By: Seasoned Mom. Seasoned Mom is a mom to two children with autism, ages 13 and 9. She is also the spouse of someone on the spectrum. Her education background is in teaching birth to third-grade children with an emphasis on special education, specifically autism.
As a mama to two autistic children and an autistic husband, and as a substitute teacher, I have an assortment of sensory products that just make sense. With both of my daughters, it’s all about sensory input! So here are some great suggestions from Amazon that we trust and love!
Sensory swing
Both of my daughters, but especially my oldest, loves to swing. We built a huge swingset for her outside, but once it was cold (we live in Iowa so there’s no way winter swinging could happen outside!) we opted to install a swing in line with her closet in her bedroom. It is key to find and anchor it to a beam but that wasn’t hard to do at all. The reason we chose to place it in line with her closet is because she really swings fast and high. This allows her to swing into her closet and then back out above her bed. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have enough room in her room to install this.
Our youngest daughter’s room isn’t quite as big, nor is the closet a double door, so she is limited on her swinging. Which is just fine because she prefers to “jump” off the wall and then land back on the wall. Not so great for the wall, there’s a hole now from her heel, but minor and allows her the sensory input she needs. Here is the sensory swing.
You can also purchase a swing frame, we chose not to as it limited our oldest daughter’s ability to swing high and fast. Here is a link to an example frame:
Next up is easy, gum. Both daughters crave chewing on things and the easiest way to help that was to give them gum. This worked well long term for our oldest but not our youngest. So for her, we use these chew necklaces. She loves how thin and durable they are.
This one sounds silly but worked really well with bathing struggles we had with our oldest. She enjoyed taking baths but would not take showers because the water would spray or splash in her face and she was worried about shampoo burning her eyes as well. So we purchased swim goggles. It worked really well and eventually she was able to learn how to shower without them. A bulk pack is great in case the straps break, you’ll have a back up pair!
Our oldest also used a sensory hug vest when she was in kindergarten. It was much pricier than this one, but did the same thing. This helped calm her nervous system while she was at school by providing compression to her torso. I have actually thought about using it for our youngest, but didn’t know that Amazon has them for much cheaper than what we paid for 8 years ago!
Many children, autistic or not, benefit from schedules and checklists. If you’re computer savvy, you can easily make a chart custom to your circumstances. However, if you want to purchase one, here are some I like to use as a teacher and as a mom!
This can be a very tricky topic, but clothing brands are listening! Most brands now use tagless labels, making clothing more sensory-friendly for everyone! Almost all stores have tag-free items to pick from so I won’t list individual brands, however, I do want to mention clothing because not everyone thinks about this!
Toothbrushes
Most children with autism are not the best at oral health care. One way to help this is with an electric toothbrush. This does the brushing for them, to an extent.
Along with a toothbrush, we use a toothbrush timer. The girls used the Disney Oral-B app that awarded stickers each time they brushed their teeth. It does a great job of showing a visual timer of how long is left for brushing but it also reminds them to switch from top to bottom, left to right. Collecting stickers in the app was a great motivator.
Hairbrush
With two girls with long hair, tangles are a nightmare! We use this brush along with a leave-in tangle conditioner and it makes the snarls melt away! I don’t know how she does it, but our youngest always wakes up with such a mess of hair snarls. This makes the tears and the snarls disappear!
We all know how awful it is when food that shouldn’t be mixed gets mixed! These plates make that better by providing a separation between the sections. No more refusal to eat!
Pop it
Everyone loves popping bubble wrap, and this is the next best thing! It can be chewed on, rolled up, stretched, and most importantly cleaned!
Squish balls are another fan favorite, however I despise them! If you squeeze too hard or accidentally poke it with something it makes a very big mess.
Exercise trampoline
Trampoline parks are all over now, but who can afford to go every day?!? This is where a small exercise trampoline comes in. We preferred one without a handle but one with a handle might be helpful to someone with lower mobility.
Plushies
The best plushies were the small, 4 inch ones that came in McDonald’s happy meals! I think they were Ty brand specifically made for that purpose as I cannot find them anywhere. I did find some that are similar, but the smaller ones fit perfectly in a purse and can be pulled out whenever you encounter a longer wait time out and about.
Next up are some suggestions on budget-friendly sensory play, or as we like to call it, “ Make a mess sensory input.” There are endless possibilities for items, but here are a few of our favorites:
Shaving cream
You can buy all kinds of scents at any grocery store. This is a great sensory tool to use during bath time. Just spray a pile in a corner of the tub or in a bowl and let them paint themselves, the wall, and you. Simply spray the walls afterward.
Bubbles
Another inexpensive bathtime toy is bubbles! We preferred the little bottles of bubbles like these, but we also love bubbles for outside play! A bubble gun can also be fun.
Legos
Legos or duplos for those kiddos that place items in their mouths, are a fantastic choice for children who also need to work on fine motor skills.
Rocks
Yes, rocks. Like the kind you find in landscaping. The shape, texture, color, and size, all are great for carrying or organizing. The bigger, the better!
Surgical brush
We used the Wilbarger Brushing Protocol with our oldest daughter. This helped calm her nervous system and helped her reset. Here is a link to the protocol. Here is a link to surgical brushes that will work.
Beans and seeds bins: Another favorite with my daughters! I purchased a long plastic storage bin and filled it with popcorn seeds, all kinds of beans, rice, you could use pasta, but the reason I chose a long bin is so that the girls can climb in and feel with their legs and feet. Both of them still love going to pumpkin farms and playing in the corn kernel areas.
Another great material with a different texture that the girls loved! It’s just flour and baby oil mixed together. There aren’t any specific measurements, just mix until the flour can be molded like kinetic sand. This is definitely an outside activity as it can be quite messy! It’s easier to just leave the mess and brush off the child than it is to clean up the mess inside.
Water table
We have had so many water tables over the years! Here are two of our favorites: Two-tiered raining water table.
It doesn’t have to be fancy either (link)!
Along with a water table, this play kitchen sink is also a favorite!
We did not use an item like this, however, I have friends who have and their children liked that they felt more relaxed in the smaller space.
Weighted blankets
Weighted blankets are another great sleep aid for children and adults! You can calculate how much weight you should use by finding 10% of the body weight plus 2 pounds. For example, a child who weighs 50 pounds should use a 7 pound weighted blanket.
Play tents
Play tents have multiple great uses for children with autism. For us, it was used as a sleeping tent, a playing tent, a reading tent, and currently as a privacy tent for getting dressed. We found this specific style to be the most durable.
You may be asking yourself, “What is a Spooner board?!?” Well, it has a different name for everybody, but we call it a Spooner board because that’s the brand name. You can sit on it and spin, stand on it and spin, or stand on each end of the spooner board and rock back and forth like you’re on a skateboard. Our oldest would spin for hours and our youngest preferred to stand and rock back and forth. It is a great way to work on those finer motor skills related to balance!
Noise Reduction
Loop earplugs are for older teens and adults! This has been a necessity for me, and I am not autistic! I use them in public spaces where the noise is very loud. Like swimming lessons and ninja warrior class where it echoes and the parents and siblings are all crammed together. I have purchased three pairs for myself, one for our oldest daughter, and one for a friend! Highly recommend these! They also have different levels of how much you want to be blocked out. I chose the loop experience so that I can still hear conversations with me, but the background noise is filtered out. I cannot stress how important these are for parents of kiddos who are vocally louder as well. I didn’t realize how much the constant noise was stressing me out!
Noise-canceling headphones are the version my youngest daughter likes. She is also obsessed with cats, so we have a few different types. Here is a generic one we use and here are the specific cat ones that she loves.
Along with noise-canceling headphones, we also purchased Bluetooth headphones for our oldest. They filter out sound, but she always has YouTube or music playing. She has never been one to have just one thing going on at a time. So she uses these often and usually has just one ear in and the other ear out so she can still converse with us. When she’s more overwhelmed, then she’ll do both ears in for a while to help her reset.
Galaxy night lights/projectors are always a huge hit at night! We have had so many different ones throughout the years but here are a few of our favorites, and yes, they are all different! I am also including ones that are more of a night light or lamp, but project light in various colors. The last link is for a night light lamp where the balls can be removed. We used one similar for our oldest in case she needed to go to the bathroom at night. She could remove a ball, and take it with her to see while she went to the bathroom. (Light1, Light2, Light3, Light4, Light5)
Glitter bottles/wands
Glitter bottles/wands are a no-brainer! Even without autism, these are so calming! You can easily make your own, but it can be a mess. Here are some that you can buy: Liquid Motion Bubbler, Sensory Fidget Tubes, Spiral Glitter Wands, Calming Bottle.
Strider bike
A Strider bike has to be one of the best ideas for inclusiveness with riding a bike! With a Strider bike, you straddle the bike and then use your feet to push off the ground and propel yourself forward. There are no pedals or training wheels, just a simple, easy way to ride a bike! Our youngest used hers until she literally couldn’t move her legs because she was too tall. She has yet to master riding with pedals, but she could zoom all over with her Strider bike!
Safety
One big concern for any parent, autism or not is safety. Our oldest is a rule follower and was never a safety risk kid. Our youngest has absolutely no fear of anything! She also is very active. One issue we had once we switched her from a crib to a toddler bed, she loved jumping in her crib. Well, that hurts a bit more on a toddler bed when the sides are shorter. She would constantly hit her head while jumping and flopping in her bed so I went to the Dollar Tree and bought pool noodles. I cut one side open so it could fit over her bed rails and then I zip tied them in place. This cushioned any bumps that would occur when she would jump in bed. The only concern is if your child is a biter, you don’t want them taking chunks out of the pool noodle and eating it. Our kiddo did not do this, so we didn’t have to worry. Here is a link to pool noodles on Amazon.
Another big safety concern is a cabinet lock. We all know how most of the locks say they’re childproof, but in reality they are not. We used a few different kinds that would lock from the outside, the inside, you press a piece to open, but all of them could easily be overpowered and ripped open. After extensive research, I found a magnetic one that locks from the inside but cannot be overpowered. We would store the magnet key on the top of the refrigerator out of sight.
Now that our girls are in eighth and fourth grade, we don’t always have to be home to let them in after school. Our oldest is tall enough and knows how to use our garage keypad to let herself in. However, our fourth grader is too short and can never remember how to use the code. She also doesn’t understand how to use a key to unlock a door and a deadbolt. So after more extensive research, I found a keypad that can be unlocked with a keypad, a key, a smart app on your phone and a fingerprint. Now, she can use her fingerprint or I can unlock it from anywhere with the app. I also managed to get this on sale, and we all know how much we love sales!
The last safety item is a bit controversial. We have two different kinds that we use, external security cameras for all doors leading outside and (we no longer need this for safety reasons) a spy camera in our youngest daughter’s room. She also has PANS and would have some pretty violent outbursts and opening her door to check on her would reignite the aggression. After putting a spy camera in her room, it allowed her some autonomy while also allowing us to make sure she’s safe. We would only use it during these outbursts, or at night to see if she was going to sleep without disrupting her. We thankfully no longer need this, but it was a good resource while we did need it!
Looking back throughout the past 13 years and 9 years of our children’s lives, we had so many great resources to use! I am grateful I can share my knowledge of items that worked for us in hopes that it helps a new parent who is just starting their autism journey!
Neurodivergent Space 
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