How is a "special needs" squeeze toy, easy-to-grab ball or stacking toy any different from toys that look and feel almost identical but cost half as much?
by Martin Fox, PhD - CEO of PlayAbility Toys
I cannot speak for all toy companies, but PlayAbility Toys develops unique products in a manner that is almost unheard of in the toy industry. We design our toys based on input from therapists, special education teachers, and parents of children with special needs. This collaborative design process results in toys that are both fun and include developmental and educational advantages for the children of the targeted special needs community. For example, Buddy Dog, which is the number one rated toy by Able Play for children on the Autism Spectrum, was the result of an intensive collaboration with a teacher and therapist who operated a center for children on the Autism Spectrum. Our toys are different from mass market toys and have features that mass market toy producers and retailers do not understand.
PlayAbility Toys is dedicated to creating toys only for the special needs communities, which are much smaller markets than the general toy markets targeted by larger toy producers. This results in smaller and more costly manufacturing runs and higher shipping and testing costs. These costs along with our intensive design process result in higher overall toy costs. The good news is that we have worked aggressively with our manufacturing, shipping, and testing partners to successfully manage our costs and many of our toys are priced very competitively with general market toys of similar quality.
To purchase special needs toys like Buddy Dog, visit playabilitytoys.com.
