What to get ASD 5yo boy?

[addicteetopawpatrol]

He doesn't hugely play with toys but he is into peppa so got him a few peppa toys

Ppl often suggest autistic toys marketed for kids on spectrum like various fidget toys or sensory etc but he isn't bothered by them

He's speech delayed which doesn't help so he can't tell me what he wants

In general he loves drinking juice, reading and being outdoors

Any ideas lol

A football goal? Go kart? A den building kit? Trampoline?

Recommend a Dark Den! My daughter has ASD and we bought it with her in mind along with the various lights to use in it and it's been the most used present we've bought. My NT kids use it as much (if not more) than my daughter with ASD.

My youngest daughter is on the pathway and is almost definitely autistic as well, she has no interest in anything that would be a "main gift" and to be honest for Christmas she'll be getting a few new handbags, purses, notebooks and pens. I figure we don't try to make our children with ASD meet the societal norms day to day so we shouldn't stress too much ticking that box on Christmas day, if it makes your son happy it makes him happy.

My speech delayed ASD DS got two small boxes of Lego from his school friends for his birthday last month. He'd never had Lego before (he has a toddler sister and I was going to wait a bit longer) and he absolutely loves it.

He just does the two sets over and over whenever his sister is napping. He really loves being able to open the instructions, follow the visual instructions, and build the thing (and sometimes needs help clipping some of it together, he's not got the best motor skills).

If he hasn't got any Lego yet, I'd recommend trying a set. I'm surprised his special interest hasn't made itself known yet. Ours is vehicles (the Lego sets he got were both vehicles, coincidentally) and DS has been magnetically attracted to them since he was about 9 months old.

Actually, thinking some more, you've said he likes reading, could this be his special interest? It might be why it hasn't become apparent yet (DSis's is the written word, and she was probably about 6 when it hit big time as she didn't have the reading skills for the really engaging stories before that, so she had a healthy level of interest in books before that but not a major need to read). I'm wondering if a really nice massive gift set of books (Puffin do some nice gift versions, or there's the box set of the Complete Beatrix Potter Collection which we've just bought for part of DS's Christmas present) might go down well.

Thanks all. He's about 18 months to 2 years behind his age so maybe that's why no special interest yet so he's 5 but emotionally at around 3.5-4 developmentally

Just to follow up from a previous poster who commented about "if it makes him happy it makes him happy"

For my 8 year olds birthday he asked for ...

A litter picker
A digital alarm clock
Glow sticks
Small whiteboard
Dancing cactus
iPad case

We had spent the past 8 years spending money on things just because we "should", the above added up to £38 and I've never seen him happier lol.

https://www.sensorytrust.org.uk/resources/activities/gofindit

What about these cards? Got them for my speech delay son. Really helped with description words, he loves being outside like your son

Also bug hunt kits?

I got my ASD 5 year old a science experiment kit from Amazon for one of his presents this year he absolutely loves it. Comes with so much equipment and just need a few things from the cupboards like oil and sugar for some of the experiments

@addicteetopawpatrol hello!

My asd son is also 5, but he's more interested in technology these days, he loves very specific games.
Before he developed these interests his only interests were food and drink related so we got toy kitchens and role play food.
Unfortunately my little autismo really loves branded/logo types of things so I had to spend a small fortune on second hand mcdonalds branded toys. (Like toy tills, not happy meal toys.)
The problem we have is if he loves something it can cause major problems because he'll obsess over it and become violent if he can't use it, because otherwise I'd have bought a soda stream for him but he'd want it for every drink, let alone once a week as a treat.

If you're after large gifts to stick under the tree, how about a massive art set/one of those interactive toys, such as a dinosaur or dragon? Also Google Melissa and doug toys if you're not keen on plastic toys (as mumsnet hates plastic!) They're mostly wooden.

Has he got a star projector? Again, my DS loved his but it created too much anxiety for him, he became so obsessed with it and broke it in hours, the next one lasted a day which was progress but again, we had to stop getting them for him as it just got him too excited. Amazon have some amazing ones!

Playdough/plasticine/hand puppets

Those water art books if you hate the mess crafts bring are handy!

Dressing up outfits (sainsburys has great gruffalo ones usually)

Karaoke machine to practise speech with singing? Especially with a projector, get a disco going!

We've bought sensory toys for our 5 year old and he's not been massively bothered by them tbh.

Does he like cars? Hot wheels seem popular with the asd kiddos just to collect tbh.

Whats his bedroom like? My eldest is mildly asd (compared to younger asd dc) and he liked framed pictures of things he was interested in, that was a physically large gift but very inexpensive which was a win!

One Christmas my eldest asd dc asked for a star wars birthday cake, so i got it despite people saying it was ridiculous but meh, it's difficult enough knowing what they want, so I'd not turn away suggestions.

If your DC has any specific interests let me know and I'll have a think/ask my asd mum pals if they've any ideas.

My son also doesn't know the difference between a big present or a stocking filler, so things like lunchboxes with things he likes on have been as much as a big gift as a bike has 😁

Also if you want a large "wow" gift, I picked up some go carts for cheap on fb Marketplace and my DC loved them!

Hope that helps a bit, it's crap being stuck for ideas x

Space hopper? Marble run? "Guess Who" (as this involves noticing that people's faces are different)? Scooter? Crystal making kit? Giant foam dice? Dressing up costume of a favourite character (pick a book one and you are sorted for World Book Day too...)? Giant tube of smarties? A 2x2 or Pyraminx Rubik's cube (as long as you are willing to teach him to solve it)?

Yes my son also loves technology. I did think of a remote control dinosaur toy possibly as I saw it last year and loved it myself

Thanks for all ideas

So far I've deffo gone wity the indoor tent. It arrived yesterday

I've also seen a mini busy board with light switches that turn on and off wity different colours as yes forever turning lights on and off

I've also got a scribble pad

Going to get a remote control dinosaur and he loves peppa so a few new peeps toys

Hopefully nothing too babyish but I guess even if it is, it's what he likes and he is approx 18-24 months behind overall according to the Paedtrician

I also went with the dancing cactus and my hubby found an infinity mirror

my son is ASD and 6. He’s really into electronics (particularly retro games) but he also loves his step 2 up and down coaster. He plays with it every single day all year round. We bought it as his main gift last year 😊

I don't know if he'll like it but my grandsons love their story telling Tonies you get a whole host of characters that you simply place on a speaker box and away you go!