Top 10 toys and gifts for children with autism, picked by parents

Flickr/Jennifer Morton

(CBS News) When it comes to living with a child who has autism, educational experts, pediatricians and scientists all have their advice for parents. But who better to bounce ideas off of than other parents of children on the autism spectrum?

Complete coverage: Latest Developments in Autism

MyAutismTeam is a social network for parents of children with autism that has more than 20,000 members. Described as a "Facebook-Meets Yelp- network," the site utilizes local reviews of doctors and services and connects members to fellow parents they can ask for advice. MyAutismTeam also connects parents with 30,000 providers, from babysitters to dentists to Taekwondo instructors, who all have experience working with children with autism.

"Parents of kids with autism constantly worry whether they are doing enough, or are doing the right things to help their children thrive," Eric Peacock, CEO and founder of MyAutismTeam, said. "We focus on making it easy for parents to learn from others who have been in their shoes, so they don't have to start from scratch when looking for providers that are highly recommended."

Children with autism, much like most children, gravitate to toys and activities for their entertainment, and parents have noticed their kids prefer certain games more than others. To find out the top gift and toy ideas for children with autism, MyAutismTeam recently surveyed 1000 of its members. For World Autism Awareness Month, here's what the community voted as their top 10 gifts:

It was recently reported that 1 in 8 children will be affected by autism. A friend of mine is the mother of an autistic child that struggles with communication skills. She has even taken the time to write a children's book about him. Her positive thinking really shows that autism doesn't always have to be negative. The books that can be found here http://******/L9Ee7x are written through her sons eyes on his adventures around the universe.


seohop replies:: linkicon reporticon emailicon; Sorry I forgot the title. It is called Troys Amazing Universe and is listed at childrensbookstoday .com