Special Needs

Play is an essential experience for all children, not just because it’s fun, but because it facilitates the development of crucial learning, socialization and thinking skills. That is why toy selection is crucial. When buying a toy, it is helpful to think of it as a tool to help children reach their developmental goals.

But what if the child you are buying for has special needs? That can make the process of choosing a toy challenging. The American Specialty Toy Retailers Association has a great guide http://www.astratoy.org/choosing-toys-for-kids-with-disabilities.asp to buying toys for children with special needs. As they emphasize in the introduction to the guide, no matter what disability a child has, they will still have, “A natural instinct to explore the world through play, just like any other child.” However, many consumers may feel uncertain when it comes to purchasing a gift for a special needs child. As the ASTRA guide explains:

When it comes to birthdays and holidays and other special times, however, children with disabilities all too often find clothing or other “safe” gifts waiting for them. Many times, grandparents, other relatives, and friends want to do something special for the child, but they just aren’t sure what types of toys will be fun and usable. They don’t want to take a chance on disappointing her with something that doesn’t fit her abilities—something that ends up being more frustrating for the child than fun.

Of course, there are barriers to play for a special needs child. The Lekotek Institute, the country’s leading source on toys and play for children with special needs, identifies several possible barriers in their report on the subject. These include:

http://www.lekotek.org/pdfs/Potential-and-Possibilities-Lekotek-White-Paper.pdf

Limited mobility may necessitate accommodations and adjustments
Limited communication/language/verbal skills may require accommodations or creative
intervention
Involvement of others in the play experience may need to be planned and implemented
Limited cognitive abilities may require the modification of typical games and toys
Sensory issues of the child may need to be accommodated including sight, hearing, sensory
sensitivities as well as intimacy tolerances
Physical conditions of the child may need to be addressed in order to make play accessible and
enjoyable
Toys, games and general play activities may need modifications in relation to the abilities of the
child
Availability and cost of toys and special accommodations may be prohibitive or difficult
Time to play may be difficult given demands of family situations such as scheduling doctors, therapy and educational requirements

Although these barriers are important to keep in mind when selecting a toy for a special needs child, they certainly shouldn’t discourage you from purchasing a toy. As the Lekotek institute report states, “If toys can be compared to tools, then the analogy can go further. In choosing a toy, one would want to have knowledge of the applications of that tool and clear understanding of the qualities it can best deliver over other options.”

As the Lekotek report explains, therapists often use “prescriptive toys” with special needs to children. There are certain criteria used when selecting these toys, such as:

Current abilities of the child
Targeted skill development
Potential abilities of the child
Cognitive skills development
Communicative skills development
Sensory skills development
Physical skills development
Interests of child
Interests of siblings and parents (if present)
Play space at family home
Current educational program (IEP)
Others in household (i.e. choking hazards for younger siblings

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Toys for Kids with Special Needs

ere are four trends that offer expanded play opportunities for kids with disabilities:

Use of technology and interactivity. New printing technology has made it easy and affordable to customize some games for children with special needs. Goosie Cards® are relatively new and a good example. They are flash cards that consumers make by uploading personal pictures and text to their website. The company creates the cards and send them back to you. Parents and families can use these cards to customize what their child needs to learn, and they can also involve the child in the creative process. The concepts you can teach are endless, from math to spelling to social-emotional skills.
Promote movement. There is a powerful trend to promote physical play activities, which is welcome because children with special needs carry an even higher risk factor for obesity than typically developing kids and so many children are drawn into non-active play experiences on computers. Current research is showing that physical activity can help increase memory, perception, language, attention, emotional stability, and even decision-making. Another plus is that movement has been shown to help cam and promote alertness in infants.
Deliver developmental benefits. Toys and play products are now delivering, at record levels, real developmental benefits: cognitive, physical, and or social. Inventors, educators, and engineers continue to amaze consumers with the creative ways they can structure toys and games to help children learn and grow.
Bridge therapy and play. Toy creators are bridging the gap between therapy and play, and professionals are realizing there are toys out there that offer therapeutic goals quietly imbedded in the play processes they promote. Ther-A-Saurs, for example, are squishy toy dinosaurs in graduated resistance levels. Dinosaurs play a large role in pretend play, but when kids play with these dinosaurs, they are also developing hand and arm strength and practicing grasp and release. Wikki Stix is another product that helps with manual dexterity and eye-hand coordination. They can form shapes, names, numbers, or letters and make all these developmental milestones fun and entertaining for children, in addition to feeding their creative spirit.

http://www.astratoy.org/toy-trends-for-children-with-special-needs.asp

Toys for Kids with Physical Disabilities

Toy Features for Kids with Physical Disabilities

These toy features work well for children with physical disabilities:

Suction cup bases increase stability of toys and assist children who have involuntary movements.
Attachment straps can hold toys on a child’s hand if the child does not have the ability to hold it on his own.
Enlarged handles give the child a larger area to grasp and allows the use of the whole hand if the child does not have strong fine motor skills.
Hook & loop fasteners (e.g. Velcro) can secure toys in place.
High backs and sides on ride-on toys give children trunk support and help them maintain their balance.
Rubber or non-skid bottoms increase stability for toys do not roll away from the child.
Interesting textures increase the interest of the child and stimulate the senses.
Sustained action in a toys gives a child time to activate it and focus on the toy’s activity.
Laminated surfaces can increase durability and make for easier clean-up.
Angled play surfaces can help adjust the positioning of the play to fit the needs of the child.
Sounds and lights provide sensory input and entertain children who have limited movements.
Inflatable toys can be deflated slightly to a firmness that the child can grasp
Large openings make it easier for a child to access, whether it’s a large toy like a doorway in pretend play houses or a small toy like wide-set holes on lacing projects
Easy manipulations help kids you require easier or lighter pressure or movements to activate a toy.
Adjustable height play surfaces or toys help adjust the play to the child’s needs.

http://www.astratoy.org/excerpts-from-lekotek-disability-book.asp

Toy Features for Kids with Cognitive Disabilities

These toy features work well for children with cognitive disabilities:

Simple designs help children understand the image, making it more concrete and allowing them to digest the information at their own pace.
Short game duration allows a child to feel a sense of accomplishment by completing a game from start to finish
One concept games or play lessen confusion and frustration.
Concrete play helps a child understand the concept of the game better than abstract pretend play.
Clear cause and effect helps a child learn that they can generate consistent responses.
Versatility in the uses of a toy increases the ways with which it can be played so that it can fit multiple developmental levels.
Repetition gives a child the opportunity to practice what she has learned.
Familiar characters increase the level of interest and motivation for the child.
Talking while playing promoted language development in all children.
Non-interlocking puzzle pieces assist a child in placing them properly.
Picture cues help children see a picture of the end result so they know how it should look.
Simple instructions help a child understand the toy and play.
Levels of play and variations in how to play increase the options for making the toy suitable for various abilities.

http://www.astratoy.org/toy-features-for-kids-with-cognitive-disabilities.asp

Toy Features for Kids with Sensory Disabilities

These toy features work well for children with sensory disabilities:

Various textures give a child added stimulation and more exploration opportunities.
Vibration gives a child added stimulation.
Lights and sounds add auditory and visual stimulation, which increases the child’s interest in and attention to the toy.
Raised buttons assist children with visual impairments in locating the activation switch.
Rattles in the toy features promote awareness of the toy and maintains a child’s attention.
Scented toys add interest and stimulation.
Mouthable toys give a child opportunities to explore their environment.
Adjustability in toy features allows them to be set at sound or rhythm levels that fit the child’s needs.
High color contrast increases the child’s ability to see the toy and play area—note that red, white, and black are the colors that children see first.
Clear outlines on toys and play spaces (either visual or tactile) make it easier for a child to see and feel the toy.
Shapes that differentiate toy pieces help a child play (e.g. play food in identifiable shapes, different shaped pegs on a pegboard to signal different colors).

Provided By Susan J. Oliver, Tropomedia

http://www.astratoy.org/toy-features-for-kids-with-sensory-disabilities.asp

Toy Features for Kids with Communicative Disabilities

These toy features work well for children with communicative disabilities:

Amplification features in a toy help and motivates a child to be heard.
Phonetic components in a toy encourage the development of spoken words.
Verbal talk back response allows children to develop language reception skills, e.g. electronic toys that give time to respond to and/or change response.
Words included in toys (e.g. books, puzzles, games, etc) help a child build communications skills by labeling action or objects in play.
Communication features in a toy (e.g. phones, walkie talkies) facilitate communication with others.