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Educational Toys Help Kids With Special Needs

All children love having time to play with toys. It is essential to their
growth and development. However, for kids with special needs, playing witheducational toys is
vital to helping them feel in control of their environment and increasing
their ability to problem solve. Sometimes, play time is all that is
accomplished in a special needs classroom and through that playtime comes
important lessons and one on one time. Having the right type of toys in a
classroom for special needs kids is essential. It is estimated that over 4
million children have some type of disability that affects their learning.
Improvements in diagnosis methods have allowed pediatricians and other
professionals to determine at a much younger age what help a child may need.
This means that more and more classrooms and teachers that cater
specifically to special needs children are becoming available to parents.

Educational professionals agree that for these types of wooden educational
toys become one of the most important ways for them to work on hand-eye
coordination, social interaction, fine motor skills and gross motor skills.
In this situation, you dont have to focus on what toys are considered age
appropriate. Toys should be chosen based on developmental level not age.
Even older special needs children can benefit from basic toys such as
blocks, mirrors, and balls of all sizes. They help children work on these
all important skills. The more research that is done concerning special
needs, the more it is clear that another important aspect of learning for
special needs children is sensory play. Toys like textured balls, sand and
water tables, and lacing boards can help children feel calm and comforted by
touching. These simple toys help keep children connected to the world around
them and can open them up to learning new things.

One challenge teachers have is finding the balance in providing sensory
opportunities without over stimulating a special needs child. One study
showed that children with Autism retained more information when it was
presented to them while they were using their sense of touch. For example,
simply teaching while a child is running their fingers through sand can
enhance the learning opportunity without over stimulating them. Some special
needs children have trouble sitting for any period of time in order to focus
on a lesson. For these children, it is recommended that they be given the
opportunity to sit on toys that will provide a constant motion. This can be
calming for many children, especially those with various levels of Autism.
Toys such as sitting disks and rocking seats allow children to keep moving
while at least remaining in a seated position. Teaching a child with special
needs can be a challenge, but there are so many helpful toys available. By
making many of these toys available in the classroom, children can be
stimulated and challenged in areas that need the most development. For
parents of special needs children, these toys can help enhance learning at
home as well.

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