SN gifts thread

[peacelilypeace]

Last year there was a really good thread with requests and suggestions for gifts for children with various SN.

I thought I would start a new one for this year incase anyone else would find it helpful.

Feel free to add your own requests for recommendations.

I am looking for ideas for DS9 who has autism and hyper mobility.
He is into sensory toys tactile and visual mainly.
He’s quite active so I've been thinking along the lines of some type of indoor play equipment, maybe a door swing or similar. If anyone has any recommendations I would love to hear them!

I don’t have any recommendations for indoor play equipment but here are some sensory ideas:
Underwater Disco Bath Lights
Star Light Night Light
Etch a sketch
Science Museum plasma ball plus
Top from Illuminated Apparel
LED shoelaces
Lava Lamp
Pin Art
Eureka My Own Rainbow (it’s packaged in bright pink but he might be ok with that!)
Eureka My Own Moon
Crazy Aaron’s thinking putty super scarab
Learning Resources Sparkleworks
3D headphones lamp
Newtons Cradle
Infinity Mirror Light

My DS (7) with ASD likes buses (one in particular - no idea why!) so I’ve had a cushion made with those sequins that change picture as you stroke - plain on one side, a photo of his favourite bus on the other. Could do that with a picture of anything the child likes.

My DS likes repetitive cause-and-effect things so he likes things like marble runs. He’s currently enjoying Gravitrax, but with the caveat that he gets very upset if it gets knocked at all and the run doesn’t work 🙄. He can’t really set it up in his own so we do that for him but he likes setting the balls off over and over.

In the garden he likes the swing (one of those nest-type ones) and also an exercise ball - one of those things you bounce on in pregnancy.

I remember the thread from last year, I thought it was very helpful. I hope you get some good ideas, I’ll read with interest!

I've bought our son a rocking chair for his sensory room; DH has bought a smoke machine so that the disco lights and laser projector are even more effective! Apart from those large presents, he's got the usual:

musical toy (the FP coffee cup)
toot toot vehicles
a phonics-based toy
new bedding - millennium falcon this year!
balloons
socks

christmasSeacrow my dd likes buses and coaches too, she’s almost 14 so I have bought her the London bus Lego set as she’s great at building Lego. She also loves super cars so her dad has bought her some Lego technics car sets. Lego is about the only thing we can buy her now as she just breaks everything, at least with Lego she can break it and rebuild it.

Sequin cushions were a hit last year until dd took some scissors to it ?

It’s getting much harden now dc’s are getting older, she says she doesn’t want toys but when we go to other peoples houses she will play with toddler toys.

A indoor trampoline is good for younger ones needing to burn off energy.

Whizzy dizzy
Playaway or gorilla gym door swing
Scooter board
Dark den
Light box
Ikea egg chair
Bubble lamp
Weighted toys (we have a bunny)
Fidget toys

DS only ever wants Lego... so more Lego it is!
He does have a marble run that he loves, but we had to wait years until we'd trained him not to put marbles in his mouth, and were certain he would not do it when we're not watching him like hawks.

Re weighted toys- there's a lovely sloth in Sainsbury's- he's actually a heatable cuddly (in microwave)- but he's nice and heavy (beans inside) and supersoft/fluffy, so probably a good bet for those that like to touch stuff (25% off in ours yesterday too).
My DS loves sloths!

Have you got a teeter popper?
I saw it suggested on another thread recently and thought it looked like a great idea for my nearly 6yo DS who has dyspraxia. His birthday is just before Christmas so I think it might be his birthday present.

We've bought DS (classic ASD and other co-morbidities) Hubelino, which is a build your own marble run with Duplo bricks. We have masses of Duplo, so we bought the set that has hardly any bricks and lots of slopes and tunnels etc.

Water snake

Star projector night light (made famous in the John Lewis advert a couple of years back)

These are some of the things we have and ideas we have for our 9yr old DS

Weights
Therabands
Foam fitness roller
Medicine ball
Over door basketball hoop
Gym mat
Lava lamp
Plasma ball
Head massager
Wooden body massagers/brushes
Stress balls
Lush Sleepy cream/shower gel
Bath bombs
Bath lights
Stretchy toys

Fabulous idea for a thread! Thanks for all the ideas given already.

Big news in the Mind household - DS has written a proper Christmas list for the first time. His requests include a sieve, because they feel nice on his face, and a compression vest. Any recommendations for the vest would be great. I think he wants one that looks like normal clothes and can be worn secretly under his uniform on stressful days.

The Sainsbury's sloth is gorgeous and is also available in Argos. Any heatable wheat pack toy will have a decent weight to it though.

He's also getting:
Jellycat soft toy
Bath bombs from Poundstretcher - small 3 packs by the tills in the shape of a snowman or similar. He loves bathbombs, but not strong smells, and we know these ones are not too overpowering.
We are pondering a dartboard but it would have to go outside, so any thoughts on making that work would be welcome.

Dd2 would love a marble run, we have had the plastic ones but would like something a bit more grown up. I have bought all her gifts already (Lego and clothes) but will be keeping an eye out for a marble run for her birthday.

Mistress dd has a magnetic dartboard that someone gave her, it’s pretty good and is on her bedroom wall, she would love a real one but that won’t ever happen 🤣

Lovemusic do the darts tend to stick ok? I thought the magnetic ones tended not to. It would be a lot easier if we could get away with an indoor one

The one we have is pretty good, not sure what make it is, I shall try and have a look. Dd plays with it a lot and the darts don’t seem to fall off, I’m guessing it depends on the distance you throw them from.

Would something like this work @MistressMind?

Thanks both. Yes Knitted fairies that's the one Google had thrown up. I was hoping for a recommendation but if not I'll give that a whirl. I feel a bit bad he's had to put it on his list TBH.

Teeter poppers are cool but the popping sets my teeth on edge. I wish I had gone with an XL wobbel board as they are silent. Much more expensive but can also be used to race vehicles down and other play things. And the XL is sturdy enough for an adult to use.

Wow thank you that's loads of great ideas!
I hope others are finding it helpful too.
Some of the items mentioned he has already but I've definitely got some new ideas.

The gravitrax looks great he already has some marble run sets so its something he would probably like. We would need to set it up for him though.

The rocking chair and ikea egg chair might be possibilities, does anyone know if the ikea egg comes in adult size?
DS is quite tall so I'm not sure if the children's one may be a little cramped for him.

The egg chair doesn’t come in a larger side sadly. Dd used to love the egg chair but outgrew it, she’s 15 now and keeps asking if there’s an adult version.

I’m looking at the gravitrax for dd2 for her birthday, I found another track on amazon that’s similar but cheaper.

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07QR6Y4RL/?psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it&coliid=I15XF2QNL5G97I&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&colid=270ENG8WH4C6I

If any of you do buy Gravitrax there are lots of additions you can buy but I would particularly recommend the catapault one. It works pretty consistently (important!) and is very pleasing to reset and then watch it ping. DS insists on having his in every circuit we build.

Argos have a pack of 3 tangles for £4.99 which is an excellent price. My dd loves these, they'd make a nice stocking filler if suitable.

Lovemusic, I'm not sure what the Ikea egg chair is like, but this egg chair is my dd's absolute lifesaver to hide away in. It's meant to be garden furniture but she has it in her bedroom, it comes in pieces so no problem to get upstairs.

Just giving this a little bump.

I so wish the egg chair came in a bigger size. Maybe we should petition Ikea? I wonder if they know how popular their chair is with children with SN?

I don't think anyone's mentioned this but a bar that screws into a doorway with a swing and net chair that you can swap around has been brilliant.

Also a stretchy all in one thing which I think I got from sensory direct - it's basically like a stretchy square envelope.

And weighted blanket - I got one from Amazon with a removable velvety cover and one side is textured which is good for sensory seekers