About Us

We established our business, Thinking Toys, in 2004, with the hope of increasing the awareness of a range of products that can bring specific benefit to children with special needs or learning difficulties.

It is a family business set up by myself (Aine) and Michael inspired by our eldest child Ailis (now 26), who has Sturge Weber Syndrome and who had major brain surgery when she was 2 years old. The frustration and difficulties we endured in trying to source suitable products that would assist in her development was a catalyst in deciding to try and reduce this frustration for other parents in similar situations.

As parents who have “been there and bought the tee-shirt”, we have a few simple philosophies that we aim to achieve in our aspiration of creating a One Stop Shop for Special Needs Toys and small scale specialist equipment in Ireland, namely:

Hopefully, this website will assist in increasing awareness of the types of products that are available and the areas in which they can potentially make a difference.

Most extensive range of products available in Ireland (over 4,000 products on our website)
Most competitive pricing (please compare!)
Products in stock and available for immediate shipping (not easy with a range of more than 4,000 products but we succeed most of the time)
To constantly liaise with therapists, parents and children to identify gaps in our product range and then strive to fill them (our range is constantly evolving for example we have recently added the Adult Appropriate section)
Every product has as much potential importance as the next (we invest as much time and care in sourcing and promoting a €1 whistle as we do a €100 weighted product or a €800 bubble tube)

Availability of Stock

As parents of a child with special needs, we have experienced first hand the frustration in having to wait weeks or months for a recommended product to arrive. We aim to eliminate this frustration by carrying sufficient stock levels to ensure that products are dispatched within 2 to 3 days of receiving an order. Sometimes we fail in this, but we will always let customers know if there is going to be a delay at the time of placing an order. Products that are out of stock will be placed on a back order and delivered as soon as possible. To confirm our commitment to having products in stock at all times, all back orders are delivered free of charge.

What to do if the product you want is not on the website?

Please contact us. We have built up relationships with many of the world’s largest suppliers of small scale specialist equipment and we will use these contacts to try and source your required product.