Psssst: Got Grandparents and friends who want to purchase just the right toy for your child? You are going to want them to read this review. Just a friendly heads up!
Lake Bluff, IL – All kids love new, cool, fun toys, and that includes kids with disabilities. But it’s not always easy to find, let alone choose, the right toys for a child with special needs.
That’s why One Step Ahead has partnered with the National Lekotek Center—the leading not-for-profit authority on play for children with disabilities—to offer a different kind of toy selection.
Here Come AblePlayTM Toys!
Fun for All Kids…and Rated for Kids with Special Needs
AblePlay toys are rated on a scale of one to five stars in four disability categories:
* Physical disabilities, such as Cerebral Palsy and Muscular Dystrophy
* Sensory disabilities, like hearing/vision impairments and Sensory Integration Disorder
* Communicative disabilities, including Autism and speech delays
* Cognitive disabilities, such as Down Syndrome, ADD, and learning disabilities
“The AblePlay ratings provide a snapshot of a toy’s appropriateness relative to specific disabilities. They make it easier for parents and family to choose specific toys for their child.
At www.onestepahead.com, parents can easily review each toy’s AblePlay rating. And even parents of kids who don’t have special needs can use the ratings as a toy selection tool.
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The beauty of AblePlay toys is that they’re inclusive—that is, they’re the same exact toys kids will find at a cousin’s or neighbor’s house. There are 6.2 million kids with disabilities in the=2 0U.S., or 13.2% of the child population—and when it comes to play, says Mendoza, “they want to be included in the same way as everyone else.”
“But they’ve also been rated by play experts in the area of special needs regarding their suitability for kids with disabilities.”
Parker and I have been playing with the Tater Tot Toss and the WEDGiTS and love them.
Want to win your own Tator Tot Toss AND WEDGiTS from One Step Ahead?
1. Take a look at their toys.
2. Choose one that would meet your child’s specific needs.
3. Come back and tell me not only which toy, but WHY. Let’s help each other out with some great therapy ideas using the wonderful selection of toys at One Step Ahead.
Want to earn an extra entries?
1. Follow us on Twitter. We are 5MinSpecNeeds
2. Tweet this giveaway @5MinSpecNeeds
This contest will go through April 11th.
Offer available in the U.S and Canada!
Please be sure to read our Terms and Conditions.
You can also find Tammy and Parker hanging out at their other blog, Praying for Parker and on Twitter where they are known as ParkerMama.
I would love the Bright and Beyond Activity Cards. It looks like a great way to incorporate skill building by using things that I have around the house. I love using games and play to help reinforce and teach.
Gather Round Dinner Games. Anything to help my SPD child enjoy meal time! Since he barely eats anything, he hates being at the table (and finishes way before everyone else!)
I am following you now!
I tweeted!
twitter, twitter, twitter……..
We need a “Tummy Time Safari” mat. The bolster would be perfect to keep Alexander from laying on his trach while doing tummy time stuff, and the fact that the toys aren’t hanging over his head would help encourage a different sort of reach than he’s normally doing.
I would LOVE LOVE LOVE the Stack n Smile Photo Blocks. Our 18 month old son, Gavin, doesn’t speak yet so we would love to have photos in the blocks to help him associate words with pictures of his favorite things or people.
I’m going to tweet from Gavin and his brother’s Twitter page – I hope I do it right!!
Thanks!
I’d love to win!
great prize, good luck everyone
The Configuration Balance Beam would be a real hit with my 5-year-old son (he has autism). He loves walking on sidewalk curbs and I think he’d have a lot of fun with this. He is very active and this would be a great addition to our collection of “gotta move!” toys!
Also, it’s not in the “able play” rating feature, but I highly, highly recommend the “Rainy Day Combo Kit.” My son’s Occupational Therapist brought this to our house for his sessions when he was 2-years-old. He loved it so much we bought our own. It is a bar that you can put up in a doorway (without mounting permanently…so it’s great to take to hotels, grandma’s house, etc).
There are a number of different attachments available…swings, hammocks, gliders, etc. We’ve had it for three years now with HEAVY use and it is worth it’s weight in gold. You used to only be able to buy it from Abilitations and it’s great to see a mainstream store like Leaps & Bounds carring the starter kit (if you search online for “rainy day indoor playground” you can find more of the additional attachments for it). As I type this, my son is trying to do pull-ups on the bar…
~Tamie
I think the Stack n Smile Photo Blocks would be great for the little girl with Autism I care for.
Thanks for the great giveaway!!
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I like this one because it helps brandon with Grasping and sensory skills. There is others out ther but I did see to many made for kids with vision impairments. I would like to see more with lights and sound and maybe more sensory to it also.
An all-time favorite. It’s a toddler’s joy, but even babies can press Skwish flat, and watch as it snaps back to its old shape. Made of safe, smooth Birchwood, with a nylon-covered elastic cord. 6″ of fun for birth and up.
Skwish® Classic
Item #: 01705
$14.95
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Product Rating
Fantastic Spinners and Refills for my artistic grandaughter.
the Stack n Smile Photo Blocks
I like the monster bubbles and refil.
Honestly, this giveaway caught my interest because my new friend’s son has cerebral pausy and I picked the toy that would be easiest to play with, with him.
I twittered you at: http://twitter.com/ScrewLucy
Stack and Smile Photo Blocks sound great for my autistic nephew. The photo blocks would help memory of family and the blocks are soft and don’t make a loud noise when they fall-autistic children are often sensitive to noises. The repetition of stacking the blocks would be an enjoyable activity.
I love the Yellow Lab Asthma Friendly Plush Puppy because it provides a huggable friend and encourages communication and expression.
I have been looking for a trike or a bike for ty for so long. That little trike they have along with the pedal extenders. If I don’t win I am buying it. He needs one so bad. I al so glad that you put that out there.
He has cerebral palsy and has spastic muscles and can’t ride a bike like a normal kid. Those bike pedal extenders would let him ride a trike with his little friend in the the neighborhood.
I twittered it…. twice.. I so would love this for Tyler
I like the photo blocks. My son is having trouble with face recognition and names. This is a great way to help reinforce what he is learning.
amynhtown@yahoo.com