Special Needs Toy Library

Play is the work of children and helps them to learn about the world they live in. Children begin learning as soon as they are born, and parents/caregivers are a child’s first teacher.

At McBride, we wanted to provide parents/caregivers with additional resources to help their children succeed, so we applied for a grant to buy toys for children in order to build pre-literacy skills. Then we partnered with all of the public libraries in Columbia and Montour counties so that we could extend our reach.

These toys are not available for checkout, but anyone can come to the library and use the toys at the library at any of the public libraries in Columbia and Montour counties. Learn more about how to help a child who is developmentally delayed here and here.

Special needs is an umbrella term that covers a wide variety of circumstances including medical, behavior, development, learning, and/or mental health issues. Frequently, special needs are defined by what they can’t do and the obstacles faced. Many times someone with a special need will require more time and patience in order to achieve the same level of success as their peers.

Early intervention can have a huge impact on keeping special needs individuals at the same learning level as their peers. Studies show that low-stress high-choice play builds the skills necessary for children to become well-rounded adults. The type of skills we are interested in building is pre-literacy skills, which are the skills children build that enables them to be able to learn how to read and write. These six skills are: vocabulary, print awareness, print motivation, letter knowledge, phonological awareness, and narrative skills. Learn more about these skills here.

The toy library is open to patrons of all ages.

This opportunity is offered with partnership from: