Toys R Us and Autism Speaks

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Toys R Us has a small toy handout with suggested toys for autism (and other information provided by Autism Speaks I assume). I'm not sure if your local listing includes it, but it was included in mine.

http://toysrus.shoplocal.com/ToysRus/de ... ntryflash&

I think that kids with autism should be able to play with whatever toys, they request for Christmas. I also don't agree with how American Toys R Us stores have teamed up with Autism Shutup. Reading stuff like this makes me happy to live in Canada.

I think if the word autism is there for everyone to see, i am for it.

As for the ad, i didn't notice, but i have seen it in the store before. And if you ask me, most toys can be applied one way or another, sensorywise.

I think that raising autism awareness among moms and dads (or people passing by) that are buying toys is a good thing and it really doesn't matter who is promoting it. Check the box ("Do you know what autism is?"; "Do you know the early signs?").
I also thought that the toys are cute! I also think that playing plays an important role in the initial development of the person and the toys do seem to stimulate the development of some skills (motor skills that are not developed yet in a child). Not that autistic kids nescessarily do need to play with these particular toys! But I don't see anything wrong with the ad.

Keep in mind that some little kids with autism can't request toys. They're that unable to communicate. They literally need to be taught to play as part of their therapies. Otherwise, they completely ignore toys. So it's one thing to say, "Let the kid pick his own toys at Christmas," but when you're talking kids with severe autism, that might not be possible.

.......But still, it's The Conglomerate of Evil...

....I think, in itself, this is okay...

Now we wait until the first reports of bribes from toys-r-us to recommend badly-selling toys -_-

But no...Well done Autism Shaddap, your ethical rating went from -10 to -9

Yeah I agree with that otherwise they might end just lining up the toys.

Lining up toys is still playing with them. My sister, that's almost all she did with toys. She still does. She can spend a lot of time doing that. That's just how she plays with them. I do not see a problem with lining up toys.

They also collect donations for autism speaks every april brining in thousands of dollars to the autism speaks foundation We need to send toys r us a message and request they stop supporting autism speaks and suggest other cause that help people with autism such as Wilderwood service dogs ( they train autism dogs) or Dogs for autism. These are both EXCELLENT organizations the deserve support because they provide service dogs to those on the spectrum. I believe this is fare better then autism speaks!

Those toys look very colorful, bright, and loud. They might not be the best for every autistic kid depending on sensory issues.

Not that I think they are bad toys for everyone, but I am imagining a lot of well-meaning people thinking their kids are beyond hope because they won't play with the big, loud, crass thing that was purchased for the express purpose of ... ?

Cookie Monster was always good enough for me.

Some of the toys on there I don't think are that geared toward autism, but one that stood out was the boxes you can stack or put into each other (you know where one is slightly bigger than the other). But, you can find those at the dollar stores much cheaper than toys r us. You can also get plastic pastel bowls at the dollar stores (not in toys) that work the same, but they don't have the alphabet and numbers on them.

There is a family that my dad has been telling me about from his church. The mother died and the two children are being adopted by the pastor. One of the children is a 12yo boy with HFA or Asperger's. My dad isn't sure of the diagnosis, but said he does talk a decent amount. My dad told me that he comes to a weekly meal at the church listening to an ipod because it's too loud for him in the place they hold the meal. I know what that's like.

I decided to buy him the same ear buds I use (Bose) for Christmas. They come with different sized soft gel adapters for your ears. They don't hurt as quickly as cheap ear buds and cancel out a good deal of noise. They also sound really good. I'm really excited about being able to do this. I'm gonna get the protection plan on them and give it to the pastor's wife just in case they get broken. So, I get to arm a little fellow Aspie with some nice Aspie gear for the next couple years guaranteed. I feel really good about that.

I tell my friends not to buy from Toys R Us just because of that "publicity" campaign.

Just getting the idea of autism out there is not enough. We shouldn't be satisfied with any publicity we can get--not when that publicity could be peoples' only exposure to the idea of autism. Imagine a young mother seeing those public service announcements--autism is a horrible disease that steals your child, destroys your marriage, and makes life a living hell--and then hearing "autism" from her doctor; what do you think she's going to feel? Or an employer who's just had "autism" disclosed by a potential employee who needs a non-customer-service-oriented position; do you think the employer is going to hire that person if their only idea of autism is ten-year-olds in diapers and kids being restrained during meltdowns? No way. This is not the kind of publicity we need.

It’s publicity and legitimacy for Autism Speaks and its message. Anyone concerned about Autism Speaks, its message, its methods or spending priorities should be concerned about anything that adds legitimacy to Autism Speaks.