11 Best Toys and Gifts for Kids With Autism
Expert-recommended ASD toys that are therapeutic, educational and just plain fun.
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Every kid has their own toy preferences, and that especially holds true when you're shopping for kids with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). "It's about matching the individual sensory and motor profile rather than using a one-size-fits-all approach," says Jennifer Rothman, LCSW, a professional in the childhood special needs field. "Don’t just focus on age," she advises. Instead, choose based on your child's developmental level.
The experts at the Good Housekeeping Institute have curated this list to feature choices that can appeal to both kids with nonverbal autism as well as those who are high-functioning. We test toys and gifts all year long, and each of these toys can promote physical development, inspire creative thinking and help provide a calming experience.
Edushape The Original Sensory Ball
Rolling or tossing a ball is a fun game to play with a child with autism to help boost their hand-eye coordination and social skills. "The right toys should push kids to use both sides of their bodies to build bilateral coordination and motor planning," says Rothman.
This nubby ball is a great sensorimotor toy for grasping, bouncing, rolling and tactile exploration. The 7-inch ball arrives deflated so you will want to use an air pump to inflate, or pay just a dollar or so more for the version that comes with a pump.
Though it's safe for babies, we also like this for big kids who are drawn to the grippy texture. Ages 6 months+
This classic toy is a best seller among our readers and is included in many of our age-by-age gift guides. It's another that's loved for its open-ended play pattern. Kids can sit inside it and rock, or turn it upside down and sit atop it. They can wear it on their head or fill it with other toys.
It's autism-friendly according to Rothman's advice, which is to "look for toys that might be less visually busy to allow for more abstract thinking." It works indoors or outdoors, and comes in a rainbow of colors. Ages 2+
Kids with autism and/or ADHD appreciate these big, foam building blocks that can fit together to be any number of things: a fort, a couch, a throne and so on. Kids can climb them or hide under them or rest on top of them, depending on their mood.
“My kid loved the sunshine and cloud theme and all the different things she could do,” a mom tester told us. At Walmart, 90 percent of the toy's ratings are five-star ones, and it won one of our most recent Best Toy Awards, where Lab experts noted that they're versatile for active play or chilling out. Ages 3+
Squigz pieces connect to almost any solid surface and make a fun popping noise when you separate them. This starter set comes with 24 pieces of colorful mini suction cups that easily attach to one another to create fun shapes and buildings.
Or your kid can stick them to a window, as shown, or to a tabletop — they inspire creativity while they satisfy the senses. Ages 3+
Fat Brain Toys Dimpl Digits
Dimpl Digits takes pop-it fidgets to the next level with all the colors of the rainbow and more. Kids can push, pop and identify colors and numbers. The repetitive, tactile motion of popping the dimples can help with self-regulation, in many cases allowing a child to better pay attention and stay calm.
The colorful rays are printed with Braille and Spanish, too, making it a more inclusive learning toy for kids with autism. Though it's age-graded for toddlers, kid of all ages and even teens enjoy it. Ages 2+
RELATED: Best Sensory Toys for Babies, Toddlers and Preschoolers
hand2mind See My Feelings Mirror
Using mirrors alongside emotion cards can help improve both empathy and body awareness in kids with autism. This is a set of four mirrors that help encourage kids to recognize and identify various feelings.
By exploring different expressions, children can gain insight into their own feelings in a way that feels natural to them. The mirrors are made from shatterproof glass and come with a set of switchable cards displaying kids making facial expressions that your kid can try to match, or identify, or both. Ages 3+
Kinetic Sand is a favorite children's gift among our own editors, but it's hardly an undiscovered gem — it's got more than 8,000 five-star Amazon reviews. It's also a previous winner of our Best Toy Award, beloved by our toy testers.
Parents say it's especially great for sensory exploration and social play. Because the sand sticks to itself it is fun to squeeze and squish but also easy to clean up. Playing with it can be a calming activity too. Ages 3+
RELATED: Parents, Don’t Miss This Deal on Kinetic Sand (A Tester Favorite)
In researching how to keep a child with autism with a lot of energy entertained, bubble machines came up more than once. We suggest this as a fun outdoor toy, because of the high volume of bubbles that come flying out. (The brand says 18,000 bubbles per minute; we're not going to try and do an accurate count!)
As long as you have a place to plug it in, perhaps on a deck or porch, you're good to go. Just don't forget the bubble solution. Ages 3+
Stapelstein toys were designed in collaboration with teachers, child development specialists and movement experts. The open-ended play opportunity means that nothing your kid does with the pieces will be "wrong." Kids can sit on them, step on them, spin them upside down, wear them as a hat — it's all good, tactile and active fun. And the pieces hold up to a ton of wear and tear, indoors and outdoors.
We gave a set to an inclusivity counselor at a New York City YMCA, and he told us, "I didn't expect them to be a hit, but my kids play with Stapelstein daily. They use them for 'The Floor is Lava,' turn them into a drum set...every kid has different ideas."
This is a smaller and more affordable version of the seven-piece set that won our recent Best Toy Award. Ages 1+
RELATED: We Tested Over 300 Toys to Find Our 2024 Best Toy Award Winners
Many Reddit parents sharing autism-friendly toy recommendations suggest Magna-Tiles, a high-quality brand of magnetic building tiles that has won our Best Toy Award more than once.
This classic set inspires imaginative play — kids can build whatever they want, as there are no directions to follow. The pieces hold together well but are also easy enough to pull apart when your kid decides to build something new.
RELATED: Best Magnetic Toys for Kids' Learning and Development
hand2mind Sensory Fidget Tubes
Four tubes provide tactile and visual stimulation to both distract and soothe a child, making it a great therapeutic toy for autism. Even teens enjoy these Sensory Fidget Tubes, using them almost like mini lava lamps.
The set includes one glitter tube, a reverse hourglass, one gravity spinner and one fidget tube with a button to push. Ages 3+
Jessica (she/her) is a freelance writer with several decades of experience writing lifestyle content and evaluating home and parenting products. A mom of two teens and two cats, her previous work can be seen in American Baby and Parents.
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