I've been meaning to write since August about Toys "R" Us's new 2010 edition of its Toy Guide for Differently-Abled Kids, a user-friendly booklet that helps parents of children with special needs select toys that develop skills through different types of play. This year, actress and philanthropist (and parent of a child with autism) Holly Robinson Peete appears on the cover of the guide along with Tommy Austing, a 6-year-old boy from Los Angeles, CA. The guide is the largest edition ever (60 pages) and is available in both Spanish and English. It provides specific toy recommendations based on research that Toys "R" Us conducts in association with the National Lekotek Center to find out which toys provide the best play value during therapeutic play sessions for children with special needs. As a result, the guide can tell you, for example, that fine motor skills are honed through play with theMelissa & Doug Magnetic Number Maze ($16.99), or that tactile/sensory issues are addressed with Crayola Presto Dots ($9.99). These are just a sampling of some ideas that will be invaluable for teachers, parents, relatives, and friends of children with special needs. As a parent of children with special needs, I applaud Toys "R" Us for this effort. The guide is available in-store, and if you are shopping online you can access it through a dedicated website here, where you can also search by skill, price and age range.
0 comments:
Post a Comment