Designing for Special Needs Children?

[toysforadd]

Hello
I am a father of two beautiful girls 5 & 7, unfortunately our eldest was diagnosed with ADD & a Learning Diability 18 months ago. I was very upset, but not defeated, so I decided to search for any educational toys/games activities and any other tools that would be beneficial for my daughter. Are ther any toy manufactureres/designers or any governing bodies that specfically cater to these particular children (ADD/LD)? Any links or resources would greatly be appreciated.

Thanks for your time & any help
Regards
Matthew .B

[toyarts]

Thanks for posting on ToyArts.
Below is the information obtained from the Toy Industry Association www.toyassociation.org

The Toy Industry Foundation is proud to announce that the newly revised publication Let's Play: A Guide to Toys for Children with Special Needs is now available. Over 6.2 million children live with disabilities, accounting for 13.2% of the child population.Expanded and enhanced, Let's Play offers recommendations and assistance to those selecting toys for a child with special needs such as visual, physical, speech and hearing impairments, as well as learning disabilities and attention deficit disorders (ADD and ADHD).

Each year, 100,000 copies of Let's Play are distributed to individuals, groups, corporations and institutions requesting brochures. In addition, thousands of users access the Guide through the Toy Industry Association, American Foundation for the Blind and Alliance for Technology Access Web sites as well as the Toy Industry Foundation's Public Education page.

The Toy Industry Foundation will premiere the new publication at Fighter Mom Friday, a special event hosted in partnership with Fight SMA.The day-long workshop for mothers fighting diseases and health challenges that face their children will feature CNN journalist Catherine Crier and expert panelists to discuss the lifelong benefits of play for special needs children confined by physical and developmental barriers.


You can download a copy of the guide at the link below.
http://www.toyassociation.org/AM/Templa ... entID=1388

Hope this is of some help. If anyone else has any information, please post it.
Thanks,
Mike

[Toygiant]

Matthew and Mike,

I want to thank you both for posting and replying about this topic. I have a 1 year old who was diagnosed with VCFS earlier this year (Velo Cardio Facial Syndrome), which is the 2nd most common genetic disorder behind Downs Syndrome (but hardly known by the public), and was I wondering if there was some sort of organization out there for toys & play paterns.

I'll be requesting a copy of Let's Play immediately.

Since my little miracle came along my design focus is no longer just entrenched in blood letting action figures and carnage causing vehicles. It's gained a lot of focus on how to assist children, like my daughter, who are going to have developmental delays and trouble meeting milestones.

Thank you so much for covering this and good luck to both of you.

- Tony

[OTforLife]

As an occupational therapy grad-student I want to encourage you to continue creating toys that will help to assist your daughter and other children with special needs. I’m not sure if your child participates in occupational therapy services, but I am sure that there are many occupational therapists (OTs) that could work along with you to design toys that would fit the special needs of children. I find it so important that children of all abilities have the opportunity to independently play with toys in order to develop social, cognitive, and physical skills, and in order to take pleasure in childhood play. It is horrible to think of a child who is unable to play with any age-appropriate toys. It is not his or her fault that the ability is lacking; I feel that it is our job to make sure each child is provided with a toy that meets the individual’s ability level. OTs are knowledgeable about various disabilities and are trained to analyze specific toys by figuring out the specific skills required to play with them independently. They can make suggestions regarding the needs of children with disabilities when discussing aspects of toy development. Toy designers bring the creativity and product construction to the table in order to make the idea a reality. OTs and toy designers could work as effective partners, striving to develop toys that fit the needs of all children, of all abilities.
Any toy designers who create products, not just as therapy tools but also as actual age-appropriate toys for the purpose of free-play, will have the opportunity to expand their business. For every child out there that has special needs, there is a family that would greatly respect the efforts of a toy designer that was keeping their child in mind when creating a new toy. When developing toys that can be used by all children, the market increases and therefore the opportunity for increased profit rises.

Taking on this approach to toy design is a great opportunity for all involved. Please consider continuing your product development ideas for toys that would help your daughter to reach her developmental milestones. Imagine how many other children you could help as well! Also, please consider passing this idea along to fellow toy designers. Just imagine all of the children that could benefit from playing with a toy that was made with their special needs in mind!

If you have any interest in contacting an occupational therapist or finding more information about how the field could so easily be connected to toy development, please visit The American Occupational Therapy Association’s website: [url]Aota.org[/url]

Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or further ideas. I felt compelled to respond to your post, hoping that you shared my passion for helping to give all children the opportunity to participate in play.

Thanks.