Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Self-Stimulating (Stimming) Toys for Autistic Children

Stimming or self-stimulation is one of the many symptoms of autism. It is the way children with autism self-stimulate or self-regulate their reaction to overwhelming situations and their emotions. Stimming behavior could include; clapping, rocking, spinning and repeating of words and phrases. Some of the main reasons children with autism stim is to manage their emotions, challenging situations and overwhelming sensory input, such as from too much light, heat etc.
Among the ways to help children with autism stim in a fun,safe and creative way is to give them toys that helps to make self-stimulation tolerable for parents, other family members and caregivers. For children that do repetitive flapping, clapping or other hand gestures for example, it maybe best to give them a toy or game that doubles as a regulator or self-stimulating device that develops their creative side. An example of a device that can be used is a piano glove, that can be placed onto the child's hands just as you would a regular glove, and as the child claps or moves his or palms onto a smooth surface a range of melodies are created, with time and practice your child will begin to create his or her own melodies and style of music that are relaxing to him or her..
Often times it can be difficult to reach an autistic child when he/she has retreated into the serene world they have created for themself, and music maybe the ideal way for other children and adults to connect with the child. Most Autistic children have a great appreciation for music, such as; Derek Paravicini, Matt Savage and many others. Thus giving an autistic child the gift of music is a great way for the child to enhance his or her musical ability, in way that is fun and stimulating.
Other musical instruments parents and caregivers may consider using to engage an autistic child could include a synthesizer piano and LED drum sticks. The foldable synthesizer piano can be very convinent to take on the go and be used as a self-regulator in over-whelming situations before they arise. Optionally a pair of comfortable headphones can be plugged into the synthesizer piano, that allows children to create and listen to their music quietly without disturbing others around them. Or children may use the synthesizer Piano in the privacy of their room and entertain themselves for hours.
The drum sticks on the other hand offers double the sensory stimulation the autistic child appreciates. Each drumstick creates beats that allows children to create their own style of music. Using the built-in navigation buttons children can interchange the snare, tom and cymbals to create snappy rock melodies and more. Each drumstick have an impact sensitive tip with bright led lights, that adds to children's fascination with the drum sticks. There are also pre-installed demo songs to help children create amazing music.
To use the drum sticks, children simply push the on switch, using the navigation buttons on each drumstick, choose from a selection of rhythms and melodies, and by moving the hand in a rhythmic motion they can enjoy the music the light- weight portable drumstick makes.
http://www.tannipadna.com/Piano-Gloves-with-Musical-Fingertips.html
http://www.tannipadna.com/Flexible-synthesizer-Piano-Keyboard.html
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cecilia_S.

3 comments:

  1. Definitely self simulating or Stimming is a toy itself for children.If you want to make them happy then you can take his or her out of city to enjoy and make him feel some different.If you are interested you can hire a car for more information visit http://www.carrentalindia.co.in

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  2. Hi! I am very happy to read that Self Simulating toys for autistic children is available in the market. you have shared a lot of knowledge about simulation. It will be really helpful for the parents.
    adaptive educational products


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  3. Help Them Shine is the dedicated partner to help children with autism. With its special kind of product
    The pencil grip

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