Toys“R”Us Toy Guide For Differently-Abled Kids
Recently Toys“R”Us, Inc. debuted the 2008 edition of the Toys“R”Us Toy Guide for Differently-Abled Kids, an easy-to-use toy selection guide for anyone who loves and cares for a child with special needs. This year, Meredith Vieira, a longtime advocate for children with disabilities, appears on the cover along with Owen Wagner, an inspiring eight-year-old boy from Chatham, NJ. Owen is one of the many children with differing abilities featured throughout the Guide.
Released annually, the Guide assists parents, family, friends and professionals by providing qualified toy recommendations to help aid in the skill development of children who have physical, cognitive or developmental disabilities. The complimentary publication is available now at all Toys“R”Us and Babies“R”Us stores across the country and online, in both English and Spanish, at www.Toysrus.com/DifferentlyAbled.
“The Toys“R”Us Toy Guide for Differently-Abled Kids is a labor of love for all of us in the “R”Us family,” said Jerry Storch, Chairman and CEO, Toys“R”Us, Inc. “Our commitment to providing the best selection of toys to help enrich the play experience for children of all abilities is reflected on each page of the Guide.”
Since 1994, Toys“R”Us has partnered with the National Lekotek Center to evaluate hundreds of toys during therapeutic play sessions to determine those that best contribute to the development of children with special needs. This nonprofit organization, dedicated to making the world accessible to children of all abilities, assigns at least two “skill-building” characteristics to each toy selected for the Guide such as Auditory, Language, Social Skills, Creativity and more. Within the Guide, Lekotek also provides helpful tips for choosing developmentally appropriate toys for children with differing abilities.
This year, online visitors will discover a colorful, user-friendly microsite dedicated to the Guide, including a video message from Meredith Vieira and behind-the-scenes pictures from the Guide cover shoot.#
