We’re back to give you information on the final three ‘Top Five Toy Picks for Children with Autism.’ Last week we looked at the first two, which were Schleich animals and My Smart Hands flash cards for learning sign language.
Melissa Stolz, Behavioural Therapist and Early Childhood Educator (ECE) with the Children’s Centre Autistic Intervention Program, is the source for our top five toy recommendations.
Melissa has taught me that some of the simplest and most unassuming toys offer amazing possibilities for working with Autistic children, as you will see from the following examples.
Schylling Nesting Sock Monkeys
Children can be very motivated by animals and for some reason monkeys seem to be one of the favourites. 
The nesting monkeys are a terrific tool for learning sizing and sequencing, from beginner through to advanced levels. Additionally, the Schylling Nesting Sock Monkeys can be used to teach recognition of emotions.
Each monkey in the set of six has a cute facial expression unique to that monkey. Melissa likes this. She finds when she is teaching what emotions are and how to recognize different emotions, her children will have no interest in what her face is doing but will be fascinated with the monkeys. She uses them to help the child identify what the most common emotions look like and how to match the facial expression to the feeling. The monkeys, from large to small, show the expressions of happy, worried, surprised, silly, angry and proud.
Lauri Number Puzzle Boards and Pegs
This is one of Melissa’s favourite toys for working on fine motor skills, spatial relations and math skills. Its 
versatility means there are numerous ways the Lauri Number Puzzle Boards and Pegs can be used to teach a variety of different skills. The number boards consist of many different parts; a large and small puzzle piece that fit together, a number piece that fits inside the small puzzle part, a set number of spots where the child would place pegs on the large puzzle part as well as large, colourful pegs.
She uses the puzzle portion of the toy to teach her children to fit simple puzzles together and as a way to learn about ‘apart and together’.
She also uses Lauri Number Puzzle Boards and Pegs for number recognition and counting. The number that is found on the smaller puzzle piece can be removed and used on its own to help your child to learn their numbers and place numbers in order. Other elements that can be taught with the use of Lauri Number Puzzle Boards and Pegs include hand and eye coordination, number printing, matching, counting, grouping and patterning.
Melissa & Doug Kitchen/Food Products
Melissa finds the Melissa & Doug kitchen and food product toys particularly useful for teaching item recognition and tool association and also uses these for ‘real life’ pretend play.
For instance, she will set up a table with a place setting and ask the child to name each item on the table 
as they hold it up. The next step will be to teach the children how to hold each item and what it is used for.
The food sets are perfect for ‘real life’ pretend play. Melissa & Doug offers a diverse range of food sets ranging from vegetables to fruit, fast food, desserts, the four food groups, even sushi and pizza. She likes to use each of these to help a child identify the names of different foods that can be found at their house.
A real plus is that a lot of the Melissa & Doug sets are either ‘put together’ or ‘cut apart’. They can be used to show how something like a sandwich is made, a cupcake or brownie is decorated or how to put toppings on a pizza. There is a set called the ‘Wooden Slice and Bake Cookie Set’ that is one of her favourites. The wooden cookies have Velcro pieces on them that help them to stay together. You put the cookies into the cookie tube and close it up, then use the knife that comes with the set to “cut” the dough into slices to be ‘baked’.
Remember that I have detailed exercises on how to use each of these toys as a learning tool, based on what I learned from Melissa. I would be happy to share this information with you, wherever you are. Just email me your request.
Toy Sense is a giant specialty toy retailer in Thunder Bay ON and a member of Neighbourhood Toy Stores 
of Canada (NETS). We offer a fun and friendly shopping environment with a knowledgeable sales staff that provides the expert advice needed to the find the ‘perfect’ toy. Our products are hand-picked by our experienced staff which gives you widest selection of the best products available at a variety of price points. Our 4000+ square foot showroom boasts over 8500 in-stock items. We pride ourselves on the quality and uniqueness of our toy selection.
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