Fisher-Price® has developed a partnership with experts from the Let’s Play! Projects, a federally funded program that supports family play experiences and activities for children with special needs.
Play Stages for Children with Special Needs
Our recommendations for children with special needs emphasise play stages—not ages—because all children develop at different rates.
These play stages include:
The Experience Stage: Your child wonders, “What is it?”
Your child uses his or her senses to explore the toy and its physical features and visual, auditory and tactile reactions.The Discovery Stage: Your child asks, “What does it do?”
The toy guides your child to discover ways to use it and its pieces; for example, where to touch, turn or twist it, where to put things in or take them out.The Expanding Imagination Stage: Your child wants to find out, “What else can I do with it?”
Your child uses imagination and creativity to determine even more ways to interact with the toy.
We suggest you take a relaxed, see-what-happens approach as you and your child play together. Good advice for helping children with special needs learn is to try an idea and see how it works. If it doesn't, try something new! Remember to focus special needs activities on what your child can do—what brings him or her the most joy. Trust your instincts, have fun together, and we hope you'll come back for new ideas as your child grows.
