Toys for Blind or Visually Impaired Children

Each year, the RNIB publishes a useful list of what it considers to be the very best toys and games for blind and partially sighted children. Some of the recent winners include Sneezy the Activity Dragon, Balancing Bug Stacker and Spin and Stack Rings. As is common for all kinds of special needs however, quite often these toys are not produced solely for visually impaired children - they are simply toys that have been identified as having qualities particularly suitable for children with blindness or partial sight. As you would expect from this kind of toy, many of them have high contrast, a large variety of textures - and have features that encourage visual tracking and development of hand/eye coordination.

Whilst the RNIB is certainly the first port-of-call for anyone looking for guidance on buying toys for visually impaired or fully blind babies and young children, there are also a number of independent toy retailers that have developed a particular expertise in this area. They can help advise on exactly what kind of toys you may need, based on their tactile, auditory or visual properties. The beauty of using an independent retailer of course, is that you are likely to be able to get some personal advice from knowledgable staff (often with first-hand experience) of what toys you should be looking for.