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Every year - especially around this time with Halloween just around the calendar - my kids start working on their lists and wait (fogging up our storm door window, right next to the dog) for the arrival of "The Big Toy Book," nearly running over our mail-lady in anticipation of tearing into its many pages, while my husband and I feign our ignorance at exactly just how many days there are left, until Christmas.

Now, for something totally different - a reason NOT to hate shopping at the toy store!

Toys "R" Us has released its Toy Guide for Differently-Abled Kids, an easy-to-use toy selection guide for parents and friends of children with disabilities.

What's inside?

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Approximately 200 toys were evaluated using focus groups and other criteria. This year, more than 80 made the cut. Symbols are assigned to each toy so parents can easily find the right fit for their child, and all toys on the list are tagged with two or more symbols. The guide also offers **Lekotek's popular "Top 10 Tips for Buying Toys" for differently-abled kids.

[source: Toys "R" Us]

Some picks this year include:

Baby Counting Pal(TM) by Leapfrog® - which helps promote auditory skills.

Candy Land® Deluxe by Milton Bradley® - which helps promote language development.

Classic Tinkertoy® Construction Set by Hasbro® - which challenges kids to think.

Dora's Talking Kitchen(TM) by Fisher-Price® - which helps promote social skills.

This is such a good thing.

It brings to light a need that I only recently became aware of and - something that parents of children with special needs face every blessed day of their lives - the simple act of just having fun, for a differently-abled kid, can be quite a challenge!

Susan - a single mom of twins - has mixed emotions about Toys-R-Us putting out a different kind of buying guide:

It IS nice to have references for adults wishing to gift our kids, yet having no understanding of the nature of our children's interests and needs. On the other hand, everybody seems to want a piece of the autism financial pie, and I'm wondering if TRU has jumped on the bandwagon.

I can understand Susan's hesitation - see my last two posts - but, I happen to also agree with Kristen Scott - contributing blogger of Blogging Baby - as she re-thinks her opinion of Toys "R" Us":

Parents of disabled kids say the guide is a relief, because, as parents of "regular" kids might not realize, not every toy is "fun" for a developmentally disabled child.

She makes a very valid point and received comments that left a lump in my throat, the size of my 5-year-old child's fist!

A therapist-friend of mine - who is a certified teacher in early child intervention - wanted to know if I had any toys that I would consider parting with, for her kids. After briefly ticking-off the few things I had to offer (read: relatively new and not so beat up) she thanked me and then graciously declined - she was looking for special toys. More specifically, meant to help a child with his/her small motor skills.

She made her own.

Her kids' favorite?

One of those empty "school tool boxes" filled with rice - the kids could play and, at the end of each session, my friend would simply close up shop and move on.

I'll be sending her the link, today.

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Contributing Editor Elizabeth Thompson also writes for the eZine, "The Imperfect Parent."