I'm looking for small, fiddly toys with letters and numbers on them for DS with autism

[myblueeyedboy]

If he could put it in his mouth and choke it on, even better demented

He loves small things and is fascinated by words and numbers. He's 5.

I think you can get dice with letters, and gamers dice have up to 12 sides I think. Kids dominoes sometimes gave words on, or ordinary dominoes?

Could you teach him to make one of those paper toys with colours and numbers and words. You put your fingers in them & open and close and I can’t remember what they’re called. Fortune tellers!

Magnetic phonics letters seem like an obvious choice. You could get a magnetic A3 white board to go with them.

VTech Alphabet Apple www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B001TLEFW8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_kqB0Db6WTD6SX?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

LeapFrog Fridge Phonics Magnetic Letter Set www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00JLHVX36/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_UrB0DbW43ECJQ?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

My ds also asd and loved letters loved these

I'm going back a few years now, but when DD was small the programmes Alphablocks and Numberblocks often had small versions on the front of the CBeebies magazine. DD had a set of the Alphablock letters and digraphs (so individual letters) from those magazines.

Also these with a whiteboard which is still used.
wedge Tub of 144 - Magnetic Upper Case Letters www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004MSLCYY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_msB0DbQGJ5VTJ?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

A whiteboard/blackboard like below was recommended by our ot and it's still used every day
Casdon 669 Toy, Multi Colour www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00JHLJ6FS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_FuB0Db2M19N6V?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

Scrabble tiles? Obviously choke risk.

How about these kind of little beads www.amazon.co.uk/Whaline-Acrylic-Alphabet-Storage-Crystal/dp/B07FCCLNZ2/ref=sr_1_1?crid=G2H5CLURZ0RA&keywords=beads+with+letters+on+them&sprefix=Beads+with+letters+%2Cdigital-text%2C223&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&qid=1574024601&sr=8-1 he could thread them in strings or just play with them.

Most of the autistic children that I work with love the foam hopscotch tiles. You can get letters and numbers. There’s a sensory element too as they’re a bit squishy and textured. As long as he won’t bite chunks off them obviously!

The numbers version of scrabble could be rummikub -tho it only goes to 13.

We got a tub of about 70 dice (from toysrus, unfortunately) that had various shaped (and therefore numbers) plus some lettered ones. I cant immediately see an equivalent.

Story cubes? Dont meet the letters or numbers requirements, but might be similar?

I’ve just bought a wooden sudoku board from Sainsbury’s, very small and fiddly but maybe too small for a 5 year old?
www.sainsburys.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/gb/groceries/professor-puzzle-wooden-sudoku?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIz4qJqpfy5QIVgbTtCh39aQukEAQYASABEgI6CfD_BwE&storeId=10151&langId=44&krypto=sLp2EkIPJdyfGBqwNFfRZsjb6BbaMVrUpiOroWrpNwlvqtIXw6FCEfnWvPlG%2FSO8Q2Z1daiWcqNsPZepeIvE%2FLrA3WXQiBQiWSCTrvBJ3oxqc6ZEwx3AIdoWHJPZBspBDRzOH%2Bn3eXIGMKPxjR0glbwltl%2BBwy95YZJnER7SkF%2BE9pKWNXSv7h891kwT9Di30YqeCnXc6lG55fpz7DijArgqloXheffxyNQlwpBNp9vuCxW8e5AEOI8kI8CDMB9J6E4xLlJXzx19w0Yq57zZlZLoiTnNmxmJ7ll7tIoJ99PcsNjUsZ7r%2F%2BwjrH1lkSVd&ddkey=https%3Agb%2Fgroceries%2Fprofessor-puzzle-wooden-sudoku

Blimey sorry that’s one hell of a link!

something like this www.happypuzzle.co.uk/products/mobi.aspx?

I'd be careful with anything magnetic if he is liable to eat things. They can cause all kinds of nasty complications if they try to attach to each other inside him.

Tiny things - Playmobil always has excellent levels of detail IME. I remember being fascinated by a hospital set that had tiny bottles of medicine with interesting names. Some of the more "adult" Lego sets may fit the bill as well, if he can manage them. If not, keep in mind for a few years' time. Doll's house furniture shops are an incredible treasure trove of anything miniature, as well as miniature railway type places - if you look for enthusiasts' groups near you they might have a small private opening every so often, which he would probably enjoy. Flying model planes is another hobbyist type thing where enthusiasts make their own and if my ex-neighbour is anything to go by, they are always thrilled when anybody younger than 50 shows an interest so they'd probably happily show him around a workshop, take him flying or let him see some of the process of making the models. The tiny dashboards can have all kinds of intricate detailing on them, often done by hand or reduced as a computer print out.

Another vote for dice ... and you can get waaaaay more than 12 sides!

D20 is the standard biggest one in a set of 7. D24s are hard to find but do exist. D30s are popular. D100 are beautiful.

Standard sets of 7 are cheap as chips. www.amazon.co.uk/GoFriend-Polyhedral-Pouches-Dungeons-Dragons/dp/B06Y2BG43K/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?keywords=polyhedral+dice+set&sprefix=polyhedr&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&qid=1574026155&sr=8-3

Then find bigger sizes and beautiful effects from specialist suppliers, eg www.thediceshoponline.com

I saw a Rubik cube type sudoku cube somewhere recently, trying to think where....

Oh wow, thank you all so much!

We have an easel and various sets of letters, so glad to see it’s OT recommended!

Definitely going to try the many sided dice too, and the number whale!

I’m considering the Playmobil. I’d love him to have a toy but he tends to ignore them in favour of words/ numbers. My older DC would love it, I can’t think why we don’t have any yet!

Thank you all again.

What about those wooden toys with numbers or letters on that fit together like a jigsaw to make a shape? Like this? Craft markets often have them.

You need to go old school

www.amazon.co.uk/Tobar-03682-Slide-Number-Puzzle/dp/B000NLO5NO?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

ideas

A few ideas here

phonics baord

paw patrol reader

abacus

Old style Lego- dp has had loads from his childhood, including plenty of pieces with stuff like 'garage' 'hotel' etc on.

Scrabble, monopoly and snakes and ladders. Even if he doesn't want to play them in the board game sense he could play his own versions.

Chinese checkers, admittedly there aren't any numbers but the pieces are tiny and it has that therapeutic sense of order.

Retro polly pocket is also tiny.
Proper playing cards.
Ready made icing letters- they might have a short life as toys but they are available as tiny sizes.
Travel versions of any board games
Mastermind, assuming it's still available. The game with tiny pins where you guess your opponents sequence. Not exactly numbers but number loving dc loved it.

Those rulers that have letters or numbers cut out from the centre to trace in.

Xmas cracker size tape measure

Ebay is great for cheap dice in quantity. We've had a few bags of 50 at a time in all different colours for autistic dd. Also dice with letters on and big bags of scrabble tiles.

Ok here are the toys my son has loves also with asd.

• magna tiles
• on you tube look for The Kids Bog Picture Show collections
• number blocks - tv show and numbers

• duplo number train

Kids big picture show

A set of alphabet cutters and a couple of tubs of playdough. Loads of options for plastic biscuit cutters, but if he likes small things look for some the tins of letter cutters for cake.

Foam bath letters, we had a set of fish shapes the kids spent hours with.
Letter shaped sand moulds, if you don't have a sandpit they could also be used as bath toys, or make your own "moon sand" with flour and baby oil which is much easier to hover up than sand.