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Toys For Children With Special Needs

Toys are learning tools for children. Children use these tools to express themselves, to learn, to explore, to dream. Give the wrong toy to a child and they will express frustration. But give them the Toys for Special Needsright toy and they will have a very productive and enjoyable time. A toy that is properly chosen can aid a child in addressing his or her difficulties. At the same time, choosing a toy without consideration of a child’s special needs will only lead to aggravation for them and disappointment for both of you.

There are toy categories that are well suited for children with special needs. They are often used by therapists and teachers to help children build social and gross motor skills.  Here are some of them:

Board Games: These toys are excellent for children with difficulty mastering social or communication skills. These are perfect toys to teach them about rules, turn taking and social interaction with other kids.

Electronic Games: Although, you might be opposed to video games, there are video games that can be beneficial in building attention skills. Some computer games reward attention by adding difficulty as the child progresses through the game.

Sports Toys: Do not do a disservice to an uncoordinated child by declining to buy them a sports toy. A sports toy can actually help a child with limited gross motor skills. For example, a softer foam ball can give a child a chance to practice the art of throwing and catching without getting hurt. Well-chosen sports toys, designed to help build skills rather than to highlight weaknesses, can help.

Fantasy Toys: There is no better way to help a child with special needs than by engaging his or her imagination through play. Fantasy toys, from dolls to puppets, provide avenues for communication and a window of insight for a parent who might want to know better what a child is thinking or feeling.

Be prepared to adapt these toys to the needs of the child. Just because everyone else is playing with the toy in a certain way, it does not mean that they have to. Consider the setting. Where they play can have a direct impact on the child’s ability to enjoy the toy and the playtime. Be creative in your setup as well. You know your child more than anyone, so if your child has problems with attention he may have better concentration sitting in a chair at a table rather than on the floor of the living room. A child with low vision will need more lighting. A child with hearing difficulties may do better in a quiet room. Scan your play area with the child’s special need in mind before sitting down to play.

In the end, taking the time to match both the toy and the environment to your child’s special needs will make a world of difference in the enjoyment their new toy brings.

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Reference:  Marianne Szymaski, “Toy Tips”, Jossey-Bass, 2004, p. 74-78

January 20, 2010 | Filed Under Community | 1 Comment 

Is This Toy Safe?

recalled toyIn 2008 Congress passed the first major overhaul of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) since its creation. The new compliance laws provided for tough new bans on lead and phthalates, required larger printed warning messages on toy packaging, cracked down on smaller toy pieces that could choke a child and greatly improved CPSC’s ability to monitor and hold wrongdoers accountable. Toy vendors were required to be fully compliant as of this past February.

Toy recalls have dropped dramatically from 2007 when 45 million toys and other children’s products were classified as unsafe. Still there is no magic bullet to instantly make ALL toys safe. With that in mind, the US Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) published its 24th Annual Report on Safety for the Toy Industry with guidelines to help parents in purchasing toys for little ones. It also provides examples of toys that may pose potential safety hazards.

The main areas in the report concentrate on choking hazards, excessively loud toys, and toxins like lead and phthalates in children’s products. Key findings:

CHOKING HAZARDSrecalled toy

The law bans small parts in toys for children under three and requires an explicit, prominent warning label on toys with small parts for children between the ages of three and six. In addition, balls with a diameter smaller than 1.75 inches are banned for children under three years old. Unfortunately choking on small parts, small balls and balloons remains a leading cause of toy related deaths and injuries. In 2009 alone, 5.3 million toys and other children’s products were recalled due to choking hazards. 

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

  • Avoid small toys or parts of toys that can fit entirely into a toilet paper tube.
  • Avoid small balls and round objects. Balls should be at least 1.75” in diameter for children under three.
  • Avoid cylindrical pieces of toys that can lodge in a child’s airway.
  • Balloons and pieces of balloon can completely block a child’s airway. Never give balloons to children under 8. Mylar balloons are a safer alternative.
  • Avoid hand me down hazards – keep toys for older kids away from young children.

LOUD TOYS

Almost 15 percent of children ages 6 to 17 show signs of hearing loss. Noise-induced hearing loss can be caused by a one-time exposure to loud sound as well as by repeated exposure to sounds at various loudness levels over an extended period of time.

In March 2007, the American Society for Testing and Materials adopted a voluntary acoustics standard for toys, setting the loudness threshold for most toys at 85 decibels, and for toys intended for use “close to the ear” at 65 dB.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

  • If a toy seems too loud for your ears, it is probably too loud for your child. Don’t buy it.
  •  Toys used close to the ear (like toy cell phones) should not be louder than 65 decibels, measured from 10 inches away. More info here. 
  • Other toys should not be louder than 85 decibels measured from 10 inches away.
  • For “loud toys” you already own: take the batteries and/or cover the toy’s speakers with tape.

TOXINSrecalled toy 3-lead-smaller

Exposure to lead can affect almost every organ and system in the human body, especially the central nervous system. Lead is especially toxic to the brains of young children. Despite the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) bans, in 2009 the CPSC has recalled nearly 1.3 million toys or other children’s products for violations of the lead paint standard and an additional 102,700 toys and other children’s products for violation of the 300 ppm lead standard.

According to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), levels of phthalates found in humans are higher than levels shown to cause adverse health effects. The data also show phthalate levels are highest in children. Still despite a CPSIA ban, 2 toys were found this year that exceeded the maximum phthalate levels.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

  • Keep costume/novelty jewelry away from young children.
  • You can screen a piece of jewelry or toy for lead using a home lead tester available at the hardware store. (This is a screening method, and should not be relied upon as a definitive test.)
  • Check www.recalls.gov for recalled toys.
  • Avoid plastic toys labeled as “PVC” They often contains phthalate softeners. Look for toys labeled “phthalate-free.”
  • Choose cloth or unpainted wooden toys instead of soft plastic toys.
  • Read the labels of play cosmetics and avoid products with xylene, toluene or phthalates.
  • Avoid plastic bath toys or bath books.

For parents concerned about toxin exposure, the “Absolute Greatest Guide to Green Gifts for Kids” from Healthy Child Healthy World and www.HealthyStuff.org can be excellent resources

WHAT’S A PARENT TO DO?

The CPSC is one small agency and there are numerous new toys produced every year in the US…as well as imported from other countries. Unfortunately that means that CPSC is not able to test all toys, and not all toys on store shelves meet CPSC standards. This also means that there is no comprehensive list of potentially hazardous toys. There are things however that a safety conscious parent can do:

As always, in the end, it comes down to you and I being vigilant in the toys we purchase. Hopefully the tips we’ve provided can be of some help…for the holidays…and beyond.

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References:

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December 24, 2009 | Filed Under Awareness | 19 Comments 

What is a good toy for a special needs child?

Whether you are a parent, a caregiver or a birthday party guest it may be challenging to choose a toy for a special needs child. The more information you have about the child, the easier it will be to make the choice so you might want to ask:telefonino2 

♦ Is the child working on any specific skills, such as gripping or cutting (fine motor) or jumping (gross motor)?

♦ Does the child have any specific dislikes, such as loud music or flashing lights?

♦ What is the child’s favorite type of play? Dress up? Art? Puzzles? Riding toys?

♦ Who is the child’s favorite character? What is the child’s favorite movie or show or song?

There are a few tools that will help you choose a toy that will not only give the child lots of fun playtime but also might just prove educational or otherwise beneficial:

The Toys R Us Guide for Differently Abled Kids breaks toys down into different skill sets to make shopping less overwhelming and more specific. The guide is available online and also in print in brick & mortar Toys R Us stores. You can order the toys online from Toys R Us or use the guide as research and buy them at any retailer.

Also from Toys R Us is the Faces of Autism slide show of beautiful portraits and the 10 Toys That Speak to Autism selection. Check each toy’s description for its features and benefits.

AblePlay offers offers a rating system, search engine and reviews of toys for special needs kids. You can buy the items online or use the site for research. There are also message boards and blogs on the site, as well as articles and even the ability to build a wish list for your child. AblePlay’s press release gives more information about the site.

The Toys R us guides as well as AblePlay rely heavily on input from Lekotek, which is being threatened by budget cuts in Illinois. Lekotek offers programs and family support in many states and there is info on the site about starting one in any location.

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September 23, 2009 | Filed Under Community | Leave a Comment