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One thing that lots of special needs people use is switches. They can be used to activate toys (cause and reaction), to help them communicate, and to interact with others.

Nick was introduced to switches probably 10 years ago or so. The success rate for him activating the switch was probably as low as 0% - 5% when he first started out. And it didn't improve much over time. We weren't sure if he just wasn't interested, or just didn't grasp the concept.

That was until for some reason someone, and I don't even remember who (probably his dad), put their hand on his non-dominant hand at the moment he was supposed to activate the switch. And whalah! He hit the switch! Why? Hmmm... not sure. Reflex? It helped him focus? Weighted products are huge with him. Whatever it is, it bumped his success rate waaaay up there.




And it doesn't only work with switches. We also have those large, wooden puzzles with the fat handles to remove the pieces. You can put the puzzle in front of him and he'll enjoy looking at the pictures. But put your hand on his non-dominant hand and he'll immediately grab one of the pieces. I'd say it works 95% of the time.
So, I'm not saying that this technique would work for everyone. Not at all. I'm just saying that it definitely worked with Nick.

Just a little tid-bit of info that might help someone out there. I'd also like to mention that in our Shopping and Reviews section under Switch Toys, you will find lots of switch-adapted toys listed. Some of the toys were listed by one of our members, Eva. She even took the time to add videos to her listings, so you can see just how cute these toys are in action, and a link to her website so you can buy them.  :0)


You can also find cool little add-ons for switches, like this timer. Once the switch is activated, you can control how long the activation lasts. For instance, if it activates a toy that moves, the toy will move the the specified amount of time. Our son would get very frustrated if his effort in activating the switch toy only lasted a second., so we like to use a timer.

Something that pretty much everyone needs to learn at some point is sharing and cooperating with others. Switch toys can help with this, too. Use an adapter that allows you to hook up more than one switch to a toy (or multiple toys) and  let the fun begin!

Team Switch - connect to up to 3 switches.

Still need more options? No problem! Buy a switch with two buttons so that a person can choose between two different rewards, such as a toy or a radio. An example of this would be the Talk2 Communicator.

Talk2 Communicator

Additional Resources

And did you know that there is a very large selection of switches? From string switches and Big Mac Switches, to those little strips of metal beads that hang down in strings. You can find a large list of switches in the Shopping and Reviews section on The disAbility Support Network's Community area!

You can also find a list of switch-adapted toys as well. Some listings even include videos so that you can see exactly how the toys work with a switch.

Please visit The disAbility Support Network for more great Special Needs Products and  to join our network. Membership is completely FREE for everyone :0)

I hope this information is helpful   :0). If you found this information to be helpful, please sign up to receive web site updates. Just look for the little Updates box in the upper right hand corner. Enter in your email address and follow the instructions. You can sign up for updates on this blog, or you can choose to go to our main web site and sign up for updates there.


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