22 Educational Sensory Toys from Infant to Toddler (Sloan’s Favorite Things)

January 24, 2022

Written by Kari Harbath

If you know Sloan, you know she’s notorious for her interest in sensory-seeking and unusual toys since birth. Sloan is a sensory-seeking, unusual human.

So, today, we’re bringing you a roundup of some of the sensory toys that have (actually) been the biggest hit for Sloan since she was a small infant – all the way up until her toddler years!

Finding entertaining toys for disabled kids can be tricky: because your kid might get bored from the average toy selection, or the other way around – some toys might just be too extra.

Along with the challenge of finding good toys – parenting a disabled kid automatically marks you (the parent) with a sign that says something like: “GIVE ME UNSOLICITED ADVICE ABOUT EVERYTHING EVER. PLZ & THX!” People around you may suddenly find themselves experts on medicine and education…Or at least they know someone who is.

So even when it’s well-meaning – this constant, unsolicited advice can be annoying AF. Particularly when you’re just trying to bring joy and fun to your kid’s life without allowing our ableist bummer of a society to bring you down in the process.

So – when it comes to shopping for sensory toys or sensory gifts – we’re overwhelmed with options, costs, opinions, and big-time marketing ploys tugging at our heart strings.

These are just a few of the big reasons we wanted to list out some of Sloan’s favorite things: Oprah-style.

I wish I could take credit for all of these: but I can’t. Many of these toys came as recommendations from Sloan’s (real expert) team. These are ideas from Early Intervention buds, Homecare crew, and her besties at the School for the DeafBlind. These toys were recommended while Sloan was still a lil’ infant: providing her early education and helping to stimulate/develop things like vision, braille skills, fine motor skills, tactile awareness, etc.

And, because of many of these toys, Sloan truly loves a good sensory SEEK, bitch!

There are just too many sensory experiences to be sought: you know!?

So, without further ado, here’s Sloan’s list: her favorite toys from the infant months to the toddler years. These are the sensory toys she’d recommend (but won’t share lol sorry) with all kids out there: whether you’re DeafBlind, disabled, hearing-seeing, or non-disabled.

Whatever lifestyle you’re rocking, these toys are just a damn good time.