SpecialNeedsGifts.com Skill Building Holiday Gift Guide Nov. 2013 | Page 6

language and speech development in
children who have difficulty with
expressive language. Eventually,
expressive language skills become the
ability to speak in sentences and tell
complete stories. Toys that boost a
child's vocabulary or encourage them
to work through a story can help to
promote these skills, especially for
children who have a developmental
speech delay.

interactions, their self-esteem also has
the opportunity to thrive. Self-esteem
is the way that children think and feel
about themselves. Unfortunately,
many children who have special
needs, in particular, can suffer from
low self-esteem, especially if they are
teased or harassed by their peers.
Toys that allow a child to follow their
own interests can boost self-esteem.
As a child becomes proficient at
something they care about, it can
make them feel accomplished and
increased self-esteem will ensue.
Once a child has an adequate amount
of self-esteem, they will have better
tools for dealing with their peers and
approaching any challenges that come
their way.

Social Skills and Self Esteem
Humans are naturally social creatures,
and the development of social skills
happens naturally as children spend
time with other people and get to
know their
environment.
Until the age
of three or
four,
most
children prefer to play on their own in
parallel play, but as they get older and
develop the necessary social skills,
they become ready to play with others
in cooperative play. Toys that
promote cooperation, communication,
and interaction are ideal for
promoting social skills in children. As
children play these games, they learn
how to handle conflict, how to read
other's emotions, and how to interact
with others. Through positive social

Visual and Spatial Perception
Visual
and
spatial
perception
refers to a
child's ability
to see the
world around
them
and
make sense of
it.
Spatial
perception
refers,
in
particular, to
the ability to
gage
the
relationship
and distance
between two
or more objects. As visual skills
develop, they help the child with
reading, math, and handwriting.
Children who have difficulty with
visual perception may have trouble
identifying objects or figuring out
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