Up Close: Special Needs
By Tina Benitez -- Playthings, 5/1/2007 3:00:00 PM
(A shorter version of this story appeared in the May 2007 issue of Playthings magazine.)
More consumers are seeking toys to help children learn basic fine motor, gross, tactile, social, hand/eye and other skills. Approximately 4.2 million children, ages 3 to 17, in the United States suffer from some learning disability, according to the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Hyattsville, Md. Advancements in medical technology are continuing to save more children who could not be previously saved; the number of babies born to older and teenage mothers has increased; there are multiple births, which have a greater risk of disability; and better diagnostic testing is allowing the medical professionals to diagnose children as young as 2 to 3 years old.
As a medical professional who works daily with children with special needs, Emily Forrest, M.D., fellow developmental pediatrics at NYU School of Medicine-Bellevue Medical Center Department of Pediatrics in New York, often recommends parents findbasic toys like ring stackers and shape sorters from Fisher-Price that help with problem solving and fine motor skills and recommends dolls and action figures, which can used for symbolic play for older kids. “Board games teach rules and turn taking,” explains Forrest. “All children benefit from reading, and being read to. The best toys for most ages are those that encourage learning and foster the parent-child relationship. In general, I recommend that parents buy toys that are appropriate for the developmental level of their child, not their physical age. These toys can be purchased in any toy store.”
Guidance, counsel
When choosing the right toy for a child’s need, consumers and retailers alike, may often see special needs toys as “special” when, in fact, they are actually most of the toys found in any local toy store. Gertie Balls from Small World Toys are recommended for easy gripping and tactile experiences. Simple wooden puzzles by Melissa & Doug are used to foster concentration and fine motor skills, and Do-A-Dot Art products help with gross motor development. All are products Brent Taylor, owner of TreeHouse Toys & Books in Lansing, Mich., and Brilliant Sky Toys & Books, a group of franchised stores throughout Michigan and Ohio, recommends to customers looking for playthings for various learning disabilities, which makes up 5 percent of his toy sales.
Parents are Taylor’s biggest group of customers searching for toys to help their children with various stages of autism and fine motor challenges. For specific toy suggestions, Taylor uses, and recommends to customers, a guide of therapist-rated toys from more than 150 manufacturers developed by the Seattle-based non-profit organization Good to Grow. The organization’s Web site lists toys by company, toy name, disability, skill, age group and approximate price. “People really appreciate having another source of knowledge to back-up their decision making,” he says. “Compiling this type of information is really a great service to the special needs community.”
Mary Sisson, owner of Vancouver, Wash.-based Kazoodle Toys, has recommended Good to Grow-rated toys since she opened shop in March 2006, and refers to Chicago-based Lekotek, a non-profit that also provides specific-rated toys via the Web as well as works with retailers like Toys “R” Us and other organizations. In fact, one of the therapists who tests toys at Good to Grow’s Washington Elks Children’s Therapy Program lives in Vancouver. “Good to Grow is our lifeline for serving customers with special needs,” she says.
Impulse items from Toysmith like Super Stacking Tops and Bubble Animals for developing hand-eye coordination, Bilibos, seated play toy helps children develop body strength and Play Foam for sensory and touching and Snap Bags, Bumpity Blocks and Play Packs activity cards from The Pencil Grip for a range of abilities are some other products. Autism, continues to be the most prevalent condition, based on Sisson’s customer activity, a condition that is now the fastest growing developmental disability in the United States with 10 to 17 percent annual growth. Approximately one in 150 births results in an autistic child, according to the Autism Society of America.
“Autism has grown progressively over the years and has gained more public recognition, says Adrian Anthony, president of Anthony Innovations, Tracy, Calif., the company behind The Touch Game, an interactive game that uses touch and sound to help with fine motor, memory, visualization development, cognitive stimulation, language and literacy. “Autism shows such a wide range of symptoms that multiple types of special needs toys are needed to address individual abilities.”
Play for all
Anthony works with several organizations, including the American Occupant Association, National Association of the Blind, home schools and more as well as stocks the game with more than 400 retailers and says that more than half of their game sales are for use with individuals with special needs. The objective of the Touch Game is to identify and collect different play pieces matched to playing cards. Anthony says that the game can be played by parents and grandparents with kids, older people with special needs, therapists as a learning assessment tool or individually.
The game has not been rated by Good to Grow or Lekotek, however, Anthony says that her approach is to educate retailers first of the game benefits in relation to specific conditions, and having the game rated is on their to-do list this year. “There are many Web sites and organizations that special needs customers rely on for product recommendations that manufacturers are not aware of,” she says. “Store owners are also key in getting the word out to their customers about products that are beneficial to special needs that may have only been considered for their 'regular' customers.”
Anthony tries to meet with retailers face to face to discuss different special needs applications whenever possible. Some stores even set up demo units and have game nights. But helping customers who are looking for products for children with special needs, can still be challenging to some retailers, because each child’s need is specific, whether it’s a specific stage of autism or cerebral palsy. “First, we ask questions like ‘how old is the child? What's the developmental age? What skills is he or she working on? What kinds of things does the child enjoy? Then we turn to the Good to Grow list online and find some suggestions,” says Kazoodle’s Sisson. “You need to be sensitive to the person doing the buying. Some are matter-of-fact, some are very emotional, some are clueless about what toys will work with their kids or grandkids, and some know a whole lot more than we do.”
Diana Nielander, president of Lekotek tells Playthings that for parents who don’t know much, it can be uncomfortable choosing the right toy, especially with so many on the market, so guides can help educate retailers to educate consumers. “Sometimes, too many choices can be overwhelming,’ she says. “Everything is about perspective. You want a lot of choice. You may feel you’ve got many things to choose from, and that’s great, but when you have a child with certain challenges, limited abilities, you are going to try to create subset, upon subset of product. If you have 5,000 products and have parents going in that don’t know what to choose, too many can be overwhelming.”
She adds that this can turn into the perfect opportunity for retailers to develop a close relationship, even community with this group of consumers. “When someone has a challenge, look at it as an opportunity to be successful, she says. “If you know parents are having a hard time finding the right toys, look at as opportunity to try to win them over.”
Able, ready
Lekotek’s Ableplay Rating System features hundreds of toys, rated by therapists and broken down by specific disability, including: Sensory (including hearing and visual); Cognitive, such as down syndrome, mental retardation, fetal alcohol syndrome, hydrocephalus, attention deficit disorder and hyperactivity disorder and other learning disabilities; Communicative (speech and language delay, autism and stuttering); and Physical such as Multiple Sclerosis, which affects more than 400,000 people in the U.S. and 2.5 million worldwide, according to the Multiple Sclerosis Society, New York.
Nielander tells Playthings that retailers and manufacturers are becoming more aware of the need for toys for children with special needs, because number one: people, including those in the toy industry, are talking about it more, particularly with a continuous increase in the cases of autism; and number two, customers are more demanding. “They are coming into stores saying, ‘how are you going to help me?’ forcing retailers to say ‘how am I going to figure this out?’ It is an opportunity. As much as it presents an opportunity, it also presents lots of challenges.”
Lekotek is currently in the process of updating this year’s product submissions with a deadline for manufacturers this June. Toys are scheduled to be rated by fourth quarter.
Predominant preschool toy manufacturer, Fisher-Price is also updating their guide of toys for parents for children with special needs, a resource that has been up for the past five years. The company works with specialists, experts and special needs consultants from nearby medical institutions like Suny Buffalo as well as focus groups with mothers to discuss why play is important, according to Fisher-Price director of child research Kathleen Alfano. “A parent with a child with special needs have some support systems, they have a pediatrician, occupational therapists, says Alfano. “They are very skilled in giving direction for different stages [of conditions] and what types of product is best for them.”
The Fisher-PriceShake and Go Car can help children with mobility while Baby Basketball works for hearing and vision disabled and the Rainforest Jumperoo for movement are some of the product listed in the guide.
“If a child has a disability, you want to give that children the best opportunity possible,” Alfano tells Playthings. “Children with special needs need to play as well as other children. Therapy takes up so much of time, that they don’t get a chance to play. They need time to investigate, to use their imagination. This plays a part in helping their brain develop and emotional development. Whether it’s a hearing disability, movement, the not so severe to very severe, parents still want playfulness. Parents still want toys that, quote, normal children use.”
Juliette Mellow, of New York’s Autism Society says it can be difficult and often expensive, to find toys in specialty if parents don’t know what they are looking for, but if retailers have a good knowledge of suitable products, that makes the decision easier. She adds that the Toys “R” Us Autism Speaks recommended list of toys is helpful to consumers, but something not all retailers have the means to do, in particular, smaller, specialty stores. Mellow is currently seeking out a new scooter for her son Gabriel’s upcoming 11th birthday and has learned that children with disabilities are regular kids in a lot of ways and like all toys. “Pretty much like any parent, I buy toys for holidays, birthdays and try to buy toys were I see fit,” she says.
To help build community and educate special needs customers, Kazoodle Toys has had open house for therapist and special-ed teachers in store to acquaint them with products they can use from Good to Grow and are developing similar events for parents. The retailer is also seeking out local blind and deaf schools to learn what toys work best with their students. “Parents, grandparents come in bewildered and very appreciative of the help we can give them, and therapists come in with their specific needs in mind and are thrilled to have a specialty toy store in our community where they can find toys to fill the bill,” Sisson says. “We want to reach out more directly to parents of special needs kids to let them know we have resources that can help them. That's what specialty retailing is all about: helping people find what they need and enjoying the relationships that develop in the process.”
Guided by retail
Retailers offer catalogues and codes to help parents choose special need toys
The Toys “R” Us Guide for Differently-Abled Kids has been a year round resource for parents for more than a decade. The guide, which is updated each fall after a yearlong evaluation of more than 200 by the Lekotek Center, Chicago, following new toy finds at Toy Fair, features more than 80 toys, including the Baby Counting Pal by Leapfrog, which helps promote auditory skills; Candy Land Deluxe by Milton Bradley, which helps promote language development; and the Classic Tinkertoy Construction Set by Hasbro, which challenges kids to think. All basic toys that can help special needs—and all are available in store. Special symbols near each toy can help parents make the best choice.
Kathleen Waugh, director of philanthropy at Toys “R” Us tells Playthings that the guide helps parents find everyday toys, based on their need, and TRU is looking for ways to further distribute the guide nationwide. “One of the goals of the Toy Guide for Differently-Abled Kids is to ensure that parents and friends of differently-abled children understand that everyday toys and the power of play can assist in the
development of skills, no matter what a child's particular ability,” she says.
The retailers worked with Lekotek earlier this year on a “Ten Toys That Speak to Autism,” which focused on products that help promote language, creativity and social skills.
Learning Express, Naperville, Ill. also offers parents Express Codes, which break down individual developmental skills and the types of product that could be useful. For example, for building Creative expression kkills, arts and crafts, costumers, science kits, building toys and yarn crafts would be appropriate. Of course, this list can be used for all children, and is not specific to special needs, says Rosaleen Tully, one of the owners, along with partner Steve Zdunek of the Naperville, Ill. and Homer Glen, Ill. stores.
Tully says that she has customers with children with autism, cerebral palsy, even adults who have had strokes and sells a couple of the Gearations from Tomy a week, a magnetic board that helps promote fie motor, auditory and visual skills, cause and effect, tactile exploration and problem solving. The Latches Board puzzle, also a favorite of her autistic niece, has open and close door latch puzzle from Melissa & Doug is recommended for fine motor and cognitive and Ravensburger’s Labyrinth helps with visuals.
“The toys are for all kids. Kid are trying to develop, but they just develop at different stages,” she says. “It’s good for 4-year-old with autism, and it’s also good for a 12-year-old trying to learn—it’s not specific for special needs. It’s toys that work with special needs. We’re definitely toy store, not a special needs store, but we can offer something to special needs.”
