Gift Ideas for Children Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired

A Shared Vision families often ask us for recommendations on what to buy their very young child who’s blind or visually impaired for Christmas. We’ve got the list of perfect sensory toys! HERE are some of our teachers’ favorites.

Although most can be bought on Amazon, don't forget the simple, unbreakable toys you already have in your kitchen cupboard, like metal bowls, spoons, measuring cups, and stackable bowls with covers. They’re great for teaching cause and effect, for banging and stacking, and for putting one object inside another or removing the object. Your child can work on sensory efficiency and their fine motor skills, too, while learning many important concepts. 

Make a Winter Story Box

Are you looking for a fun way to brighten up the cold winter days? All You Need for a Snowman by Alice Schertle and illustrated by Barbara Lavallee is a wonderful book to read aloud, and it lends itself especially well to being made into a story box.

Story boxes are a way to bring books to life for young children who are blind or visually impaired, including those with additional disabilities. Instead of relying on illustrations to support the story, story boxes use real objects and tangible symbols to help to make the meaning clear. As the story is told, children can touch and experience the items described in the story, such as a carrot, bottle caps, a scarf, mittens, walnuts, and a fanny pack. Use supervision with small items that might pose a choking hazard. Click HERE to read more.

Fall Sensory Bin Ideas

Click on the picture to see more.

How to Make a Sensory Curtain

Children with blindness or visual impairments use all their senses for learning. Ordinary household objects that vary in texture, weight, smell, sound, and color are perfect "toys" for engaging the senses. This easy-to-make sensory "curtain" is a great example of a simple toy that has color, sound, and texture. To make a sensory curtain click HERE.

Take a Trip Inside Your Home

Other than going to other family members’ houses or appointments, you probably spend a lot of time at home with your child who is blind or visually impaired. That is the best place for early learning to occur. This activity introduces the concept of Orientation and Mobility (O&M) through a traveling activity inside your home – without ever packing a suitcase or walking out the front door. Click HERE to read more.

Play in Your Own Kitchen Band

Everyday objects in the kitchen or around the home can be played with to expose your child who’s blind or visually impaired to a variety of new sounds, textures and sources of vibration – all musical concepts that you can use in parent-child play. Kitchen band play is endless fun and different every time! Here’s how to create your own “kitchen band,” from music therapist Amanda Bryant, MM, MT-BC, NMT Fellow. Click HERE to read more!

Music With Your Child

Music Therapy with Amanda Bryant. Board certified music therapist Amanda Bryant shares short videos (click HERE) on how music affects a child's sensory development by stimulating visual, auditory, tactile, vestibular and social skills. No musical experience or special instruments are required. Making music with your child is fun!

Fun Activities

Are you looking for a fun way to brighten up the cold winter days? All You Need for a Snowman by Alice Schertle and illustrated by Barbara Lavallee is a wonderful book to read aloud, and it lends itself especially well to being made into a story box. Click HERE to read more.

Make a Valentine Texture Book. Texture books are board books with fabric, fur, leather, or other materials glued on each page. They introduce very young children to the concept of a book with pages. They also help children who are visually impaired learn early tactile skills, which are critical for understanding braille. Here are instructions for making a Valentine texture book with a popular rhyme

How to Travel Without Ever Leaving the Home. Other than going to other family members’ houses or appointments, you probably spend a lot of time at home with your child who is blind or visually impaired. That is the best place for early learning to occur. This activity introduces the concept of Orientation and Mobility (O&M) through a traveling activity inside your home – without ever packing a suitcase or walking out the front door.

Tactile Baby Blankets. Tactile baby blankets or quilts are a wonderful way to encourage exploration among our youngest children who are blind or visually impaired, including those with multiple disabilities or deaf blindness. Presenting the child with a variety of tactile elements encourages exploration and promotes a baby's cognitive development.

Play in Your Own Kitchen Band. Everyday objects in the kitchen or around the home can be played with to expose your child who’s blind or visually impaired to a variety of new sounds, textures and sources of vibration – all musical concepts that you can use in parent-child play. Kitchen band play is endless fun and different every time!

Let's Make a Gardening Sensory Bin! Children who are blind or visually impaired need to experience nature. Even if your child can’t see a flower, they can touch the petals, smell its fragrance and listen to how it sounds swaying in the breeze.

Ring the Bells!  Put to music, finger plays are a fun way for children who are blind or visually impaired develop language by increasing vocabulary, learning the sounds of words and hearing rhythm. To make the mittens, all you need is a pair of children’s stretchy gloves, assorted jingle bells found at most craft stores, hot glue sticks and a glue gun.

Make Your Own Maracas. Celebrate Easter, Cinco de Mayo or any festive holiday with these fun, easy-to-make maracas. Babies and young children with visual impairments respond to the sound they make and their bright colors. 

Let’s Make a Texture Book. Early literacy begins in the first three years of a child’s life.  How do you make books engaging when the pictures are not interesting or meaningful to a very young child who’s blind or visually impaired?  A texture book is a simple solution and they’re easy to make yourself.  It might become your child’s favorite book!

Let's Make a Valentine's Day Sensory Bin.  Children who are blind or visually impaired need to know about colors.  Even if a child can’t see the colors, they need to understand the concept of colors and how they are used as descriptive words, especially as children are learning emergent literacy skills in pre-school. 

Beginning Story Box: Little Rabbit's Bedtime.  Story boxes are a collection of real objects that correspond to the illustrations or events in a story.  Little Rabbit’s Bedtime, by Alan Baker, is a great example of a very simple story that describes events from the child’s own experience, such as bedtime, bath or mealtime.

Touch and Feel Sensory Sticks.  Sensory play is a crucial component to early childhood learning and development. Many infants or young toddlers want to touch everything, and then maybe taste it, shake it, and so forth. This DIY project focuses specifically on touch and feel sensors and best of all, it couldn’t be easier to create.

How to Make a Sensory Hula Hoop.  Sensory hula hoops encourage babies to lie on their tummy and play.  It’s also a great toy for babies who are blind or visually impaired.

CVI Friendly Slap Can Koozie.  Encouraging children to use their vision for functional purposes is often easier to do when the target is food!  Making a bottle of milk or a cup of juice really stand out is easily achieved by using a CVI Friendly Slap Can Koozie.  

illumi-Spring.  The illumi-Spring is a favorite for our children that are visually able to see light and movement.  This lighted slinky is easy to manipulate, bounces slowly without making noise, the light is bright (high lumens), and it can be hung or suspended.

Toys & Apps For Your Child

Our Favorite Apps for Children Who are Visually Impaired.  WonderBaby.org teamed up with Paths to Literacy to create this list of their favorite iPad apps for children who are blind, deaf-blind or visually impaired.  They’ve categorized them by apps great for stimulating the use of vision, honing fine motor skills or teaching cause and effect, great communication apps, apps that tell stories and one app that is nice for calming down and relaxation.

Starting Blind Toddlers and Preschoolers on an iPad. A parent recently asked if there are any iOS apps for her son who is 16 months old and totally blind - the answer is a resounding YES! There are many preschool apps that are great for toddlers and preschoolers without vision.  I’d suggest starting with Cause and Effect type apps where the student touches the screen and hears a sound.  

The Ultimate Toy Guide for Blind Children: Choosing the BEST Developmental Toys for Babies & Toddlers Who are Blind.  We all want to find the best toys for our kids, but when your child is blind, where do you start? In this toy guide, you will learn how to find the best toys for your child’s needs, including what to look for in off-the-shelf toys and how to adapt or make your own toys so they are perfect for your little one. We’ll also look at how to create an adaptive play environment or sensory play space and how to use these toys to facilitate learning.

CVI.  This page on Pinterest was compiled by Paths to Literacy.  It’s a comprehensive collection of resources, books and toys for children with cortical visual impairment.

The “Big 3 Tool Kit” for Children with CVI: PLUS the 20 Best CVI-Friendly iPad Apps!  Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI) is a form of blindness that is neurological. In other words, a child with CVI may have perfectly healthy eyes, but their blindness is caused by some form of brain injury or malformation.  While anything dealing with the brain can be confusing, it’s good to know there are some great educational tools that you can use to help your child learn!