For The Engineer At Heart

There are some toys at our center that kids of all ages seem to gravitate towards and they typically revolve around building things! I will mention a few of them in this post.

The Marble Run

A great hands on toy that sparks creativity in all that try it! I've 

noticed that individuals with ASD seem to build structures 
with the marble run effortlessly ;whereas, it seems to take me 

forever to figure out how it's all going to work together! Not only

do kids love to build with the pieces, but they also love to watch 

the marbles go down the chute! The only word of caution for this

toy is to be careful if you have a small child-- he/she may love the 

cause and effect aspect of watching the marbles fall, but it is not

appropriate for kids who like to put things in their mouths!

 Gears!

 Gears by Learning Resources is another toy that is a must

have for our waiting room. We've had this set for years and 

it's held up amazingly well for the amount of people who 

have played with it. You can build horizontally or vertically 

and watch all the gears move together like a machine. 

The set does not come with instructions of what to build so 

like the marble run, it allows for a great amount of 

flexibility and creativity!

Magnaformers

Not a cheap product, but one that is great for individuals who

love to build and use their hands! Most kids in upper elementary

school and even into middle and high school seem to love 

Magnaformers!

You can find all of these products and different variations at amazon.com among other stores. Based on our experience, they are all a hit with many individuals on the autism spectrum who tend to have a strength in the figuring out how things work!

- Molly