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Every day, parents ask professionals for advice on buying toys for their children. Often, shoppers are wary of buying toys for special needs children. However, selecting a toy for any child begins with two steps: first, learning what the child is interested in, and second, assessing his or her skill level. Let's Play: A Guide to Toys for Children with Special Needs is a helpful educational tool designed to assist with this selection process. After reviewing this guide and doing your homework, we encourage you to visit toy shelves (both online and at your local retailer) and sample the great products designed to excite, engage and enthrall your child. Experience with them the joy and happiness of play!

This is Part Three of a series of posts that will concentrate on the inherent benefits of play for children with special needs. In this post we focus on how toys and the experience of play help with emotional development. Part Two of the series was related to physical development and the growth of fine motor skills. Part One was devoted to toys and the development of gross motor skills.

Register here!What: Deidre Omahen, Director of Training and Affiliates will be presenting this 1.5 hour webinar on Lekotek's principles of toy adaptation. She will also share ideas for adapting technology including apps and adaptive software. When:  Wednesday, January 25 11:00 pm-12:30 pm Mountain Cost: $30 (includes CE and EI credit)   HEY, no worries if you miss the "Adapting Toys and Play" webinar...Lekotek is offering the recorded version up to one year so you can learn at your leisure.  Contact:Email: lekotek@lekotek.org

Inexpensive and Easily Available Toys That Work for Children with Special NeedsWhen a birthday or holiday rolls around, I can usually get a nice assortment of age-appropriate toys for my typically-developing children for less than $100.  But just one adapted toy for my child with cerebral palsy can be anywhere from $50 to $200.   In an attempt to find some alternatives, I asked a group of moms what off-the-shelf toys worked well for their children, who have a wide range of disabilities, including physical, behavioral, developmental, and sensory disabilities.  I've included a variety of their favorites in this article.

As you peruse Fat Brain Toys, you may find something missing. In fact, if you're accustomed to the toy selection found at most stores, you may find lots of items missing. Missing are the licensed, violent, cheaply made toys that end up in the trash can shortly after being played with by your child. But what you will find instead are THOUSANDS of quality, open-ended toys, games, and gifts that entertain AND educate.

At the 2012 USA Science & Engineering Festival, children swarmed a National Science Foundation exhibit booth featuring electric-powered, child-sized toy cars. Assistants carefully explained how to operate the cars, which featured unique designs and operating features. One of cars, for example, would move only if the child driver remained standing. To stop, the driver had to sit down. Excited children and their parents wondered about the cars' purpose; after all, these cars weren't being exhibited at a science and engineering event for being ordinary toys.

University of Delaware researchers had, in fact, specifically designed the cars to provide mobility to very young children with special needs.

AblePlayTM is a toy rating system and website that provides comprehensive information on toys for children with special needs. AblePlay was created so parents, special educators, therapists and others can make the best decisions when purchasing products for children in their lives with disabilities.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common childhood disorders and can continue through adolescence and adulthood. Diagnosing ADHD can be tough and once a diagnosis is discovered, the next steps are crucial. For this reason we have compiled an eight part series on that will provide you with over 100 ADD/ADHD resources in a series of weekly blog posts. This post is part six:

What: This webinar will demonstrate an assortment of tools and materials that can be used to adapt toys or play activities for young children with disabilities.  Examples will include: making a momentary switch in one minute;  adapting pushbutton items; creating tactile images on-the-fly; creative uses of PVC pipe; mounting and stabilizing toys; cool fidget apps; and much more. When: Monday, April 12, 2010 - 8:00 am-9:00am (MDT)

The waiting room was loud and chaotic. Toddlers were stacking blocks, then squealing with excitement as they knocked them over and watched them fall. Baby toys were chiming and buzzing. A cartoon was blaring on the television mounted above us. My son Henry (not his real name) was not playing with the other children. He was nestled in my lap, quietly leafing through a picture book. My winter coat partially enshrouded him from the bedlam encircling us. When we were finally called in, our pediatrician examined Henry physically and declared him a healthy 15-month-old. Then she began to ask me a lot of questions about his behavior.

Three-year-old Kasan Allison idolizes his older brothers, Keenan and Kylan, likes to play games with his dad, Dave, and is always on the go, a toy tractor or his best bud, Mickey Mouse, in hand. When he’s unsure about something, he reaches for his mom, Amie, and he loves macaroni and cheese.Almost from the day Kasan was born, his parents recognized differences in his development. He did not lift his head, roll over, start crawling when his older brothers had.The Allisons didn’t know it at the time, but Kasan has XXXXY, commonly called 49 Chromosome Syndrome, and the chromosomal abnormality affects not only his life, but his family’s too.

The advocacy organisation Autism Speaks estimates there are hundreds of apps built for use on iOS devices, specifically for autism. A search of the Apple iTunes store brought more than 580 autism-related apps, while an Android Market search for autism apps yielded about 250 results. "The more we dig, the bigger the rabbit hole is and we're starting to think tech is a really big key for how we can develop therapies quickly," said Marc Sirkin, vice president of social marketing and online fundraising for Autism Speaks. However, the organisation is cautious about the iPad's popularity. Its quick ascent means no one has actually studied which apps are of therapeutic benefit. Sure, Sirkin said, parents may hear anecdotal stories of apps completely changing a child's life, but there is no measurable proof yet that the apps really work. "The challenge with iOS apps is a lot are developed by well meaning parents but under no guidance with autism experts," Sirkin said. "For us, it brings in questions as an evidenced-based organisation and we're starting to ask: Does any of this actually make any difference... the danger is that the iPad becomes a really expensive toy." But some parents are OK without the proof just yet. Eric Tanner, the father of an 8-year-old with autism, said what the iPad really offers is accessibility and hope that a better life is possible for his child.

Autism is a complex brain disorder that first appears during early childhood. It affects how a person behaves and interacts with others. People with autism might not look you in the eye when talking. They may spend a lot of time lining up toys or other objects. Or they may say the same sentence over and over. The disorder is so variable—affecting each person in very different ways—that it can be difficult to diagnose and treat. This variability is why autism is called a “spectrum” disorder. It spans the spectrum from mild to severe and includes a wide range of symptoms.

What: Missoula author Albert Yee will present a booktalk & autograph copies of his new book “Raising & Teaching Children for Their Tomorrows”. When: Saturday, January 8th from 11:00AM-1:00PM Where: Montana Book & Toy Co. 311 N. Last Chance Gulch Helena, Montana  59601 406-443-0260 | Toll Free: 1-877-844-0577 Visit http://www.mtbookco.com/ for more information.

“We found that when creating a story or just responding to pictures, the parent used many words and complex sentence structures while engaging with their child. That level of engagement wasn’t as present when reading books with text,” said Gillam. “These results fall in line with the generally accepted belief that less structured activities, such as playing with toys or creating things with Play-Doh, elicit more productive language interactions between parent and child. These findings in no way diminish the importance of reading printed books, but incorporating interactions with wordless books is a way to build a more solid literacy foundation in children with developmental disabilities.”