Toys for Deaf Children
One of the first questions many parents ask is, “What toys should I buy for my deaf child?” or “Are there any special toys I can get to help my deaf child?
The simple answer is , No! There are no special toys for Deaf children. Your child needs all the same experiences as any child, and should be encouraged to play with toys that they enjoy as this is the best way to keep them interested and to help them learn.
One of our main aims when working with deaf children is to help develop communication skills. This may be oral or signed communication, or a mixture of them both. Playing with your child using his or her favourite toys is the best way to do this. So much is learnt through play.
Babies
Young babies need close physical contact with parents. Talking to your baby and singing are the most important things at this stage. If you are using sign with your child, physical contact, and good facial expression helps to develop attention skills which will be needed at a later date. Introducing your baby to rattles, mobiles and other small toys can be used to develop skills like tracking with their eyes, and reaching and grasping. Noisy toys are also a good way to note your baby’s responses to sound.
Toddlers
Toddlers enjoy exploring the world around them. At this stage children start to enjoy handling books, posting objects and building with blocks. Simple pretend play is also a great way to interact with your toddler. Encourage your child to help around the home, talking, signing and singing as you go. Books are also a fantastic way to extend vocabulary and to learn about the world. Many children’s books have pictures of animals which gives a great opportunity for listening games. Listening to and learning to discriminate symbolic sounds such as ‘moo’ and ‘quack’ helps in developing early language.
The Young Child
As children begin to grow and develop they embark on nursery and school years . At this stage, children develop their pretend play skills even more, using dolls, train sets, play kitchens and many more toys. Your child will have favourites. Encourage using these favourite toys, and continue to play alongside them modelling language you want them to learn. Playing with other children will also help your child to develop language skills further. Children often begin to find favourite stories too. Encourage your child to join in with familiar parts of the story, or to tell the story to you too.
School Years
As children begin full-time school school, the focus often changes to reading, number work and the curriculum. Your child still needs to play and develop communication. Continue to play with your child and their favourite toys at home. Computers and television often appeal to children of this age, and can also provide great learning opportunities The key is getting the balance between these activities, pretend play and outdoor activities, Just as it is with any child.
Enjoy playing with your child.
The toy really
doesn’t matter!
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Developing communication through play with your deaf baby or toddler
- It is not necessary to buy expensive toys for your deaf child. There are many charity shops selling toys in good condition. Major supermarkets also sell toys at reasonable prices
- If you are buying toys make sure they are safe for your child’s age group. It is often better to buy well known makes such as Tomy & Little Tikes which last well and are clearly labeled
- There are Surestart centres which loan out toys through their toy libraries
- Public libraries have a good selection of children’s books on free loan and may run regular story sessions for pre school children
- At local Mother & Toddler groups your child can enjoy a range of toys and learn to play with other children
- When playing and communicating with your child remember to keep background noise to a minimum – switch off the radio or TV / close the kitchen door if the washing machine is on
- Keep toys downstairs in a box where they are accessible to your child. Encourage him to help tidy toys away when you finished playing
- Make as much time as possible to play with your child, communicating about what he is doing and responding to his attempts to communicate with you
- The following pages give a rough guide to ideas and toys for play with 0 to 3 year olds but all children are different and will have their favourite activities
0 to 6 months
Developing communication:
- The most important resource to a young baby is the person or people looking after him and how they communicate
- Babies need to be held quite close to an adult face for communication – using a ‘sing-song’ expressive voice and gentle touch to get and hold their attention
- Use lots of facial expression to hold your baby’s attention while you speak and play
- Talk should concentrate on the here and now – what you and your baby are doing as part of the daily routine
- Singing simple songs and rhymes lets your baby hear tuneful repetitive language over and over again which they then learn to recognise and anticipate what will happen next.
- Using movement such as gentle rocking, along with singing to emphasize the rhythm
- Copy the sounds your baby makes and leave long pauses for him to copy you
- Talk to your baby in quiet situations, keeping background noise to a minimum as he will find it more difficult to hear your speech in noisy environments
- Play ‘touch and tickle’ games with your baby – tickle arms / legs / tummy
Play materials:
In the early months your baby will be mostly interested in faces. Young babies are also drawn to bold patterns – particularly in black and white
Appropriate toys would include –
| Cot mobile |
Small soft toys |
| Teething ring |
Light & sound toys |
| Lightweight rattles |
Cloth books |
Six months to 1 year
Developing Communication
- Daily routines such as bathing / feeding / nappy-changing provide excellent opportunities for communicating in a natural way with your baby. The same words and simple phrases can be repeated several times throughout the day during the routine activity until your baby begins to associate what he is hearing to what is happening at the time. Examples of this are – ‘dinner-time’ / ‘who’s pooed’ / all gone / night-night / splash / arms up /
- Rhythm is important for speech, and later for reading. Singing simple songs and rhymes with actions & movement enables your baby to hear the same language repeated over and over in tuneful way. The use of facial expression and gesture also helps your baby to recognize the song and anticipate what comes next.
- Extend the range of activity and anticipation games you play with your baby – peek-a-boo / How big’s Ellie? Etc. Your baby should begin to recognise the game from your words or actions and anticipate what comes next
- Play give and take games with your baby’s toys – encourage him to hand over an object on request – give it to me / can I have it / my turn. Pass it back saying – do you want it / your turn / there it is
- Look at simple books with your baby with clear illustrations. Point out objects in the book, naming them and making appropriate sounds.
Where’s the dog? There he is. Woof woof
Where’s the train? Here it comes. Choo choo
- Use pointing to encourage your baby to shift their attention to what you are talking about. When your baby starts to point, follow their lead and talk about what they are pointing to – That’s your cup. Do you want a drink?
Play sessions should be short and frequent and should be determined by what your baby shows interest in and what he enjoys doing
Appropriate toys could include:
| Soft balls to roll or throw |
Sound making toys & instruments |
| Simple books – lift-the-flap / feely |
Musical toys to bounce / dance to |
| Stacking & nesting toys |
Baby mirrors |
| Pop up toys |
Soft toys to cuddle & pat |
1 – 2 Years
Development of Language
- Be alert to any attempt your child makes to vocalise and reinforce the sounds you want to hear. Make a note of any times when he uses particular vocalisation to identify a person or an object.
- Singing or saying simple repetitive rhymes e.g. Round and Round the Garden, Pat a Cake etc. will help your child become more aware of voice and rhythm.
- Remember to speak naturally - there is more to speech than single words. Some children give back a great deal while others give back very little.
- At this stage it is more important to monitor how much your child understands rather than how much he speaks.
Play Materials and Activities
Play generally becomes more imaginative and constructive. Mouthing toys usually stops at about 12 months and there is now a tendency to throw objects.
Activities which will encourage curiosity and exploration are:
- Games of building and knocking over
- Emptying and filling various containers
- Opening and closing toys with lids and doors.
- Pulling apart and separating construction toys e.g. Duplo, Stickle bricks.
- Posting games.
- Pulling and pushing objects.
- Dressing and undressing can be made into a play and language activity.
- Hiding and finding toys again.
- Towards the age of 2 your child will begin to recognise familiar objects and people in books and gradually associate toys with the real objects they represent. Provide child size tools and make time to allow your child to ‘help’ around the house.
- He may become attached to one particular toy and use it as a source of comfort.
- By about 18 months children begin to associate objects e.g. cup and saucer, brush and pan. They become interested in adult activities and will mime cooking and sweeping.
Play sessions should be short and frequent as a toddler’s attention span is short. Take every opportunity to talk to your child using:
| • Stacking toys. |
• Musical toys. |
| • Inset jigsaws. |
• Sweeping set. |
| • Finger paints. |
• Telephone. |
| • Doll with bed,cover,brush,bottle etc. |
• Sand tray and containers. |
| • Posting boxes. |
• Simple books with clear illustrations. |
| • Paper and chalks,colour pencils etc. |
• Vehicles with space to load/unload. |
| • Toy garage with vehicles |
• Ball to take turns with – roll / throw |
2 to 3 Years
Development of language
- Any situation in the home is potentially valuable to develop language with your young child – sorting washing, setting the table, cooking, shopping etc
- Make sure the language you are using is natural but you may have to simplify some sentences for your child to understand
- Be enthusiastic so your child knows you are enjoying playing with him
- Follow your child’s interest, encouraging activities which are exciting and challenging
- Model good language for your child to copy
Skills which usually develop during the third year
- Early matching – objects / shapes / pictures / colours
- Early puzzles – fitting a few pieces together
- Completing inset trays
- Threading beads
- Building with blocks / duplo etc
- Counting by rote to 3 or 5
- Holding a pencil and drawing a line
- Attempting to draw a face or person
- Early pretend play – feeding doll / making tea with toy teaset / parking cars in garage etc
Play sessions will last for longer periods now if your child finds the activity interesting. He will usually play alongside, rather than ‘with’ other children at this age. Take every opportunity to talk to your child using:
| Early puzzles & Inset trays |
Play teaset |
| Threading games |
Dolls & cot / pushchairs etc |
| Building blocks |
Toy garage & cars |
| Objects to count |
Play house & people |
| Paper and crayons |
Simple repetitive story books (anticipation) |
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