CHRISTMAS Toys 'R' Us guide helps parents shop for special-needs children

Each toy is rated by the skills it will develop: from motor to thinking.
By MARY BETH FALLER
STAMFORD ADVOCATE
Finding the right toy is hard enough, but shopping is even more challenging if the child has a disability.
Kids with special needs love toys as much as any child, and some can play with many of the same things as typical kids. But how do you know what's appropriate? One place to start is the Toys "R" Us Toy Guide for Differently-Abled Kids.
The giant retailer's catalog lists more than 85 toys that have been assessed and approved by the National Lekotek Center, a nonprofit agency devoted to play for special-needs children. This is the 10th year that Toys "R" Us has published the guide.
Susan McLaughlin, spokeswoman at New Jersey-based Toys "R" Us, says that years ago, when the company began featuring children with disabilities in its advertising, customers began calling and asking which toys would be best for kids with special needs. So the company decided to publish a catalog, in partnership with Lekotek.
"Every year we pull together a number of toys that are great sellers, or are classics, and send them to Lekotek," McLaughlin says. "They evaluate them and tell us what to include."
Evaluation process
The evaluation process often includes having kids play with the toys to see how well they do, says Diana Neilander, business manager at Chicago-based Lekotek.
"Some don't make the cut, and the reasons vary greatly," she says. "Sometimes the toy is difficult to activate consistently, or the directions are difficult." A toy might be great, but if the button to turn it on is too tiny, a child with limited mobility can't play with it.
A few classics make the catalog perennially, such as blocks, Boggle Junior and Grow to Pro Basketball by Fisher Price.
Neilander particularly likes the Discovery Sounds Hammer by Little Tykes, which makes silly sounds when banged and costs $5.99.
"Some children with sensory issues need auditory and tactile input for their body to get the information it needs -- and so when you're banging, you're hearing a noise and you're feeling the pound of the hammer in your hand," Neilander says.
Rated by skills
Each toy is rated according to which skills it will develop: tactile, fine-motor, creativity, thinking, etc., with symbols listed in the guide.
"Rather than just say 'this is good,' we try to give parents examples of why," Neilander says. The Discovery Sounds Hammer hones thinking, visual, auditory and gross-motor skills.
Finding toys for older kids with disabilities is a challenge. Neilander recommends the Leapfrog products and says Paint N Swirl also is a good choice.
"It's an easy-to-do art project where you don't have to close your hand around a pen or pencil or paintbrush," she says.
All of the toys are part of the regular Toys "R" Us inventory.
"One thing we found is that kids with different abilities want regular toys: 'The kid down the street has a Barbie. I want a Barbie,'" McLaughlin says.
XThe Toys "R" Us Toy Guide for Differently-Abled Kids is available at stores or online at www.toysrus.com/differentlyabled. For information about the National Lekotek Center, call (773) 276-8644 or visit www.lekotek.org. The Lekotek toy resource help line is (800) 366-PLAY.