Don’t forget about toy libraries!

Often toy libraries can be a very underutilised service in many communities… but they have a lot to offer, particularly for children with autism, aspergers or pdd-nos.

Many families say “We have so many toys at home…the last thing we need is more toys”

But let me give you a little bit of food for thought….

I saw a boy named Oli on the weekend for a session who will be going to a mainstream school next year.

He is doing really well with his play and interactions at home with his parents and his brother. This family have done an incredible job at building their relationship with Oli, helping him realise that they are heaps of fun to be around and can add so much value to his life. In fact, when I recently analysed some video footage of Oli playing with his family at home it really was not apparent that he had autism!

Yet aside from all of his wonderful progress at home his parents report that he is having significant trouble forming relationships with his peers.

One of Oli’s challenges is that he experiences a considerable amount of anxiety which is getting in the way of helping him develop friends. The thing that triggers this anxiety for Oli is new and unpredictable things. For example when he has play dates with friends, away from home, there is soooo much unpredictability (new home, less familiar people and of course new toys!).

So we needed to focus on helping Oli become more comfortable with new situations. Therefore I recommended that this family create more unpredictability in their play time at home, where Oli already felt very safe and secure.

One excellent way to create this unpredictability is by introducing different toys into your child’s play sequences.

But as you no doubt know, kids can get bored of the same toys very quickly. So if you’re child is no longer motivated by the toys you have at home, an excellent source of new and interesting toys can be your local community toy library… just like a plain old book library but instead you can borrow toys! Plus what’s also great is that as soon as your child gets bored of them you can simply return them!

Just do a Google search for toy libraries in your local area. Obviously some toy libraries are better equipped than others but it’s definitely worth checking out! And if you can’t find any toy library in your area then you could always organise to swap some toys with friends or family members.

Even if your child is not up to the same stage as Oli, toy libraries can also be a great way of trialing toys or equipment (e.g: mini trampolines) to see if your child likes them before purchasing. Because we all know how much money we can waste on toys that we think our child is going to like!

Til next time

Monique

Other articles by Monique:

• “My child wants to socialise with other kids but doesn’t know how”
• Is there a ‘Magic Formula’ for Autism?
• Part 1 – Why ‘Play’ is SO Important for Children with Autism