AIBU to think that over pricing special needs toys is just poop.

[harrasseddotcom]

Ok, prepared to take that I am BU as it is a free market but Im just a little shocked at the prices some companies are charging. DS is autistic (finally officially now) and though I would have a look around at grants and stuff to help with creating a little sensory room/area for him at home and looked at some websites specifically for SN/sensory areas. And the prices are astronomical! Just one example - a play parachute on a SN site is over £57 but a quick check on ebay the same thing new is £13.50. I kinda felt a little bit sad, and it feels like exploitation of SN. I mean I understand they have to make a profit but im pretty sure selling at £13.50 or even a bit higher still makes a profit. And its a lot of stuff of these sites. I look at the product then look at the price and they just dont seem justified! Hundreds of pounds for what looks like fibre optic lights which could be picked up elsewhere for a fraction of the price. Yet because they have marketed it for SN they have hiked the price up. I know that I could shop anywhere but I, and i suspect many others, are new to this and look for sites that are specifically for SN.

yanbu anything aimed at disability is massively expensive

I agree that this is outrageous. I think a lot of it is that they target institutions such as schools etc. who don't have the time / inclination to shop around and offer a "one stop shop" when they're sourcing stuff. Some may be particularly robust for use by large numbers of children, but not all.

Totally agree. Also schools are not shopping around and just pay the astronomical prices of the catalogues that 'they have always used'.

Someone has got a nice little racket going.

Then the local authority fight us over every penny we need to provide a programme for DS where he will actually learn something.

Prioritising style over substance imo.

If only i had the knowledge I would love to have SN website that sold SN stuff at reasonable price. Or if anyone knows any please feel free to tell me .

I feel your pain OP. I suspect some of it is a supply and demand type thing, and a lot of the companies WRT complete sensory rooms do offer a lot of support and design services which are paid for in the prices they charge for the products.
Shopping around does reap benefits but I have found some things like fibre optics for example, the quality does vary hugely and this can be especially important if your child will mouth/chew them like mine does the little monkey

I wonder how many organisations that give grants will probably expect purchases to come from a SN reputable company money grabbing poops and Id be loathed to spend even other peoples money on something that wasnt worth it, or could get elsewhere for a lot cheaper.

What toys does your son need? Maybe we can recommend things that are a reasonable price. Some items are worth the money, but some items are a con.

Please don't assume that schools just order without regard of cost! I'm a governor at my sons special school and the staff are always trying to get the best price and spend their own time looking for cheaper sources of equipment.

I agree that anything with a "special needs" label suddenly becomes more expensive. I've seen items in toy / equipment catalogues that are double the price in special needs equipment catalogues!!!! It stinks!!!

B&M ,S can be quite good for sensory toys i got a four foot bubble tube for ds2 last year for £25 but its not marketed as sensory, ds also has autism and learning disabillities i would stay away from anything marketed as sensory/special needs as they rip you off.

It's a smaller market so the prices are higher, they don't have the economies of scale that more mass produced toys have unfortunately.

Reallytired, the thing is we are just learning still so im not 100% sure what toys he would play with, although I can give you a list of toys he wont play with, which is pretty much most things aimed at NT kids. we have learnt this the hard way after about 2 years of wondering why he didn't play with any of the toys we bought him at xmas/birthdays. I suppose things that light up, make certain noises, sensory toys. I kinda wish there was a Toysrus for SN kids with the same realistic prices. Would make life much easier :D. Other than tablet/xbox there is not much he shows interest in. And even that we have consultants telling me to limit it to half an hour a day, which is really difficult when thats about the only thing he enjoys.

Is there a toy library near you? There is a toy library near me that does SN toys.

The prices are madness I agree.

We have got some bits from
www.cheapdisabilityaids.co.uk which seems more reasonable that others - although still some very expensive bits

My son is 3.5 and has autism and goes to a special needs nursery. All the children there (most with autism) really love car sliders (little ramps where you put a car at the top and it slides to the bottom) these can be found on amazon for about £10. Also lots of cheap sensory things like huge bowls of dried pasta all painted different colours or oddly enough lots of those brightly coloured kitchen sponges cut into little squares and chucked in a water table to squeeze and play with....!!!

Also bouncy castles indoors are always popular..elc did something called a jump zone. I think they've stopped doing it now but you can find similar on amazon.

Great little trading company have some fab play tents. We have a space themed one which is quite dark and makes a great den.

If you are on a low income see if Family Fund can help - they may provide a grant to enable you to buy some things (normally grants are around £500).

It is a shame that a lot of places hike the prices up just because it's marketed at SN. It's the same with weddings, supply and demand I guess. If people are willing to pay it, then the companies will charge it.

I agree that eBay etc can often find things cheaper but as has been mentioned, quality does vary a lot. I have had some fiddle toys off there that seem indestructible and others that fall apart as soon as look at them. It makes sense for schools to have trusted catalogue suppliers where the toys are safety tested, guaranteed and will last (our fibre optics might have been expensive but they are still going strong after being used for several hours every school day for around 5 years) and/or for staff to be allowed to pick up pieces that they find in person and handle themselves so they can check the quality- the problem with that is it tends to be you see things in places like b and m bargains and think so-and-so would like that, when you go out looking for a specific item you can never seem to find one!

A friend of mine recommended play therapy pods from here:
new life

If you scroll down the page there is info on them and an application form. i have not done it yet, but she says they're good (and free, so she says).

I think they sound really good if you're trying to find out what your DC finds reinforcing.

this might help, I think its a closed group but hopefully the front page if not it is a face book group called Special needs equipment, buy,sell,swap

they also seem to have added me to a Special needs equipment advice site,

www.facebook.com/groups/SNEUK/

but yes I agree it is shocking YANBU.

I agree, we borrowed a bear hug vest for ds to try and he loves it. Looked at one online and it's almost £60.

The Lycra sock thing £30

The ball pool filled duvet I think they said were £400 or £600

Chewy tubes from fledglings also expensive.

Pencil grips and chew pencil ends.

Pecs and fiddly toys.

It's very expensive but makes life for kids and parents so much happier. I wish it was cheaper, I'm guessing supply and demand plays a part and product testing, design, health and safety. But the families miss out.

The Cerebra chikdren's charity has a lending library of sensory toys. They are couriered to you for a month, and then picked up again.

w3.cerebra.org.uk/help-and-information/library/

Worth trying stuff out before buying.

Pet shops can be good for toys with different textures etc, they are designed to stimulate but withstand being thrown, pulled, bitten etc.

Once you take the label off its only you that knows where its from!

Another vote for borrowing from your local toy library before you fork out cash for something. Most toy libraries are free membership and loans for kids with disabilities, and have extensive sn sections (most of them are the stores for the OT, Physio and portage services, so they have enormous stocks of all sorts of sn stuff). It's a good way to test out what works for your child, and then you can purchase if you want to. And if not, you can just keep on borrowing things from the library - sometimes with sn kids who form particular routines and attachments it's nice to have a permanent version though!
For fiddle toys and textured stuff, we found Hawkins bazaar or the pound shop a good bet (but we don't have a chewer). Lots of light up, sensory stuff to be found very cheap if this is not an issue.

(Ask the sn hv or OT or whatever if you aren't sure where your toy library is - I had no idea it even existed until sn dc3 arrived...)