5 Engaging Toys for Children with CVI

When purchasing toys for students with cortical visual impairment (CVI), it is important to keep CVI characteristics in mind! Although each student’s needs are different, as a general rule of thumb look for toys that have as many of the following characteristics as possible: 

• color preference – look for toys that have buttons or parts in your student’s preferred color(s)
• need for movement- if the toy moves in any way, this will be more engaging for students versus toys that don’t move
• complexity- when looking for toys, find ones that are not overly complex or “busy,” Toys with simple (and large) buttons and bright colors are best.
• need for light- it is important to find toys that have a light component. Students with CVI benefit immensely from light. 

I am going to share five of my favorite toys for children with CVI. If you want even more suggestions (5 MORE), scroll to the bottom to download my CVI-friendly toy guide, featuring my TEN favorite toys! Also, the links that I share in this blog post and in the guide are non-affiliate links!

What is the Best Light-up Toy for Kids with CVI?

It is so hard to pick my favorite, which is why I have a guide of my favorite 10 toys, but Baby Einstein’s Glow and Discover Light Bar Toy (affiliate link) is always at the top of the list for me. 

This toy has:

• 6 large colorful buttons that are easy to press and light up

This toy gives the illusion of movement since it lights up, it isn’t visually complex, and it lights up making it a great cortical visual impairment toys.

What are Two More Toys for Children with CVI?

One of my other favorite toys for children with cortical visual impairment is the Bright Starts: Press and Glow Spinner. 

This toy has:

• 1 large button to push
• an entire base that lights up with the button is activated

This toy provides movement as the base of the toy spins when activated, it is simple as there is a single button, and the toy also lights up when activated.

Continuing with toys from Bright Starts, I also love their Light and Learn Drum (affiliate link). 

This toy has:

• a large mirror on top of the drum
• the top of the drum is the only “button” and lights up when played

This toy has a mirror, which gives the illusion of movement. The drum is simple, as the mirror light up top is the only “button.” Lastly, as mentioned before, the top of the drum lights up when played. 

What are my Other Favorite Light up Toys for Low Vision and CVI?

The Explore N’ Grow Busy Gears (affiliate link) from Playskool is another favorite toys for children with CVI. 

This toy has:

• 11 gears that spin, move, and light up when the toy is activated
• a simple, medium-sized red button to activate the gears

The toy has a variety of gear colors, has gears that move when the toy is activated, is slightly more complex since there are 11 gears that are removable from the toy, and has components that light up when the gears are spinning.

My fifth and final light up toys for low vision and CVI is the Baby Einstein Pop and Glow Piano. 

This toy has:

• 4 piano keys (buttons) that activate the toy
• a background that lights up when the keys are played

The majority of the toy is blue, so if that is one of your child’s or student’s preferred colors, this toy is for them! If not, the keys of the piano are bright and consist of different colors, so other children will find this toy engaging. The characters in the background of the piano move and light up when the keys are played. Lastly, this toy isn’t overly complex.

Did you LOVE these toys and want more ideas for your student or child? Scroll to the bottom to fill out the form to receive my Toy Guide for Children with Cortical Visual Impairment PDF for FREE!

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