Helpful Websites

Sources For Therapy Products, Toys, and Equipment

You may want to start investing in some therapeutic toys and equipment to help your child. If you comparison shop, you’ll find a wide range of prices on equipment such as mini-trampolines, sand tables, and swings. Here are some of the best retail resources for purchasing sensory-based items. You may be able to find items at lower prices on eBay, Craig’s List, Amazon and elsewhere. Please note that many companies show just a limited sampling of what they sell online, so be sure to request a free print catalog. What’s more, many print catalogs include excellent advice and ideas for how to select and use various toys, products, and equipment.

Achievement Products for Children

eSpecial Needs –Comprehensive online resource for adaptive equipment, daily living aids, toys and other special needs equipment.

Educational Toys Planet

Fun and Function

National Autism Resources

Pocket Full of Therapy

PocketOT – Sound-Eaze and School Eaze CDs and other resources that help kids with sensory issues thrive.

Professional Development ProgramsSensory Critters

SensoryEdge

The Sensory Kids Store –Online site for sensory and autism therapy products.

School Speciality/Integrations — An excellent source of sensory smart products, including many shown on this site!

Southpaw Enterprises — A great source of equipment, including many products pictured in the book.

Special Needs Essentials

Super Duper - Great resource for fun sensory, oral-motor, fine motor and speech card decks, games, and more.

TFH Special Needs –Special needs toys and equipment and multisensory environments. Ships around the world.

Therapro

Therapy Shoppe

Specialty Sites: Clothing, Weighted Materials and more

Cooling Vests – Cooling vests that help kids, teens, and adults who do not tolerate heat well due to sensory challenges, MS, and other conditions.

EZ Sox, Tees, and Undeez – Special training socks and underpants for kids with easy-to-grab loops to pull up. Also offers socks with loops for adults with limited mobility and sensory friendly tee shirts.

Hanna Andersson – Sensory-friendly clothing and excellent underwear for kids and adults.

Harkla - Textured weighted lap pad and blanket, body sock, and more. Portion of sales go to the University of Washington’s Autism Center.

Independence Day Clothing – clothing for kids, tweens, teens and young adults without “sides” including tee shirts, dresses, cargo pants and jodphurs, underwear and bralettes

Kozie Clothes – clothing for kids with sensory and medical issues, including temperature regulating tee-shirts, infant and baby caps, swimsuits, compression garments, and more. Also features adapted medical clothing for preemies and babies with G-tubes, Pulse Oximetry lines and more.

OT Vest – High quality denim weighted vests with front snaps and high neck closure to prevent shoulder slippage

Pickybunny - Stylish clothing for girls sizes 4-18, rated by 1 = Soft, 2 = Super soft, 3 = Heavenly soft.

Primary - Sensory-friendly clothing including tops, jeans, pajamas, hats, underpants, bralettes, tights and more.

Quilted Illusions – High quality quilted weighted blankets, vests, and lap pads.

SensaCalm – Nice weighted blankets, vests, and belts plus sensory soothing hand muffs, fidgets, safety gear and more.

Sensory Belt - Weighted therapy belt designed to increase body awareness for children with autism and sensory deficits

Sensory Friendly Films - national listings for sensory-friendly film showings at select AMC Theaters. Volume turned down, house lights up, snacks and dancing allowed!

Sensory Goods - Nice resource for sensory equipment and toys, including organic weighted blankets, lap pads, neck wraps, and toys.

SmartKnitKIDS — A large selection of seamless socks for kids and adults, including socks for beneath orthotics. NEW: Seamless underwear and bralettes!!!

Snug Vest and Squease Vest - attractive therapeutic vests that inflate to provide adjustable, evenly distributed calming deep pressure to the torso.

Sommerfly — Great weighted items, including weighted hand fidgets and weighted chests wraps, an alternative to weighted vests.

Special Kids Company Adaptive, cute soft clothing including “Wonsie” bodysuits with optional feeding tube access for boys and girls ages 2 to 14.

SPIO Pressure Garments Very high- quality compression garments, including vests, shirts, leggings, and more.

Stimtastic - Extraordinary selection of hand fidget tools and unique chewable jewelry.

Stitches by Anne Custom designed weighted items including vests, hats, and critters as well as and specialty neck wraps, cooling hats, rubber pants and more.

Undercover Tape — Latex-free, self-adhesive strips that cover seams, tags, and other clothing irritants.

Weighted Comfort Solutions - Adorable weighted teddy bear, dolphin wrap, lap pads, shawls, blankets and more.

Weighted Wearables Top quality weighted denim vests, lap pads with built-in fidget pockets, shoulder wraps and more.

Zappos Adaptive Store This online store now carries a wide selection of easy on/off sneakers and boots for all ages, orthotic-friendly sneakers and shoes for all ages, and sensory friendly clothing for teens and adults.

Parenting Support

Accessible Playgrounds

115 Online Resources for Parents

STAR Institute for Sensory Processing Disorder — This site offers articles about professional workshops, a searchable directory to locate service providers, parent support groups, and more.

SPD Star Treatment Directory The site for the STAR Institute features the latest research and its Treatment Director of sensory processing specialists.

The Sensory Processing Disorder Resource Center — Information, resources, products and tips for families and professionals dealing with sensory processing disorders.

Children’s Disabilities Information — This site has several articles on SI dysfunction as well as links to resources and parent support groups for apraxia, speech delay, auditory processing, and more.

Community: Special Needs — A large site with articles and resources for preemie and adoptive parents on sensory integration and other special needs.

Center for Collaborative Problem Solving — This website will help you find a support group of parents of children who are inflexible and have a low frustration level, whether or not they have sensory issues. It will also help you find a counselor trained in the techniques described in Dr. Ross Greene’s The Explosive Child.

Apraxia-Kids — This site provides information and support to parents of children with motor planning problems, which are common in children with SI dysfunction. It also offers a listserv, message board, and local support groups for parents.

HIE Help Center This resource and advocacy site gives essential support and information to the families and loved ones of kids who have experienced hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), a neonatal brain injury which often causes disabilities such as cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and intellectual, learning and developmental disabilities.

Accessible Travel – Invaluable information for travelers with disabilities, including travel agents, accessible van and equipment rental, home exchanges, cruises and more.

Higher Education for Students with Disabilities and

Wheelchair Accessible Travel Guide

Cerebral Palsy Guidance and Cerebral Palsy Guide

College Scholarships for Students with Disabilities

Guide to College Financing For Students With Disabilities–Advice on loans, grants, and scholarships specifically for students with disabilities plus job search resources after graduation.

My Autism Team – Social network for parents of children with autism where you can share life experiences and find recommendations for specialists such as OTs, dentists, barbers, etc.. Parenting an Autistic Child: A Parent’s Guide - Helpful resource for helping your child on the spectrum.

Infant Reflux Disease — Information and support for parents of children with reflux, GERD, celiac, and other feeding conditions.

Learning Disabilities – Useful explanations of various learning disabilities, from dyspraxia to dyscalculia.

Dyslexia – excellent information and resources for people with dyslexia from Dr. Fernette Eide (neurologist) and Dr. Brock Eide (primary care physician).

Early Intervention (Children Under Age Three)

Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers and Families — An outstanding resource of information for parents and professionals, including insightful articles, parenting tips, research findings, an online bookstore, and more.

First Signs, Inc. — This organization educates parents and physicians about the early warning signs of autism and other developmental disorders. The site has useful information on screening, referrals, working with EI, schools, insurers, and more.

Sense-Able Baby — Information on sensory processing development in babies.

Developmental Resources

Developmental Delay Resources — This organization and web site provide great information about conventional and holistic approaches to learning and behavioral problems.

College of Optometrists in Vision Development — Excellent articles on vision and learning, ADHD, and autism, information on vision therapy, and how to find a developmental optometrist near you.

Children’s Vision Information Network — Excellent information about a variety of vision problems, the vision-learning connection, and what to do about it.

National Center for Learning Disabilities — Invaluable information on learning disabilities, including symptoms and testing.

101 Noteworthy Sites on Asperger’s & the Autism Spectrum — 101 best Autism and Asperger’s resources on the web.

Autism Collaboration — A powerful search engine for information about autism spectrum disorders.

Autism College — A great source of training and information for parents, teachers, and professionals.

We Connect Now — This website connects college students with disabilities.

Best Colleges — College resources for students with disabilities.

Hands-on Learning

Lumosity— Online brain training for teens and adults.

Get Ready to Read! — This site, sponsored by the National Center for Learning Disabilities, has fun, simple activities for pre-readers with auditory processing challenges to help them better discriminate sounds and rhymes.

Math and Reading Help for Kids.Org — Great online math and reading games, teaching tips for adults, articles for kids (e.g.,“Test Jitters”), and more.

Ed Helper — Printable, fun educational materials such as word searches, coloring books,lesson plans, and more.

KidSource — Great information for parents on education, healthcare, products, and more.

Family Education — This site offers excellent homework help and fun activities to support academic work at all grade levels — from math to science to reading.

Wrightslaw — A great website for learning about your child’s legal rights regarding special education, learning disabilities, and classroom accommodations for children with special needs.

ERIC Clearinghouse — The ERIC Clearinghouse on Disabilities and Gifted Education is the information database for the U.S. Department of Education, providing legal and practical information on disabilities, giftedness, and special education issues.

The Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates — 1321 Pennsylvania Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20003-3027, ph. 202-544-2210. A not-for-profit group dedicated to helping parents of children with disabilities who need legal assistance. The site has a state-by-state list of links to sites with information on special education law.