Classroom Gifts for Kids with Special Needs

What do you get for kids who play or eat differently?

My son doesn’t eat candy. Before the pandemic, this was a unique need for sharing “treats” at school around Halloween or Valentine’s Day. Now, here in Chicago, edible treats are pretty much banned, but this has always been the case with my son and most, if not all, of his classmates. Eating on its own can already be a challenge for kids with developmental delays or neurological differences, much less sticky treats or hard candy.

Luckily, every year my son’s school has Trick or Treat from donated items and other goodie gifts so the students can get a specially-tailored Halloween experience. Don’t get me wrong–my son still goes out to show off his costume and collect candy. He just doesn’t eat any of it.

Like I said, for a lot of kids who are developmentally behind their peers, eating is a difficult skill. For a long time, my son did not eat by mouth. He still uses a g-tube, and many of my son’s classmates only use g-tubes for feeding. But gift-sharing occasions, like Valentine’s Day or birthdays, are still important. It is, of course, the thought that counts, but there are ways to include students with special needs in the gift receiving with just a very small amount of accommodation.

First, a tip…

With all gift-giving for kids with differences, try to keep something in mind…

Avoid definite nos, embrace possible yeses.

It’s hard to buy gifts for my son. I don’t even know what he’ll love and what he won’t. But I know that hard candy is a definite no. A color-changing keychain? That’s a possible yes. The rest is up to him to decide.

You don’t have to be an expert on every single kid you’re buying for or be a fortune teller. If you know there are things a kid definitely can’t or won’t use, then avoid them. If something looks like a fun possibility, then it may be a winner.

Off to the store

There’s a whole lotta choices.

Are we going to an expensive specialty store to comb through hundreds of handmade choices?

No. We are not.

We are going to the dollar store or party supply store. They have a lot of options and you can hedge your bets with a few different choices.

That being said, here are some suggestions for making good choices.

Slime!

That’s a lot of slime.

The only gift that seemed to require an exclamation point in the heading, slime is something most kids like, and the kids we’re shopping for are no different. Anything labeled “putty” is also good, and if you can get your hands on farting putty then you’ve hit the jackpot.

Bubbles

Bubble time.

Bubble stuff is cheap, it works in bubble machines and other bubble toys, and other folks can help a kid out if he or she can’t blow it themselves. Plus, it keeps for a long time.

Balls

All the colors you could want.

Balls are nice for a few reasons beyond their bouncing ability. They fit and grip well inside hands that may have a hard time grasping smaller items. Plus, they’re colorful and fun. Hacky-sacks or similar items are also nice for holding and throwing.

They look so happy.

Glow sticks

Time to party.

Glow sticks are just plain fun to have and look at. Also, just like the balls, they are easy to hold on to and grip. If you put a whole pack into a bin and light them all up, that sounds like a pretty fun sensory experience for a kid to dig into.

Beads

They’re not just for Mardi Gras.

Beads are probably my son’s favorite toys. They’re fun to grab into, push around on a table, and fling and toss around. Actually wearing the necklaces is not something I think has ever occurred to him. They are also brightly colored and shiny, so kids with trouble focusing on objects clearly will have an easier time tracking them to play with.

Fun for the whole class.

After a single trip to the store, I was able to get a couple of toy options to add to my son’s Valentine’s cards to make goodie bags to hand out to his classmates.

Is everything in the goodie bags going to be a hit with every single kid? Possibly yes, possibly no. But I definitely know that packs of pencils and hard candy would be a no-go for at least some of the kids, including my son. Therefore, I can call this “treat” bag a success.

Have fun!