:

Elmo is a solid bright red with great texture. And who can resist that voice?

• Color and Contrast - High contrast is ideal but not easy to find in children's toys. It is a mystery to me that it is fairly well known that black and white are good for the visual stimulation of all infants, yet you rarely find black and white baby toys. You can customize toys by adding holographic stickers to give them more visual interest and reflectivity. You can buy the stickers in sheets from craft stores and cut them to size. We used them on a toy that had big buttons with tiny pictures on them. Now, instead of a tiny picture he can't see, there are big shiny buttons!

• Simple vs. Busy Patterns - Busy patterns aren't going to look like anything to a vi child. Simple is best. You can remove stickers from toys to make them less visually busy.

Exploring Texture

• Texture - Toys that incorporate interesting textures are always a hit with Thomas. You can even find baby blankets for little ones that incorporate multiple textures. A crafty relative of mine made Tom an awesome blanket with several different textures. 

• Sound- Tom loves music so we are always picking him up whistles, bells and shakers. You can make them or find them just about anywhere, and they don't have to be fancy. Look for toys that have a volume control button. Some of Tom's toys are way too loud so I use clear medical tape to cover some of the sound holes when there is no volume control.

• Lights - There's nothing better than a light up toy! It's especially fun to play with these in a dark room. 

• Ease of Use - Nothing is worse than buying a toy only to have Tom not be able to make it work. Sometimes the buttons are too small or it takes too much power to make it work. 

• Scent - I have been noticing more toys that incorporate scent. You can find aromatherapy scented balls and make a fun game out of identifying the smell. I have found toys and teethers that have a light vanilla scent. We have an amazing book that incorporates scratch and sniff, braille, sound, and texture called, "The SENSEsational Alphabet" by April Rofe.

The best toys are not always at the toy store; look around and be creative. You never know what you will find in the dollar store. Some of Tom's current favorites are rain sticks that were purchased on a website selling small toys intended as office diversions.

Ready to Play!

Party supply stores are a good place to find small light up toys that don't incorporate sound. This lets you know that the child is responding to the toy visually and not just to music. We are working on a game with Tom's vision therapist where we place a lighted toy at the end of a dark hallway and try to get Tom to crawl toward it.

Music toys are some of the most popular at our house. You can see video of Tom playing the Ukulele here. A lot of our friends are involved in music so Tom has had the opportunity to jam on his dad's electric guitars and bang on some drums. Check out Tom on the drums below.

Do you have tips or toy suggestions? Share them by leaving a comment.