1.Jenga Conversations Starters $5
• This product is an instant digital download. – you will need to have a Jenga game set or stacking blocks. The stacking provides more interaction. “Perfect for middle and high school students engaging in lunch bunch activities, social skills activities, or small groups with peers.”
• A way to use the starters without the blocks: cut and fold the conversation starters to put into a bag, small box.
• More games at Autismgrownup.com [1]
2. Melissa & Doug Scratch Art Rainbow
Mini Notes $13 via Amazon.com [2]
• With Wooden Stylus & 125 notes
• As you write a note (or draw), the colors appear.
3. Thumball $19 and up
• Who Are You? 4 Inch Thumball [3] $17.
Also found on various sites including Amazon.com [4]. Prices from $19 and up
• Stimulates conversation, improves social interactions, prompts focused participation, and develops communications skills.
• The 4” soft ball has 32 panels. Each panel has a different phrase or topic. Throw it, roll it, pass it, or catch it. Look under your thumb. React to the word, phrase such as: favorite toy or game, what makes you mad, cool musician or song, etc.
• Other themes are available. (Emotion Mania; Virtues and Values; Resiliency; etc.)
• One review noted, “4-inch balls are not really for high school students/adult hands. The squares are smaller and I find older boys tend to have their thumbs in two or three squares. However, almost all girls and most boys are able tell which square they are in.”
4. Books
Available at Amazon and elsewhere.
• Elemental Island by Kathy Hoopmann [5] $12 and up.
If the book doesn’t fit in the stocking, make a card with the e-book download number.
• It’s Raining Cats and Dogs Michael Barton [6]
Understanding metaphors and idioms
My tip: E-books cost less and your child may prefer to use electronics to read. I like the permanence the paperback or hard cover. It gives the child a sense of ownership.
5. Table Topics To Go Cards
Available in several places including Amazon.com
• What do you think [7] $9
• Can you Imagine? [8] $9
• Road Trip [9] $9
•Conversation starters that encourage communication and social skills. The questions may be some that your tenor pre-teen haven’t though about. Their world is expanded.
• Each set has 40 cards.
[10]
[11]
You May Also like These Gift Ideas
- 100 + “Mom Approved” Gifts for Kids with Special Needs [12]
- 18 “Mom Approved” Gifts for Kids/Teens with Special Needs [13]
- Holiday Gift Guide: Give Gifts That Fuel Creativity, Create Music and Challenge Your Child to Learn [14]
- Special Resources: This Season Give the Gift of Knowledge [15]
- Gift Guide from the Fitness Guy [16]
- Gift Ideas for Those on Special Diets [17]
This post originally appeared on our November/December 2022 Magazine [18]