Guidecraft has many amazing products for children of all ages and developmental levels, as I’ve outlined before in my recent reviews. Among the things Guidecraft was kind enough to send me for my son, Quinn, who has Asperger’s, was the 3D Feel & Find sets, one of which I wrote about last week. They were also generous enough to send me their World Icons version, which features the same puzzle-type activity but has more recognizable characters, like sun, moon, fish, rabbit, and more. Made from eco-friendly rubber wood, this set includes the handy carrying bag, so storing is a breeze.
For a great therapeutic activity, we like to line up all the tiles so they are easy for Quinn to view, and then have him reach in to the bag (no peeking allowed) and guess what the tile is before he pulls it out. This gives him a great tactile concept to grasp plus helps him develop his self awareness because he has to be very aware of what his body is doing and feeling to accomplish this activity. Sometimes we switch things up and ask him to find a specific shape by touch only to force his brain to think in another fashion. We also make it a game with his friends or brother to see who can identify the most pieces from the bag in a certain amount of time.
When we first got the set, Quinn had real difficulty figuring out which pieces was which by touch only. As time has went on, he is doing much better at it. Simple things like finding squared off pieces did not come naturally for Quinn initially, which just shows how out of sorts his sensory inputs are. He really enjoys doing this activity, though we usually make it marginally easier for him by eliminating some of the pieces and boards to start with. He is only four-years-old, after all.
Like all Guidecraft’s products, the 3D Feel & Find World Icons toy is available on their website, www.guidecraft.com. This set retails for $30.
Thank you to Guidecraft for providing a complimentary product sample for us to base this review upon.