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
Bedtime Routines Visual Timer
Learning Resources
Description
3+ Years
Track up to six steps of your nightly routine with this moon-themed space toy’s tracker—when you finish one, move the star to the next! Customize your nightly routines with 24 repositionable stickers featuring common chores and habits! The Moon timer doubles as a night light that counts down from 15 minutes for sweet dreams every night!
Autism Live Says:
What a great toy to take the struggle and stress out of bedtime. We especially love the countdown feature that helps kids know how much time before bedtime.
Therapist Recommendation Toy Winner
Piggy Puppet
Folkmanis®
Description
3+Years
Fresh from the farm trots the Piggy puppet ready for sweet shenanigans. With movable mouth and forelegs, this cute little porker is perfect for barnyard tales and swine-y singsongs. 10″ tall.
Autism Live Says:
We love how this plush pig can spur a child to sounds, utterances, and words. It’s also a great puppet to teach imaginative play.
STEM Toy Winner
Blockaroo
Blue Marble
Description
3+ Years
Blockaroo blocks are a new way to build. The patent-pending foam magnetic blocks click together like magic, rotate 360-degrees, and always attract to each other, creating a multi-sensory experience that kids love. Preschoolers will develop engineering and creative thinking skills, explore shapes, colors, and building with these soft foam blocks!
Autism Live Says:
These soft blocks are perfect early learning builders. They snap together easily and amazingly allow the blocks to spin!
Speech Builder Toy Winner
Concentrated Bubble Solution Spouted Refill Pouch
South Beach Bubbles
Description
3+ Years
Keep the bubble fun going with this concentrated bubble solution refill! Designed for convenience, this resealable pouch features a built-in handle for effortless carrying, a secure closure to prevent leaks, and a mess-free spout for quick refills.
Autism Live Says:
Who doesn’t love bubbles? The only thing better than bubbles is ENDLESS BUBBLES! We love how easy this pouch makes it to keep the bubble fun going! Any speech therapist will tell you that bubbles are a great, quick, easy, inexpensive way to jumpstart sounds, oral motor, articulation, and speech!
Social Skills Builder Toy Winner
Bene Tails
Bene World Toys
Description
3+ Years
Bene Tails are a new fun way to incorporate teaching important traits like Friendship, Bravery, Courage, and Gratitude! Each mini plush set includes two mini plush animals with magnetic tails, a mini storybook, and a carrying case.
Autism Live Says:
These adorable toys with their interactive storybooks are a great way to tangibly teach the concepts of friendship, courage, and gratitude all while engaging in lovely, sensory-rich fun.
Sensory Toy Winner
Mad Mattr Sensory Dough
Relevant Play
Description
5+ Years
The perfect solution for hassle-free, mess-free creative play, the Mad Mattr Toolbox is an all-in-one creative extravaganza! Build amazing Mad Mattr creations with 20 included tools! 10oz Mad Mattr in 2-Mystery colors including the Brick Maker! Handy toolbox for storage.
Autism Live Says:
This set allows your child to build their own blocks out of sensory dough! It’s hour of fun!
Parents Recommendation Toy Winner
CocoSmile Cups
CocoSmile
Description
3+ Years
These stainless steel water bottles for kids provides ample hydration for your daily activities, whether you’re hitting the road, heading to school, or exploring the great outdoors. The removable sleeve adds a touch of style and protection, keeping your hands comfortable while preventing condensation.
Autism Live Says:
We love these fun and customizable water bottles! There is a full line of cool cups and canteens to make hydration fun for your child. Our favorite thing? They are BPA-Free! Yay!
Oldie but Goodie Toy Winner
Miss Weather Dress Up Set
Colorforms
Description
3+ Years
Dress Miss Weather up for all the seasons! Stick and re-stick to your heart’s content with these repositionable shapes! Imagine new stories over and over again!
Autism Live Says:
OMG! This vintage toy makes learning about dressing for weather hours of fun. We love Colorforms, they have been around forever and they are still awesome.
Motor Play Toy Winner
Noodle Knockout!
Learning Resources
Description
4+ years
Build fine motor skills as you snag oodles of noodles for knock-out bowls of ramen! Preschoolers can have fun working on fine motor, counting, and color skills! They can test their fine motor skills on their own or with up to three friends!
Autism Live Says:
This fun games develops the same fine motor skills used in handwriting! Why not have fun while working on these skills?
Kid's Choice Toy Winner
Seaper Powers Plush
Side FX Partners
Description
3+ years
Daphne the Dolphin can’t wait to dive into another adventure! Will you join her? This super soft, plush Seaper Powers character toy stands at just 8″. She comes with a Seaper Powers original tag. Perfect for bedtime!
Autism Live Says:
Our kid judges loved this fun plushy because it was the perfect size for play, travel, snuggling and more.
Empowering Employment Skills Toy Winner
Doctor Playset
Fisher-Price
Description
3+ Years
This pretend doctor playset comes with 7 medical tool play pieces, including stethoscope, blood pressure cuff, thermometer, otoscope, syringe, bandage & fabric ‘doctor’ bag.
Autism Live Says:
We love the high quality of this playset. A press of a button can make the thermometer read “well” or “sick” and the gauge on the blood pressure cuff moves when you pump it, making this play fun and realistic.
Educational Toy Winner
Learning Activities Busy Book
Hujing
Description
3+ Years
This preschool educational toy is multi-functional, allowing children to develop fine motor skills, communication, verbal and problem-solving skills, as well as honing memory, logic, imagination and visual perception.
Autism Live Says:
We love this interactive book that teaches all of the important kindergarten basics without screen time. It’s fun, interactive, and hands on!
Best Card/Board Game Winner
Scavenger Hunt Cards
At Home
Description
3+ years
This simple treasure hunt game for preschoolers comes with 26 double-sided cards, offering 50 fun challenges to keep children engaged! Each vibrantly colored card combines lively cartoon illustrations with clear learning concepts (letters, numbers, colors, and shapes), guiding young explorers through fun “find and do” tasks.
Autism Live Says:
We love how portable this game is, making a fun activity almost anywhere. This game also helps your child hone language skills like labels, prepositions, and actions.
Boredom Buster Toy Winner
BobBee
Griddly Kids
Description
3+ Months
BobBee makes bath time exciting with a versatile 3-in-1 boat toy design that doubles as baby bath toys and toddler pool toys. Kids can explore STEM concepts while enjoying imaginative play, turning bath time into a fun learning activity.
Autism Live Says:
We love how versatile BobBee is, he can scoop, float, suction to the tub, store toys, be a share toy, and so much more.
Best Video Game Winner
PAW Patrol: To The Rescue!
Leap Frog®
Description
4+ Years
Take Ryder’s Pup Pad and join him on problem-solving missions with the PAW Patrol. Play immediately using the wireless controller and HDMI game stick; no Wi-Fi, downloads or account setup required.
Autism Live Says:
This is fun game play for the whole family, we love how much your child can learn while having a blast!
Best Puzzle Winner
Sort & Learn Puzzles
The Learning Journey
Description
3+ Years
These amazing magnetic puzzles help children to become familiar with numbers, colors, and shapes more quickly, boosting confidence and encouraging them to move on to more difficult tasks.
Autism Live Says:
We love how these puzzles boost learning and focus. The magnetic wand helps your child to work on their tripod grasp as well.
Best Book Winner
My Doctor's Visit
Autumn Press
Description
3+ Years
This charming interactive storybook takes children on a journey through a typical doctor’s appointment, easing any fears and answering common questions about what happens during a visit.
Autism Live Says:
We love the interactive stickers to help your child engage with this board book. It is a great way to prepare your child for any Doctor’s appointment.
Best Art/Craft Winner
Clay Dinosaur Modeling Kit
Blue Marble
Description
4+ Years
Design colorful dino figurines by shaping the 5 colors of clay over the 5 dino skeletons (T. Rex, Stegosaurus, Triceratops, Dimetrodon, Brachiosaurus). Use the sculpting tool and 30 googly eyes to add more character!
Autism Live Says:
We love how successfully kids can craft their favorite dinosaur with this kit! The dino skeletons make it fun and easy! Plus the clean-up is easy.
Dr. Doreen’s Favorite
Language Builder Emotions
Stages Learning
Description
2+ Years
Winner of the Tillywig Toy Award and Family Choice Award, this 80-Card set helps students identify and discuss feelings and emotions. The set features a range of actors from 1 to 70 years old, and from a variety of ethnic and cultural backgrounds.
Autism Live Says:
This set is personally endorsed by Dr. Doreen Granpeesheh, founder of the Center for Autism & Related Disorders. It is pivotal set of picture cards for teaching emotions to pre-verbal and emerging language students.
Shannon's Favorite
Kid's Karaoke
Move2Play
Description
Create a concert in your living room! Pre-loaded with toddler fav’s like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Wheels on the Bus, ABC’s, and more! DJ like a pro! Connect to your phone or tablet with Bluetooth! Spin up any jam from Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Music.
Autism Live Says:
Putting a microphone in your child’s hands encourages sounds and language. Sometimes singing is easier than talking. Shannon loves the way this microphone makes it fun and easy!
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.