Sensory Resources
Many people on the Autism Spectrum have a different way of processing the senses.
Some can be 'sensory seekers' (hyposensitive, underactive) or 'sensory avoiders' (hypersensitive, overactive).
Click here to see NAS information on Sensory issues in Autism.
Your local special school (Mountjoy) may have resources for you to 'try before you buy', and would be well worth contacting before investing in some of the pricier items on the web!
Try contacting Mountjoy or TREATS Toy Library before buying the big bits!
This page seeks to offer parents links to the many, many varied websites out there; aiming to keep you on the ones in the UK making them more accessible!
The following are some links to useful websites which may help point you in the right direction for resources and ideas for your child. If we can't help, there's always Google!
For ‘fiddle toys’ places like Hawkins Bazaar offer a variety of nearly indestructible toys, the nearest shop is Exeter but can be accessed online too, other good places are Play.com and Amazon offering all sorts of weird and wonderful creations!
Toymaster in Bridport has lots of excellent bits &bobs, as do some of the charity shops like the RSPCA and Joseph Weld.
(Also…if you register your details to stop smoking with http://smokefree.nhs.uk/quit-tools/quit-kit/ you can get a free ‘tangler’ delivered to your door!)
SOME BIG THINGS £££!!!
Sensory Plus www.sensoryplus.co.uk/default.asp Sensory Plus is a division of The Kirton Healthcare Group and is one of the UK’s leading sensory equipment providers from single catalogue items through to entire environments.
At SensoryPlus we strive to exceed customer expectations by offering a sensitive and collaborative approach.
By working closely with customers and by understanding the intelligent application of sensory equipment we aim to bring sight, touch, smell and sound to the sensory impaired. At SensoryPlus we realise the significance and potential impact of every tool offered.
The joy of sensory equipment is not inherent or aesthetic; the joy of sensory equipment is the response engendered in the user.
With a reputation based on innovation, quality design, manufacture and customer service we are delighted to offer a complete service:
The Sensory Company www.thesensorycompany.co.uk/default.aspx +44 (0) 845 838 22 33 There are lots of reasons for choosing The Sensory Company, from our vast experience and understanding of your needs, to our superb service and large range of innovative products. The Sensory Company is not just another distributor of products for people with learning disabilities. We actually design and manufacture 95% of the products we sell. Years of specialist experience and feedback from our valued customers, carers and other professionals goes into every product we manufacture. Our installations and products have been OFSTED (UK government, educational inspection body) inspected on numerous occasions and had fantastic reviews time after time.
SOME NOT SO BIG THINGS
http://uk.specialneedstoys.com/
http://www.spacekraft.co.uk/
http://www.sensetoys.com/
http://www.specialdirect.com/
http://www.therapyshoppe.com/therapy/
http://www.fledglings.org.uk/index.php
http://www.sensoryplus.co.uk/default.asp
http://www.thesensorycompany.co.uk/
Some Ebay Shops
http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/tinknstinkshop/
http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/shakaid/
MohDoh www.mohdoh.co.uk The foundations of mohdoh were set some 30 years ago when Simon's mother would add a lavender essence to his modelling clay to help calm him down (Simon was an extremely hyperactive child and not much has changed as an adult!). Now he is the father of two equally excitable boys who seem to have spent the best part of their early years with snotty noses, grazed knees and elbows, disturbed sleep patterns as well as numerous stops by the side of motorways whilst the contents of stomachs are revisited and a satchel full of woes from the dark, spiders and the dentist. Simon wanted a way of helping his boys cope with these everyday ailments without submitting them to the chemicals, dyes and sugars as well as the numerous side effects that accompany conventional medication, so his thoughts returned to his modelling clay and he thought that his mum may have been on to something after all.......The rest, as they say is history!
GENERAL BITS
http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=2004&a=18234