For Me?

I’m going to call this serendipity.  I think it’s funny that Autism Speaks called this out this morning, but… it’s just timely.

Hanukkah starts tomorrow night, which means that we ran into the inevitable question last night from the Monster’s grandparents, when they were over watching the kids – what do the kids want for Hanukkah?

When I was a kid – and admittedly, while I might not be ‘normal’, I’m probably neuro-typical – my mom used to take us out in September or October and have us make up lists of what we wanted, with the understanding that there was a price-limit each night (and that presents which exceeded the price limit were going to be multi-night gifts).  Neither the Monster nor the baby are really in that mode.  Add to this the fact that the Monster’s not really, from what we’ve seen, cognizant of even what day of the week it is, much less of a mode where he knows what holidays are when…

So, to be fair, we answered that we hadn’t the slightest idea of what the kids would like.

This morning, while perusing my Twitter feed, I saw Autism Speaks mentioning that they’ve partnered with Toys’R’Us on two toy guides for differently-abled children and children with Autism.  Now, I’m not quite sure how many of those are really appropriate for the Monster, based on where he’s functioning, but I do like the idea of having something out there that’s a good guide for grandparents and other family members when they’re trying to do their shopping for the holidays.  (Even when it is clearly self-beneficial for Toys’R’Us to be doing something like that.  Any help, frankly, is much appreciated.)  What I especially love is that they do have, clearly indicated, the areas that the given toys can help with development, from tactile and sensory issues to fine-motor control.

On our end, we might still be concentrating on some of the other socialization aspects for Hanukkah – like not blowing out the candles – but this is a nice thing to help with that pesky grandparent-type question.  (Or for other gift-giving occasions…)


To go a step further, there’s another list of suggestions for appropriate toys from the Daily Herald. Happy shopping!

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