Vibrating Hand and Mouth Jigglers– Vibration is strong sensory input. Your kid can use these to hold, rub on their arms or legs, and even bite on!

Sensory Direct Weighted Lap Pad - 1kg, For School, At Home Sensory Direct Weighted Lap Pad - 1kg, For School, At Home

Our floor mat alarm system is designed to be placed in the doorway to your patient’s private room, or to the whole building. It detects when weight is applied to it, thus alerting you that the patient is leaving through the door. Finally, our toilet sensor can be easily fitted to your toilet and can alert you if the patient gets up or falls. No matter what you do, a crash pad is a fun activity for children with autism. They are a safe landing zone for all children who crave sensory stimulation. It lets the child use his imagination and be creative. Crash pad activities can help calm autistic children, especially if they suffer from anxiety. It will also help the child concentrate in school. The best part is you can make these really inexpensively and fill any empty container with tons of different materials to give your child an amazing sensory toy. Learn more about how to set up your sensory bin. Weighted Blanket– Perfect for sleeping or calming down, a weighted blanket could be a helpful sensory toy if your child likes being under blankets. It’s a game changer for some kids. Get a whole guide on weighted blankets for kids. Platform Swing– This swing actually can help improve sensory processing as it stimulates the brain through specific types of movement. And, if your child’s ever been in occupational therapy, you’ve probably seen one. This budget friendly version can be hung up in your home or from a swing set outside.Or, when my oldest son, covered his bare arms, hands, and belly with finger paints at 13 months old and it helped develop his ability to eat and readily explore different textures in a fun way. As an occupational therapist, I knew this sensory play and the sensory toys were having a big impact on their brain! Weighed Lap Pad– A weighted lap pad is basically a small heavy pillow that a child can lay across their lap. This also gives the deep pressure sensation that is relaxing to a lot of kids. Get more info withthe weighted lap pad guide. These sensory toys are a little more of an investment, and give LOTS of sensory input, which is why they’re listed in this category. But, that doesn’t mean that any child wouldn’t enjoy or benefit from them, because they would! I have several of these toys and none of my children have or need a diagnosis. And, guess what, it’s some of their favorite things in our house!

Chair Alarm Sensor Pad | Health and Care Chair Alarm Sensor Pad | Health and Care

Because, when our kids are busy trying to get the sensations they like, it distracts their brain from everything else it needs to be doing, like: You might wonder what the advantages of a crash pad are. For autistic children, having a crash pad at home has more benefits than you might realize. A crash pad can improve your child's gross motor skills and planning. By jumping into the crash pad, children with autism receive a large amount of sensory support that provides deep pressure on the leg and knee muscles, good for muscle tone and core strength. It develops coordination and fine motor skills in a non-threatening way. Kinetic Sand– Less messy than regular sand, this contained kit inspires imagination and gives tons of stimulation to the tactile sense!Balance Beam– Besides balance, every time your child figures out how to walk across this, they’re also working on some higher level brain activity stuff. They have to shift their weight and repeatedly cross the mid-line of their body. If that all sounds too technical, know that this is awesome for their development! Sequin Flip Pillow– Have you ever felt sequin flip fabric? It’s addicting and feels incredibly soft. But half the fixation is in the magic of watching it repeatedly change colors. Kids can also hug this while getting lots of tactile and visual stimulation. Climbing pegs– If you have a climber, you may want to consider adding some climbing pegs to your swing set or a wall in your house! Seriously people, do this. How cool would that be? Ball Pit– Besides being lots of fun, ball pits give lots of that deep pressure input. Remember, for most kids, that equals calm! Lava Lamp– If your kid likes to look at lights, this is for them. Staring at the slow moving lava can instantly relax.

Musical Footnotes - Total Sensory UK Ltd, Sensory Room Musical Footnotes - Total Sensory UK Ltd, Sensory Room

Vibrating teethers– Remember that vibration is one of the strongest types of sensory input? Well, use this teether when your child bites down. Fantastic oral sensory stimulation that can actually help them eat better! Shaker Eggs– Babies and toddlers will love getting a reaction to their movement when they shake these eggs about. They’re small enough to fit in the tiniest hands! Or, when he would bounce on a big green yoga ball in our living room before dinner so he wasn’t hopping out of his chair every three seconds. Learn 3 Expert Secrets (from me as an OT and mom) to calm and focus your child with specialized sensory activities! Get a free spot here and some awesome printables.

What Are Crash Pads?

Fidget Toys– I’ll be the first to admit that these little hand held fidget toys can be a nuisance more than a help for some kids. But, for the kids they do work for, well, it’s a life saver. Make sure you read my guide on Fidgets for Kids before choosing one! Light Up Spinner Wand– Calling all light lovers! This spinner is portable, so it can easily be thrown in your purse or the car – if it helps your child calm down in the middle of Target.