Toy Fair Seminar
Special Toys for Special Kids: An Untouched Market
By Beth Michaels
January 1, 2003

Cranium Cariboo

“Nobody is addressing a whole population of children,” adds Nielander. “Nobody is really looking at this like it’s a viable market, but we think there is good reason it could be good for business, but also good for children. Hopping on the bandwagon now will help them get ahead of the trend.”

And that’s just what Learning Express has decided to do. With 158 stores in 35 states, Learning Express is the nation's leading franchiser of specialty toy stores. Through relationships with experts in this specialty toy market, including professionals from the National Lekotek Center and Exceptional Parent magazine, Learning Express is evaluating its toys in an effort to make them more appropriate for children with disabilities.

Playmobil jet Airliner

“Learning Express stores already carry the best selection of high quality constructive and developmental toys,” says Joe Diaz, president. “We realized that we were in a great position to reach out to the special needs community to let them know we valued their business.”

Diaz believes that a toy created and marketed specifically for children with special needs is unlikely to be economically viable. Therefore, he focuses on educating vendors about small changes they can make to existing products that require little cost, but make a big difference in the toy’s utility for a child with special needs.

Little Doctor Kit

Both Nielander and Diaz will be speakers at the Toy Fair seminar, “Opportunities in the Children's Special Needs Market.” For more information, go to: toy-tia.org/AITF/seminars.html.

This article is part of a new series that will cover a different Toy Fair Seminar topic each month.

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