Learning to play and finding ways for your child with visual impairments to socialize with his or her sighted peers can be a unique challenge. Finding toys that your child will find interesting is a great step toward teaching your child to play with others. And a great resource for parents to find toys that encourage playtime for kids with visual impairments is a free booklet, Let’s Play: A Guide to Toys for Children with Special Needs. It’s also a great guide for you to give to grandparents, family, and friends to select gifts for your child for birthdays and holidays. You can also find other toy and gift ideas on FamilyConnect.
There are so many different types of toys that have multi-sensory appeal to encourage learning and toys that can encourage interaction with your child’s friends. Playtime is an integral part of how all children learn to develop skills and to socialize with their friends, and the same is true for children with visual impairments. We can help them along and have fun at the same time by selecting toys that encourage playtime.
I’ve noticed there have been a lot of inquiries between parents on the message boards about how to encourage their child’s social interaction with friends. We’d love to hear from you—what toys has your child enjoyed playing with friends and family?