Atypical Toys for an Atypical Child

With Hanukkah and Christmas soon upon us, it brings to mind that my son’s atypical interest in toys can make choosing a gift for him quite a challenge.

When I was a toddler, I got a teddy bear that became my best friend. I have vague memories of taking it everywhere. And although a lot has changed since I was a small child, I think most young children today still get a lot of comfort from a favorite stuffed animal.

But not my son.

When Kai was that age, he never slept with, hugged, or ever even picked up any of the numerous stuffed animals that adoring family members gave him.  Rather, his favorite thing to sleep with was a set of soft, cushiony alphabet letters. 

All was right in his world if he had the letter A to cuddle up with. And once Kai started to talk, he would speak to the letters the way other children would talk with their dolls or animal toys. 

We tried to teach Kai correct imaginative play. But like a lot of kids with autism, he could not grasp the concept, at least not in the way he was supposed to. After awhile, I wondered if having letters as friends was just as imaginative as speaking with dolls, which, after all, are just as inanimate as letters.

Kai’s unconventional interests

Even when Kai played with regular toys, he did so in usual ways. When he was three, he loved Play Doh. But, he never wanted to shape it into an object. So, for instance, he’d rather create the word "butterfly" than the actual shape of a butterfly.

As Kai grows older, he continues to defy conventions with his interest in toys. When I was the age Kai is now, the best present anyone could give me was a toy car or truck. Tonka trucks were really big back then.  Kai, on the other hand, couldn't care less.  

Instead of playing with a toy car, he’d rather look at a book of the history of the alphabet, one that shows how our alphabet evolved from Sinaitic, Phoenician, Greek and Roman letters. 

Over the years, he has gotten some great gifts that most kids would love. His relatives often ask us what they should get him. And too often we steer them toward something that we think he should play with instead of something that he actually would play with.

In suggesting some of these gifts for our son, I think there was a part of us that did not truly accept that Kai was different. We thought that if he got a cool enough toy, he would surely play with it like any other kid. 

One year we let his grandparents know that he enjoyed watching Little Einsteins, and that we heard that the toy Rocket was awesome. We had read that it was one of the most sought-after toys of that year. And so they got it for Kai. 

Rocket did indeed turn out to be quite a toy. It looked just like the Rocket on the show and made realistic sounds. I loved it! Kai?  Eh, not so much. He played with it a little bit, but it certainly didn’t get the reaction we were hoping for.  And no matter how much my wife and I pretended we were Leo and June and the other Little Einstein characters, Kai just didn’t join the act. 

Any ideas?

This holiday season, we are hoping to find a couple things that he will actually play with. But it is hard to come up with ideas. What do you get a kid who likes numbers and letters?

So far, we are contemplating a stopwatch and a dictionary. Not the most exciting things, in my mind. But, I think my son will like them. And that’s what matters most.

What about you? Are your kids hard to buy for? What creative ideas can you give me?