SpecialNeedsGifts.com Skill Building Holiday Gift Guide Nov. 2013 | Page 7

which direction those objects face.
Spatial skills help children to identify
distances. Children who have not
fully developed their spatial skills
may struggle to accurately see heights
and distances, and this can make
them appear clumsy. Toys that
promote visual and spatial perception
include shape puzzles, nesting toys,
and books with mazes or dot to dots.
Activities that encourage a child to
repeat a pattern can also be useful for
fostering these skills.

person to figure out
what is going on in
their own body and in
the world around
them. Children who have difficulty
with sensory processing may feel
overwhelmed by their environment
and may need toys that help to calm
and relax them. Toys that promote
sensory processing or sensory
integration encourage a child to
process information from their senses
and respond to that information.

Cognitive Skills
Cognitive skills are all skills that are
related to thinking, understanding,
learning, and remembering. In a very
young baby, cognitive skills first
express themselves in subtle ways
like the baby's ability to track a
moving object or focus on a human
face. As a child increases their
cognitive abilities, they will be able
to play with words, seek information,
and share descriptions with others.
Cognitive skills can be advanced with
toys
that
encourage
sorting,
sequencing,
counting,
and
memorizing.

Oral Motor
Oral motor skills are expressed in an
infant's very first skill which is
sucking. This is one of the four
reflexes with which most infants are
born. As a child develops the rest of
their oral motor skills, they will learn
to speak clearly and perform tasks
like eating or chewing gum.
Children who need help with the
development
of their oral
motor skills
may need to
get
oral
sensory stimulation using toys that
allow them to chew, bite or blow.
Blowing bubbles is a perfect example
of this.

Sensory Processing
Through a complex series of brain
actions, sensory processing allows a
6