Five-year-old Katy couldn’t
climb into her family’s van quick enough once she heard they were going to
the library. It’s a place Katy has visited many times. She loves browsing
the shelves, knowing she will always find something fun and exciting to take
home.
But
there’s something different about this library. It doesn’t have hundreds
of shelves filled with books. The shelves of this library are filled with
toys, many specifically designed for children with disabilities. The inventory
includes more than 1,000 toys, although about 400 of them are on loan at any
given time. The toy library is a program of the Community Disability Network (CDN)
. Now in its 14th year, the toy library serves more than 200
families and child development professionals.
The toys lining the shelves
blink, beep and even talk. They are designed to stimulate children by
providing feedback and rewarding them for their success. The specialty toys
aren’t cheap---most cost between $50 and $100. That’s one of the reasons
the CDN toy library is so important for parents who have children with special
needs.
Families pay $25 per year to
join the toy library. As members, they can check out as many as six toys at a
time for up to 30 days. It gives them access to a wide variety of therapeutic,
interactive toys to stimulate their children. It also lets the youngsters try
out expensive toys that they might find frustrating or quickly grow tired of,
thus saving the family money. Katy’s mom, Kerry, knows how important that
can be.
Katy was born with mild
cerebral palsy. While she understands most of what people are saying, she has
trouble responding because of her disability. Katy’s family heard about the
toy library three years ago from her therapist. Katy’s mother says, "I
know we’ve checked out more than 100 toys. Katy learned how to ride a bike
on the toy library’s ‘Therapy Tricycle.’ The library’s electronic
puzzles and pegboards helped Katy learn to reason and use her hands."
Kerry added, "It’s a thrill to see Katy do simple things like take lids
off jars and zip her own coat---things we take for granted."
The library also has a number
of audio and videotapes to help parents of children with disabilities. The
video on potty-training was invaluable for Katy’s parents. With that hurdle
behind them, Katy is doing great in kindergarten.
Teachers and therapists who
work with disabled children can check out toys for their students and clients.
The goal of the toy library is providing easy access to therapeutic toys that
will challenge and motivate children with disabilities…and help make therapy
fun. If the smiles of children using the toys are any measure of the
library’s success, then it should be around for many years to come!