AD Wicked Uncle have asked me to write this post so that you are aware that they have great Sensory Gift Ideas. Catering for those with additional sensory needs. I have been financially compensated however all opinions are honest and my own.
The Sensory Seeker is a Teenager!
Can you believe that The Sensory Seeker himself is now a teenager! For his 13th birthday he actually opted for a night away at Thorpe Park with his dad. This was perfect for him as he got to go on all the big roller-coasters. With his oldest brother being 25, you could say we have had a lot of birthdays to cover for boys. Therefore, we know what makes great sensory gift ideas. I truly believe that Wicked Uncle is a great place to look.
What to Buy a Teenager with Sensory Processing Disorder
Now you may Google “what to buy an autistic?” or “sensory gift ideas” and come up with a whole load of websites showing some fantastic sensory products but honestly children with sensory processing disorder are still just children.
We have found that generally they like what other children do. Sometimes they want what their peers have in an attempt to try to fit in more. Our boys have been like any other when it comes to birthdays – wanting the latest computer games, or in-thing, even trying to like football when really it hasn’t been their thing.
You need to think outside the box about whether it is something that is helping their sensory needs too. For example The Sensory Seeker loves his Oculus Quest 2, a virtual reality headset. This helps him with his visual and movement needs. But of course this is a hugely popular product in his peer group!
Why Shop with Wicked Uncle
Wicked Uncle is a great website for discovering some great gift ideas for all children, whether they have additional sensory needs or not. But additionally Wicked Uncle have a section of sensory products! Also, it can be easier to find your child the ideal gift if they have a special interest – and Wicked Uncle cater for some of those too!
Wicked Uncle Sensory Products
The Wicked Uncle Sensory Toys and Presents section covers a multitude of different colour-changing, noisy or tactile gifts. For teenagers like the Sensory Seeker there are products such as the mini erupting volcano mood light; the Disco 360 Ice – LED lightshow and luxury bath sets for example.
As with all of the sections on the Wicked Uncle website, you can sort the sensory gift ideas by ages (not just the whole website) – 0-3, 4-7, 8-11 and 12+ but not, unfortunately, by sensory need (ie the vision, tactile, smell, etc). Hopefully they may look into this in the future. You can also look high to low, and low to high on price – great if you are looking for an idea if you are invited to a party where the birthday person has sensory needs.
Sensory Popular Products at Wicked Uncle
As I say, however, our boys have been just like any other and would have wanted gift ideas that are popular. Wicked Uncle have many gift ideas in the popular filter which would be perfect for addressing sensory needs.
They aren’t actually in the sensory section as if you aren’t a parent of a child with sensory processing difficulties you may not think about senses other than sight, sounds and touch. For example, good movement birthday ideas on Wicked Uncle include the top seller Upside Down Challenge, Flying Bee, Smart ball and a Giant Piano dance mat.
Special Interest Gift Ideas from Wicked Uncle
Wicked Uncle also sort their gift by product type – which means there is a small number of special interests covered. These include those who are into football, dinosaurs, engineering, unicorns, food, fashion and spooks and spells.
Other Related Posts you may be interested in:
You may also recall that I have previously written about what best to buy women with Asperger’s Syndrome for Christmas and I think you will find it helpful as a starting base when you consider what they really might like. It was put together from the opinions of many women who are Autistic.
The Only Child Not Invited:
Sensory Party with Reptiles:
Party Planning and Sensory Processing Disorder:
Dinosaur Ice Age Play for Sensory Seekers:
We chose to make a Pirates game to fit in with our trip to 
Halloween definitely is a time to embrace dressing up. My Sensory Seeker loves nothing better than dressing up. All those different textures, and I think it really is where he is comfortable at using his imagination. Letting them get themselves dressed will also help them with orientation, textures, fastenings (zips, buttons, bows, laces etc). We also have a mirror for him – so that he can see what he looks like. I find that when he uses the mirror he also uses different expressions – and he can see what that looks like too. Or you can use face paint – which is fantastic for tactile stimulation.
My boys loved this game. Basically get into two teams with the child with Sensory Processing Disorder (or any child) to be the Mummy. Then get the other children to wrap them up. We used toilet paper but you could use bandages or any other white material for a deeper pressure. The winning team can either be the one who has their Mummy all wrapped up the quickest, or have a time limit and the winner is the one who is the most wrapped at the end. If you wanted to add more sensory experiences to it the Mummy could have to run around too.
A number of children are scared of the dark, and at Halloween ghosts and monsters are even more likely to frighten them. The Go Away Ghost game can also be beneficial to the child who gets upset when something messy touches them (something in their shoe, a cobweb, a wet leaf, a grain of sand, wet paint); Or the child who is worried about something touching them; the unresponsive child who does not react to what is going on around them; the child who has trouble focusing on an activity, or has trouble making the transition between activities; and when they have trouble with an activity and needs removing. This game is good for their imaginations too.
Sometimes he will not even try touching something just because of its appearance or smell. Putting some coloured water in a bowl and throw in some apples is a great way to encourage him to try putting the apple in his mouth because he knows it is a game and he is not expected to eat it. I think this takes the pressure off him. This could be used with black, red and green water – maybe have the 3 different bowls. Rewarding with sweets for participating is always a useful incentive I find too.
If they are not quite ready for putting their face in what about a game of scary spaghetti – where you place the cooked spaghetti in some jelly with some Halloween toys (eyes, spiders, etc) – and the idea is to put your hand in and pull out a particular Halloween toy to win. This will help them develop their sense of what things feel like, and what shapes they are without their sense of sight. You can do this with or without a face mask – depending on how comfortable they are with it.
For children with Sensory Processing Disorder parties are a whole different ball game. I am so proud of how far my Sensory Seeker has come with coping with them. In fact I would go as far to say that at the last party the parents who do not know him would never have thought that he has any additional needs at all. There were signs there (a bit of spinning on the floor and ok maybe the rubbing a cookie on his head) but nothing that couldn’t be put down to a quirky five year old. Of course the problems can change from child to child with Sensory Processing Disorder, and the same child at different times, dependent on whether they are seeking or avoiding, and which areas affect them.
Talk to the child about the party and what to expect in the days leading up to it. If possible show them visual aids to familiarise themselves with the venue, or read books about parties. You may need to take ear plugs/defenders and/or sunglasses to help block out the lights and sounds.
What we do need to be careful is that he does not get too over stimulated. He seems to self-regulate himself now by doing things such as spinning on the floor. I still have to watch that he doesn’t invade other children’s space too much, or if he spins on the floor that there’s room and he’s not going to trip people up. As I mentioned he has trouble visually seeing food he wants but cannot have. To be fair to him he has developed loads in this area and does no longer grab it, I do see him being more anxious/worked up due to it though. I also need to make sure that he does not put too much food into his mouth at once (stuffing). What food is available can be an issue but there’s usually something unhealthy that he will like (typical birthday food either sandwiches and biscuits or chips). He can be a bit messy and try to pile too much food on his plate. I just supervise him and make sure I take him to wash his hands (you could also take wipes but we are trying to encourage him to move forwards and feel he has an association with babies with them). Plenty of sweets throughout really help him as it gives him something oral he can touch and taste.
