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About Development by Design:
A child’s job is play. Development by Design fills a void in the toy world: toys designed for children of all needs and abilities. One out of every five kids in the US is currently diagnosed with a disability, and one out of every 100 kids has Autism. Despite these numbers, most toys and games are not designed with special-needs populations in mind. Development by Design is changing that, using universtal design to provide an engaging line of toys that all children can enjoy. DbD toys are not age specific, but skill specific, making them perfect for kids with or without special needs.
Along with Julie Robbins, our licensed pediatric occupational therapist, I have worked to divide skill development into ten distinct areas with accompanying iconography. As a parent, the job of teaching arithmetic and other standard subjects is relatively intuitive; but when you have a child with special needs, teaching unfamiliar skills can be extremely overwhelming. Development by Design’s toys allow a parent to choose the appropriate toy based on the skill-specific icons. The toys are ready-made to facilitate the educational relationship between adult and child.
By focusing on specific skill development and making our toys exceptionally adaptable, Development by Design’s toys are perfect for kids with a huge range of special needs. Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders, Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, Angelman Syndrome and most other special needs will enjoy and benefit from Development by Design’s toys as much as any typically developing child will. The included game booklets show easy, medium and challenging game options and great ideas on how to the toys can be adapted to suit a child's specific needs.
 Development by Design’s mission is to allow kids with or without disabilities to develop new skills while having fun just being kids!
Sincerely,
Jessica Zarin Kessin
Founder/ President
Development by Design
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