My girlfriend is blind, and she loved (still does) anything fuzzy, or anything that has an interesting texture. She tells me over and over that corduroy is her favorite "color".

For a kid that young, blankets and pillows and stuffed animals are all good times.

I'd probably get them the same sort of toys as any other 8 month old, most are multi-sensory based.

For that age, bath toys are always a good shout. They're usually rubbered, age appropriate, textured, sometimes squirt water, and don't tend to make noises (so parents don't pull their hair out after 3 days of solid play).

If you go to Seedlings Braille books site, they have a bunch of books that are text and Braille mixed, including "board book" types and toys with some Braille lettering!

Toys that make noise aren't a bad idea. Look for things above all else that feel different. Lots of kids toys are just hard plastic. Steer clear from things that don't feel or sound interesting. Maybe consider a push toy soon? Lots of children with visual impairments like to play with these types toys as they learn to walk because the toy runs into anything before they do.

Textured stuff. A soft fluffy teddy bear is great. Blind people love different and drastic textures even more so than sighted people (duh).

Braille children's books as well! A lot of blind kids have really poor braille these days so anything that gets them even interested in braille (even if they're too young to actually understand it) is good in my book. If she's reading braille fluently by the time she enters kindergarten, then she'll have a **huge** leg up over everyone else.

Or even a musical instrument!!! Just make sure that she also gets ear muffs (32-33 NRR) as well that are designed for kids. I prefer 3M brands. Drums, kalmibas, xylophones, violins, etc. are all great to dink around with as a child (with intense adult supervision).

My very first memories are with my parents reading to me, and of reading those books that have the sound panels. I even had a Braille one with a kids biography about Stevie Wonder.

A blind man of 27 here by the way.

My favourite toys growing up for when she is older were the Boppit type, along with fiddling with things like this Jacob's Ladder, or little puzzles that you just connect two or three pieces together with clips I forget what they are called.

The more exposure the better. Not a line to take out of context...

But early exposure to tactility, noise, texture, braille - it all adds to their experience later on.

I am blind I have I have both Optic Nerve Hypoplasia and Septo-Optic Dysplasia . I loved when small that stimulated my independence , textures, smells, and sounds.

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I still function the same ways. Smells really are my favorite senses, then touch. We as non seeing person learn through our senses. So, spacial awareness games, will do her wonders. Examples would be slime and goo( jello has edible kinds now) they are fun to get them to play in the textures and pull out letters or blocks or shapes. dancing, ( with help) bouncing and ball pits all add factory sensory fun. Musical toys are a good item also.

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also tickle toes time..lol yes, play with her feet, roill balls, textured items, etc as a game have her feel the items

I forgot to also add, I was late to crawling and walking, but I loved my bouncy ball, and tube in crawled through . it was like solving a maze.

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Hi. Anything that has several textures or stimulates the senses would be great. I think that the Lotsow teddy bear from Toy Story would be great. It definitely covers the tactile side of things with the fuzzy fabric, but the toy is also manufactured to smell like strawberries. There are even dryer sheets that have fun smells like apple pie and bubvle gum that you can get, and her parents can put them in the dryer with her other stuffed toys to create a greater sensory experience. I hope that this helps!!!

I follow the subreddit mostly out of curiosity so take my advice with a grain of salt... It seems like any sensory toy would be good for that age. I would check out the sensory toys. There are sensory toys for all ages! In my opinion they're pretty cool for anybody. I bought myself a sensory toy that's mostly marketed for autistic people because I have high anxiety and it helps me even though I'm not autistic.

Avoid latex. That's my universal advice, not just for blind people, btw. A play mat with multi sensory options is the bomb. Floor time and incentives to explore are fab for all babies but blind kids especially need little nudges sometimes.

Rattly ankle gear is a fun thing for all babies but blind infants can use them for fine tuning certain auditory cues. Things with buttons or knobs are perfect, too raised lettering or even braille labels would be fantastic. Most infant toys are integrated in that they're multisensory cued do you won't go wrong with the modern ituratiin if an activity ant or My Pal Al.

As for being scared by noises, you are shopping for a human baby not some foreign zoo species. (Yes, this is how some people approach any disability. Strike it from your thinking whenever it appears. Her parents likely have some adjusting to do but you can do a lot to help them by treating your niece like she's perfect and no different from any other new human. You will learn her preferences as she decides to share them just like any other auntie/uncle would. She knows as much about the world as any other new human so anything you can offer that promotes her learning will be a blessing.

Things that rattle or squeak when discovered are just as interesting for a blind child as a sighted one. Those noisy toys can be muffled. Duct tape over speakers works wonders but giving her silent or muted toys drops her interaction level. Honestly, though, soda bottles with different rattly things inside them are great fun do you don't have to invest in VTech toys to help her along. (sand, rice, small rocks, cotton balls and pennies are a good spectrum. The 20oz bottles are great but you can use smaller pill bottles work well. You can use any number of adhesives to seal the lids on. Again, avoid latex. I'm not a fan of superglue for these, either. We had Houdinis who could get those open.

You have an adventure ahead of you. Embrace it. ❤️