Each year Autism Live curates a list of top toys and gifts in a wide range of categories and developmental levels to help you find the perfect gift to delight the children, teens and adults in your life who are on the Autism Spectrum. This year we have chosen toys in various price ranges to help you make the perfect holiday selection and to build new connections. We hope there is something to delight everyone on your list!
Top Toy Winner
VTech® Storytime With Sunny™
VTech®
Description
6+ Months
Meet a bright, entertaining friend with Storytime With Sunny™! Sunny invites participation in 300+ activities with four disks and more than five hours of fun, educational content.
Autism Live Says:
Oh, the amazing things this toy can teach while being an interactive friend!! We love the way your child can customize their experience of Sunny. With a flip of a switch you can allow Sunny to move as the talk and sing, or you can stay in the “save battery” mode and Sunny stays stationary while talking. We are also over the moon about Sunny’s ability to work on breathing, meditation and self-care skills. Bravo Sunny!
Therapist Recommendation Toy Winner
Magformers Animal Jumble
Magformers
Description
3+Years
The perfect introductory set for imaginative creators. Children can neatly stack or use the clip on faces to make different jungle animals. Young creators can also use the geometric pieces to build the different animals.
Autism Live Says:
We love the many different ways you can use this toy to work on different things. You can work on shapes, colors, sorting, animals, animal noises, building, fine motor skills and so much more. The magnets make it easier for young builders to be successful, just get the pieces close and they will help get the job done!
STEM Toy Winner
Magformers My First 30
Magformers
Description
3+ Years
Magformers my first 30pc set is the perfect introductory set for imaginative creators. Learn 6 different colors, 2 geometric shapes and all 6 Magformers building techniques. create towers, houses and the Magformers magic ball.
Autism Live Says:
This Magformer kit is the perfect starter kit for any young builder. It comes with 30 pieces that can be used to make anything under the sun. We love to watch kids let their imaginations run wild. Let your little genius show you how active their imagination really is.
Speech Builder Toy Winner
LeapFrog® LeapTab Touch™
Leap Frog®
Description
3+ Years
New skills are at your preschooler’s fingertips with the screen-free LeapTab Touch™. Tap the hundreds of touch-to-learn spots on the sturdy, colorful touch pages to play activities, games and puzzles.
Autism Live Says:
If you are looking for a fun, reinforcing toy that will have your child playing and learning, but you don’t want to increase screen time – this toy is the answer! Busy hands will love the wide variety of lessons at their fingertips. There are so many speech opportunities with this toy. You will love that they are learning without screen time. This is an ideal toy for car rides and down time where you want to encourage speech development.
Social Skills Builder Toy Winner
Sea Whee Turtle and Dog
Bene World, LLC
Description
Bene World Animals teach a wide array of Social Skills. Sparkle, the dog, teaches and reinforces the traits of kindness, respect, empathy and giving but with an animal and pet focus. Seawhee, the turtle focuses on teaching and reinforcing important character traits like patience, sharing, cooperation, and kindness, with a focus on ocean conservation! When a child demonstrates any of these traits, they can put a token in the animal’s token slot.
Autism Live Says:
Taking care of a pet is a great way to teach early social skills, especially when the pet is a plush toy that can survive any learning curve. We love how comprehensive this toy is so the child can truly care for their pet while developing a wide set of skills including responsibility.
Sensory Toy Winner
HugglePod Lite Nylon Hanging Chair
Heartsong
Description
4+ Years
The perfect play space for children to snuggle, read, take a nap, or enjoy some time away from the world! Made of durable and lightweight nylon, this chair has an inflatable seat cushion and is portable for moving from room to room or tree to tree!
Autism Live Says:
Creating a safe sensory environment for your child is important. We know that being overstimulated can cause some children to shut down, check out, or meltdown. This Hugglepod is a great way to create a quiet space that your child can retreat to. We love that it allows for a moderated sensory environment without completely shutting the door on other sensory input.
Parents Recommendation Toy Winner
VTech Go! Go! Smart Wheels® Spiral Construction Tower™
VTech
Description
1.5+ Years
Ready, set, go, go with the Go! Go! Smart Wheels® Spiral Construction Tower™. Build first words and motor skills with a talking dump truck and track set that drive development and imagination with SmartPoint® tech.
Autism Live Says:
Parents love the joy they see on the their kid’s faces when they play with this toy! There is so much to do. Race your cars to the bottom, pretend play and have the cars talk! Use the cranes and tunnels to solve problems and get everyone working.
Oldie but Goodie Toy Winner
Richard Scarry's Busytown Seek and Find Game
University Games
Description
3+ Years
Busytown Seek and Find Game has children play a fun, engaging game to race around a jumbo-sized (40″ floor board) game to find hidden characters (familiar as seen in the bestselling Richard Scarry books). The board features two levels of play.
Autism Live Says:
This game harkens back to the day of Busy Town books with all of their amazing illustrations. What did you learn from busy town when you were a kid? What will your children learn now? We love learning about all of the workers in Busy Town and how they keep the town running smoothly.
Motor Play Toy Winner
Xootz Bubble Go Scooter
Wilton Bradley Ltd
Description
3+ years
The Xootz Bubble Go Scooter is a new way for kids to have fun. The front-mounted bubble machine lets your child enjoy the bubbles whizzing past them as they’re scooting around.
Autism Live Says:
Hello! It’s a scooter that makes bubbles as it scoots! We are talking serious fun here. It’s also very motivating for the child to find their balance and keep going…just to make the bubble go. We love this. We also love that while scooting they are working on their core strength which will really help with writing skills.
Kid's Choice Toy Winner
Moonlite Story Collections
Moonlite
Description
3+ years
The eight just-released Collections, available at https://mymoonlite.com/collections, use ambient music, playful sounds, and big, bright storybook images to delight a child’s senses.
Autism Live Says:
It’s bedtime and you want something that will make your child WANT to go to bed! This toy is your answer. Project stories on a wall or ceiling. Let your child be in control or what they want to see. You will be delighted at the ease with which your child agrees to go to bed.
Empowering Employment Skills Toy Winner
LeapFrog® Build-a-Slice Pizza Cart™
LeapFrog®
Description
2+ Years
Set up shop and start selling slices with the Build-a-Slice Pizza Cart™! This food cart has everything needed to run a small pretend pizza business including six toppings, a pizza cutter, plate, cheese shaker and more.
Autism Live Says:
Everyone wants to play with this scrumptious toy – even the adults. We love how this toy allows children to pretend play the role of being in business and makes it unbelievably fun. Choosing toppings makes it feel very realistic.
Educational Toy Winner
LeapFrog® Mr. Pencil's® Scribble, Write & Read™
Leap Frog®
Description
3+ Years
Play with a pal who has all the write stuff in the Mr. Pencil’s® Scribble, Write & Read™. Follow Mr. Pencil’s lead! Use the stylus and trace the dotted lines to write numbers, lowercase letters and uppercase letters.
Autism Live Says:
This is truly an amazing toy to help teach the alphabet: What are the letters? What sounds do they make? How do you draw them in uppercase? How do you draw them in lowercase? How do you put letters together to make words? No one does this better than LeapFrog!
Best Card/Board Game Winner
The Very Hungry Caterpillar Rainbow Picnic Game
University Games
Description
3+ years
The Very Hungry Caterpillar Rainbow Picnic Game helps young children practice color recognition, patience, gross-motor skills and vocabulary. Draw a card and choose a food item that matches. Be first to fill your rainbow colorful food to win!
Autism Live Says:
This beautiful game, based on the Eric Carle’s award-winning book, is so interactive you can get the entire family involved. We love learning about colors and foods, we also learn about being a good winner and a good loser. We love partnering this game with eating foods on our plate. Eat the Rainbow! Just like the Very Hungry Caterpillar.
Boredom Buster Toy Winner
Playhouse Waterwall
Wilton Bradley Ltd
Description
3+ Years
Teaching kids valuable lessons through the art of play, Waterwall is the perfect companion that gets kids outside. Kids will learn about gravity and water flow, creating limitless combinations for water to flow as they build unique streams of water.
Autism Live Says:
This is an epic gift that will get everyone outside to play with it. All of the neighborhood kids will want to get in on the action. We love the creativity this well-made wall fosters. There is no end to the combinations your kids can make to get the water to flow perfectly. This is all hands on learning, which is so important for our kids.
Best Video Game Winner
Noggin
Noggin
Description
2+ Years
Make screen time smarter with a kid-safe, ad-free app for ages 2-7. Build math, reading, wellness, social & emotional skills. 1000+ educational games, videos & books starring favorite characters!
Autism Live Says:
For a small monthly fee your child can interact with all of the games on Noggin. We love the variety of games that are fun and educational. Your child will love playing with some of their favorite characters. Play with your child to up the value of this resource. We guarantee you will enjoy it almost as much as your child.
Best Puzzle Winner
Farm Wooden Cube Puzzle
Melissa & Doug
Description
3+ Years
The Melissa & Doug Farm Cube Puzzle is an easy-to-play-with six-in-one puzzle. It includes 16 cubes decorated with 6 favorite farm animals and a convenient durable wooden tray.This kids cube puzzle is made from high-quality wooden materials that are sturdy and safe for young hands to grasp.
Autism Live Says:
We love this well-made puzzle and its versatility. Turn the cubes and there is a new puzzle to solve. This is a puzzle that will offer hours of fun now and will become a keepsake to hand down to future generations.
Best Book Winner
Pete the Cat Phonic Books
By James Dean
Description
3+ Years
This set of 12 simple and fun Pete the Cat storybooks is an excellent choice to share with your beginning reader. It’s a fun way to learn to read and as a supplement for activity books for children ages 3 to 6. Enter into the world of reading with My First I Can Read!
Autism Live Says:
We love the way these books foster reading skills, especially reading comprehension. With 12 books in the set there is plenty of choice for your child to pick which book they would like to read next.
Best Art/Craft Winner
Fisher-Price® Sensory Bright™ Light Station™
Fisher-Price®
Description
3+ Years
This interactive sensory table features customizable lights, sounds, and music that kids can control to create personalized sensory experiences through play. Featuring six interactive play modes and a variety of textured buttons, dials, and switches.
Autism Live Says:
There are so many features that make this toy a rockstar. We love the plethora of choices the child has to make art, with light, sounds, music and more. This toy is great for sparking creativity.
Don’t forget to check out all the fabulous toy and gift winners in other categories.
You might find exactly what you are looking for there!
We at AUTISM Live
wish you the
Happiest of Holidays!
After all of your shopping is done, if you find that you have more to give, please join us in making a donation of any size to Autism Care Today (ACT). This wonderful organization gives grants to families for things like iPads, insurance co-pays, sensory equipment, GPS devices and more. Your donation could make another family’s holiday wishes come true.