Ok, that was a HUGE general asumption. I get that. I’m sure not ALL of us are broke, but most of us would go to the ends of the earth for our children (regardless if they’re special needs or not), so here is the question I’m posing today. Why are toys geared towards children with special needs marked up SO high? Not just toys but ANY sort of equipment that might benefit our children?
I happened to be talking with a friend a few nights ago, her daughter has spastic quadriplegia CP. She’s in the process of trying to find a bike for her daughter. She had shown me a picture of a special needs bike and then told me the cost. $3200. HOW IS THAT EVEN ACCEPTABLE!? This is what it looks like:
I guess I should be thanking my lucky stars that Jillian should be able to ride a “typical” tricycle with few modifications to it. She tried one a few weeks ago at PT.
While filling out many mountains of paperwork since Jillian’s diagnosis. Our government asks to estimate how much you spend on your child with special needs. I looked at our case worker at the time and said ‘oh. I don’t think we need financial assistance.’ Although my husband and I pay taxes, I felt as if it were a handout of sorts. When our case worker explained it to me, it made a lot of sense. Whatever toys were recommended for Jillian, I bought. Whatever appointments she had, I drove and obviously parked the car. Meals at the hospital if we were there for a long time, etc. All the little things certainly add up.
I’ve also come across a lot of special needs toys order books. I look at the toys listed and think that I could easily find something VERY similar (if not the same) toy as in the book. Why is that?! I remember my friend Nena telling me that she had bought her son a Pablo (from the Backyardigans) keyboard or guitar (my memory is fading!) through a special needs book and then found the EXACT same toy at Walmart. Only difference? The power button was bigger.
So what gives? Why is there such a markup on said “special needs” toys? I think it’s pretty frustrating that things that could HELP our children are ridiculously overpriced.
I know I am broke! We actually got a bike (rifton tricycle beautiful red) on Ebay. It was almost too good to be true. $200 came with all the attachments we would need…only problem is it’s in New York…I’m not. Was it worth the drive & the hotel stay??? Absolutely! You have to watch, but sometimes there are some great deals
Sometimes you have to trip things out to better adapt them for the Children. But in the end you don’t want to spend a lot to get a smile…but you’ll do whatever is necessary!
This week I am paying $250 for a Vacation Bible School that the other kids’ parents are paying $25 for. Because we have to supply our own 1:1 Aide to get this totally inclusive, typical-peer experience. And the special needs bike I have my eye on is also 10x the cost of a regular bike. Everything seems to be 10x the cost! That’s why we’re broke.
Good idea to check eBay. We will always try to save where we can, but we also don’t skimp on the therapeutic and fun necessities. Kids do need to have fun.
I couldn’t agree with everyone more. My daughter is now 1.5 years and within the next month we will have to purchase; AFO’s, which are about the size of a soda can if not smaller at $1000 a leg,a stander, and a new feeding pump w/iv pole. The stander is a very basic structure but because it’s deemed for medical use they know they can charge through the roof.
Like the above comment I won’t skimp and will do what ever it takes to help improve the happiness and well being of my daughter.
Broke her too! We are spending about 100 a month on diapers alone! (My son is 14.) I thought at some point we could get a prescription and get medical diapers but nope. Just finding diapers that fit him is near impossible. (Adult diapers are too big at the moment while children’s are too small.) Plus, insurance just denied the repairs to his wheelchair which is a SAFETY issue in my opinion! It’s always something isn’t it!
I am not sure how it works with your Regional Center but when my son was in pullups (he’s potty trained now, can you hear my hallelujah shout?), they reimbursed me for the cost, up to 144 pullups/month. When he turned a certain age (I forget now when), they turned it over to Medicaid. Maybe there is a similar program in your state?
If all else fails, use coupons and Amazon subscribe and save. Let me know if you want me to send you coupons cause I always have those,
To Coley: We paid for adult size pullups for many years out of pocket, never realizing that the medical assistance that my daughter qualified for through the state DDA because of her disability, would pay for the pullups and they could be shipped to our door once of month with just a doctor’s prescription. Often the stores didn’t have enough in stock and we had to run around to several stores to buy what we needed. Call your state department of disability and get your son in the system if he isn’t already. Medicaid will pay for these and they companies that provide them will call his doctor for you and get the necessary prescription. It makes life so much easier! Good luck!
It’s true! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen a Koosh ball (remember those?) in the sensory section of a special needs catalog or website for say, $5 each. Then, I can walk into my local Target, and often they have them, or similar toys in their $1 bins at the front of the store. Same with this toy called a Tangle. They used to be at the Walmart checkouts for a nominal price with that crap they throw in the check out lines. Now, I can only find them in the sensory catalogs for much, much more. The list goes on and on, but I often find things in other stores for much less, and it’s the same thing. It just takes some hunting (when it comes to the toys).
Having recently started a toy business with a focus on special needs children, I can understand why toys for special needs kids are more expensive than the ones for everyone. Because they need to be produced in smaller quantities, they cannot benefit from economies of scale. Our toys are handmade in the USA and pricing is really a challenge. We are trying to make them affordable to everyone who would benefit from them but production costs are a challenge and we work very hard to be able to offer the highest quality at a reasonable cost. I am thinking that those bikes are probably made in very small batches or to order and that makes costs skyrocket. As for the toy with a different button in Walmart, I think the problem with quantities also applies.