Every year I’m honoured to take part in the blog hop arranged by RJ Scott. In this year’s hop, I’m sharing an autism fact and talking about childhood toys.
AUTISM FACT: Anxiety and autism often go hand in hand.
RJ asked me to blog about toys, interestingly something that’s come up in my life recently. We moved house last month and in the process found two huge plastic boxes containing toys that my two daughters (now 19 and 20) held dear to their heart when they were younger. There were music boxes, tea sets, dolls, and a ton of stuffed toys. It led to a conversation about other toys they had fun playing with – hoola hoops, skipping ropes, slinkies, and jigsaw puzzles. They also adored colouring books and jewellery making. Their favourite activity was jumping on the trampoline but I’m not sure a trampoline is technically a toy. 🙂
Today, we have very few “toys” in the house – apart from the dog’s ball. But then I was reading about toys and autism and realised we actually do have a couple. One of my girls suffers from anxiety. A squishy ball does wonders to keep her hands occupied during difficult discussions, allowing her to focus her mind. My other daughter still colours, an activity she finds relaxing and calming.
The article about toys specifically for autistic children included squeezy balls and spinners, and a whole plethora of toys including sensory toys, toys for building, toys for puzzle solving and so on. Toys are used to help parents build relationships with their kids, and by therapists to help build skills – communication, learning sequences, social skills, and both fine and gross motor skills. The best toys for kids with autism are ones that motivate kids to engage and of course, all toys are about having fun!
RJ supports a charity called Lindengate. It is a mental health charity that works with autistic children like her son. Here’s the link if you’d like to support them, and the wonderful work they do.
https://mydonate.bt.com/
Further Reading
Please visit RJ’s Master Post to link to all the other post in the hop. There are lots more autism facts to be learned and also prizes along the way.
Giveaway
Thank you so much for your interest in autism and learning more about it. For a chance to win 3 ebooks from my back list, comment below with details of your favourite childhood toy. I’ll choose a random winner when the blog hop is complete.
In the meantime, if you’re looking for something to read, how about Pay It Forward? It’s a feel-good love story about helping others.
Forced to leave home as soon as he finished high school, Bailey McCreedy’s focus has been on earning enough money to survive. All he needs is a roof over his head and to keep his small mobile lending library running. Books are Bailey’s escape, and he loves to share the joy of reading with those who don’t have access to them.
Tom Brooks’s upbringing is very different to Bailey’s, with a loving family, a good education, and a high-flying job—that is, until things came crashing down. Tom opens a coffee shop, struggling to build his business and reluctant to accept help, operating under the misguided belief that he must pay penance for his sins. Watching Bailey work with the street kids opens Tom’s eyes to the reality that accepting help is not a sign of weakness, and that he is so much more than his past mistakes.
But as Bailey falls for Tom, with his charming manner, obvious care for others, and group of successful friends, Bailey’s own sense of self-worth threatens to tear them apart. In the face of intensifying challenges, he’s reluctant to confide in Tom, afraid he’s not good enough.
A bright future will require Bailey to heed his own advice—people aren’t defined by their failures or inability to live up to the expectations of others. It’s time for Tom to pay it forward, and Bailey needs to accept the help and love that Tom offers.
Available from Amazon and on Kindle Unlimited.
The one I wish I had now was the Magical Musical Thing, shaped vaguely like a keytar (’80s, you know!) but with plastic touchpad notes. They sounded vaguely like a cross between an electric guitar and a synth, and someone who could read music (I couldn’t yet) probably could play real songs on it. The keys were super-sensitive, though, and once the family was awakened by something pressing on it in the middle of the night, and the droning note had my mom fearing it was a fire alarm. The batteries were a pain to replace, too, so out it eventually went. I guess I could see if they still exist on eBay or something, but my house is so full of books etc. that I should resist the urge.
I’ve never heard of one of those. **runs off to Google to check what it is** 🙂
My mom was an alternative education teacher before she retired and she had an autistic student with a fabulous mom who put a lot of effort into her son. It really paid off. He graduated from high school and now has a job as a cashier at a store.
What a lovely good news story. Thanks for sharing <3
I’ve been trying to think of a different toy to mention for the different blog posts. Since I haven’t been a child for a long time coming up with different ones is a challenge! 🙂 I remember that one year I wanted a race car set. I didn’t get quite the one I wanted (I’m sure it was too expensive) but I had fun with it anyway. Thanks for doing a giveaway.
I remember my daughter requesting a race car a number of times – the remote control type. We (or santa LOL) must have given her three of so. They only ever lasted a week or two, though. Either they were terrible quality or she drove them to destruction.
Thank you for the post. I didn’t really have any of my own toys when I was a kid and what was there wasn’t much. A lot of my childhood was spent at the library.
I don’t think a lot of toys are required but it is nice to have one or two special ones. Like you, reading was my favourite thing in the world to do and thankfully the library was there to feed my unending appetite for new stories.
I don’t think my favourite thing when I was a kid could really be called a toy, but I had a radio with a tiny red light that came on when it was tuned to a FM station, and I used that tiny red light to read under the bed covers, after my Mum had put my bedroom light out. No one ever worked out why I went through batteries so quickly!
I love that story! I have so many fond memories of reading under the covers but I’ve never tried reading by a little red light!
Great post Nic, not entering, because I have all of your books, just saying…
Thank you so much, number one fan. **kisses**
Thank you for taking part. RJ X
Thank for the opportunity. It is always a pleasure to support something so close to your heart.
I always loved wooden blocks and teddy bears
Did you make your bears into characters and play-act with them? Mine performed little plays 🙂
My favorite were my Breyer horses.
I’m not sure what a Breyer horse is but I love most things ‘horsey’ so probably would have loved them too 🙂
My faves were my Breyer horses.
I loved teddy bears, but what I loved most as a kid where my books… Fairy tales where my favourite
My favourite books as a child where the Enid Blyton books. Weren’t we lucky to have books – so many places to visit in our imaginations!
For outdoor fun I always had a pair of roller skates. We would spend hours rollerskating around the neighborhood in a group of kids.
I hated rollerskating LOL But I loved hanging around outside with all the neighbourhood kids. We used to do things like climb trees to catch cidadas – green grocers, brown bakers, yellow mondays, black fridays…. we’d try to collect the full set 🙂
I was really active so a lot of my favorite memories were playing outside in nature. For a more traditional toy, I think my favorite was my Cabbage Patch doll. I still have it somewhere. 🙂
Wow! I haven’t thought of Cabbage Patch dolls for years! 🙂
One of my favorite toys was my Nintendo 64. I loved Starfox, and played it all the way through too many times to count.
I never had a Nintendo of my own. My brother bought one (at least I think it was a Nintendo but it may have been something else) and it had the game Donkey Kong. I loved it! But my brother would hardly ever let me play so there was no chance of me developing an addiction LOL
The lucky winner was Anna! Anna, I’ve sent an email to you. All you need to do is reply and tell me what 3 books from my back list you’d like. Congratulations! And thanks everyone else for reading and commenting. Nic xx