When our first vision therapist came to us from the wonderful Visually Impaired Preschool Services of Indianapolis, she brought with her this amazing DIY hanging rack so Ryan could sit or lay under it and look at the objects. And one day he finally started reaching for the things! Anyone can make this cheaply out of PVC pipe. Ours is 1/2″ diameter and 24″ long on top and 26″ long on each side. We added the foam around the edges for when he would fall over onto the frame, though now he sits in a chair in front of the frame.

We switch out the toys as he gets sick of them but consistent favorites have always been a water bottle filled with popcorn and covered with the green mop slippers and the bell bracelet.  Jar lid rings are also a hit given their shininess and auditory feedback and Ryan really loves to grab the gold cat toy as well. Slinkies are also a great thing to hang. We’ve added more items as his vision has grown stronger.

Hanging Toy Frame (against Ryan’s play corner with black sheet/garland, etc)

When Ryan first received this, he would sit and look at the toys. Then eventually he started reaching for them. Now he plays with them voraciously.

Once Ryan got a little bigger, we got this little chair for him to sit in and reach forward to play with his hanging toys. We put shelf liner on the bottom of it so he doesn’t scoot down and slip out of the chair, and we tie a swaddle blanket around his waist and the chair as a seat belt of sorts to keep him there safely.

You may also notice the black sheet up in Ryan’s play area, and the black blanket on the ground, plus the high contract patterns and shiny garland. We try to cut down on the visual clutter as much as possible to help his brain focus as well as give him strong points of interest to focus on (garland/shiny stars, etc; Party City is the best for this stuff). Looking at objects against a black background is also thought to be helpful, hence the blanket. Cutting down visual clutter is incredibly important for kids with Cortical Visual Impairment which affects many kids with ATR-X. If you think your kiddo might have CVI, I’ve found these sites to be helpful for tips on improving Ryan’s ability to focus visually:

• Perkins School for the Blind (the gold standard, so to speak, of CVI)
• Little Bear Sees
• Wonder Baby
• American Foundation for the Blind

The box of toys has been moved and other toys are hidden behind the sheet now to make his play area as de-cluttered as possible.