How old is your son? If you're not able to get him to look at you, perhaps he has some other developmental difficulty. Has he been tested for other possibilities?
I also think that you don't want to set him up for frustration by giving him something you know he doesn't want. By doing this you're also giving him a reason to not trust you. Nose to nose may be a way to get him to look at you. Have you tried not giving him anything until he does look at you? But if you're asking him to look at you and are touching him and getting his attention and he's still not looking at you, I'd consider the possibility of another disorder or delay going on.
When my grandson first started in speech therapy, they therapist had us use pictures to which he could point to tell us what he wanted. Have you tried that?
I would definitely not do as they suggest; ie; giving him something different than what he wants. He, and you, have enough frustration without adding another one. IF you can joke with him about it by giving him a sock and then say, "whoops, that's not what you want" as a way of getting his attention that might work. But not doing something that will make him angry. Anger gets in the way of learning.