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ASD & electronic toys?

nfrtnynfrtny member
in Special Needs
DS is not diagnosed, but we (including his pedi) believe he is on the spectrum. He just turned 2 last week. I'm looking through the Son-Rise program online, and it says to eliminate all electronic toys. He has stuff like a little toy work bench that has sound effects and plays music, and shape sorters that play music. He doesn't play with any of the 'older' toys he has, like the Little People toys. Should I just take all the batteries out of his toys? Is that something that really needs to be done? I just can't imagine what he'll do with himself if he doesn't have something that makes a noise or plays some music. Is he too old for these toys? I feel ridiculous for even posting this. 
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Re: ASD & electronic toys?

  • lite-brightlite-bright member

    Where we ran into issues with electronic toys weren't the ones that played music, they were/are the ones that talk. 

    DD1 is already prone to echolalia, and playing with toys that talked just made that more pronounced b/c she'd repeat the phrases over and over. So we took those away, hid them, turned off the volume when possible or in a few cases, took out the batteries. 

    It was kind of on a case-by-case basis. Scout the talking puppy? Gone. Little People barn and zoo that have parts that make animal noises? Stayed. Electronic word game? Gone. It was kind of a bummer for DD2, because the music table we bought for her as a baby had a very short lifespan and she hardly got to play with it. DD1 would hone in on it, switch it to Spanish mode, and drive me crazy repeating the phrases in the exact same tone as the table's voice. 

    We eliminated them more on that basis that anything that encouraged solo, rote play had to be taken out. Stuff that was open-ended and had room for imagination & collaboration, even if it played music or made noise, could stay. 

    image

    DD1, 1/5/2008 ~~~ DD2, 3/17/2010
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  • kcisthebombdotcomkcisthebombdotcom member

    my experience is a little different as we planned on avoiding electronic toys as much as possible before having kids. my daughter is not autistic but has some traits of the disorder.

    she does absolutely fine with non-electronic toys. her therapists have been wonderful in helping with appropriate play. we do keep some in rotation that we received as gifts. I mostly just don't use the batteries. we have the work bench and shape sorter toys which we use without batteries without issue. I would keep those.

    Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker
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  • houndbabyhoundbaby member
    We chose to take away most electronic toys because ds would become so fixated on them. Things like the activity table, toys that were just flashing light and noises, or anything where you pushed a button to make a noise went because he would become fixated on them instead of playing with them appropriately. We got rid of most of those items when he was 2 and focused on floortime and physical play. Now at age 4 ds does have some electronic toys,he has a leap pad, he has fire trucks that light up and make noise, the difference is that he plays with them appropriately now, which he didn't before. Having ASD ds was late with his pretend play and seemed to stick to toys a bit below his age level, he and my 2.5 yr old are into most of the same toys right now. 
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  • MirandaHobbesMirandaHobbes member

    We tried to use the electronics to our advantage. He absolutely ignored nonelectronic toys from 6 months on. At age 2 we got him an electronic train set, and that was a winner. I could use it to start some pretend play with the train conductor, passengers, etc. When he finally tired of the trains, he moved on to electronic instruments- keyboards, electric guitar. I tried some electric car tracks and even those wouldn't really entice him- he'd get excited, but then lose interest.  He's never been into Lego's but I've shown him the Lego Robotics and that has peaked his interest. There's a lego robotic club at his elementary school, so I'm hoping that could be a social outlet for him, and a new toy interest.

    Even non-electric toys can pose problems. DS loves K'Nex at school and his teacher reported that we should get some because he's so amazing at building things- she showed me this elaborate spinning thing he made. I was ecstatic to see such creativity. So I bought a set a week ago and every day since he has made the same spinning thing- like a bunch of helicopters stuck together. So, we have to work on getting him to make something other than spinners.

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  • dani211dani211

    Actually, this is a question I have as well but regarding the IPAD.

     We've eliminated most battery operated toys for our daughter because she would become totally obsessed and just push buttons and stare at lights. However, she has a feeding tube and sometimes the ipad is the only way we can get her to sit still for a full 30 minute feeding.

    Now, watching her with the ipad, I swear it has TAUGHT her a lot. She only uses the classical music and educational apps, and her vocabulary and letter recognition have improved a lot, and she makes connections between what she sees in the stories and real life (for example, seeing a baby monkey hug it's mother, she hugged herself and said, "mommy!") so, without any credentials at all, I will swear that the ipad, in moderation, can be educational and even helpful. It's like, the electronic aspect is stimulating enough to hold her attention so that it can actually teach her things that she needs to learn.

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