Sutherland Special Needs Toy Library is a toy library for families of children with learning difficulties and disabilities. The families who visit us all have children with unique needs and we try to find toys and resources that meet those needs. The age of the children who borrow from us varies from between 0 to 16 years depending on their needs.

The toy library has been operating in the Sutherland Shire since 1978. Its original name was Noah's Ark Toy Library but in 2003 the name was changed to better explain what we do and so help families who need our service find us.

Sutherland Special Needs Toy Library is an incorporated association and is run by a committee of dedicated parents who are in a unique position of knowing what is like to have a child with a learning difficulty or disability and understands the service and benefits the toy library can offer families of children with special  needs. We are also a not for profit organisation with charity status.

Our funding comes from a combination of grants, Sutherland Council and from the kind donations of local community members and businesses. We greatly appreciate these donations for without it we would not be able to operate and buy new toys and therapy resources to continually provide our clients with the latest toys and resources.

Toys and Resources

The toy library has over 2000 toys and resources available to borrow and they cover such areas as gross motor and fine motor development, literacy, language concepts, simple games and puzzles, maths concepts, sequencing skills, construction toys, musical instruments and parent resources.

What we have been developing over the last few years are our therapy boxes which have proved extremely popular. Each therapy box can contain from 5 up to 20 items that teach a particular skill or provide a therapy activity. Some of our boxes cover the areas of light and sound sensory, manual cause and effect, tactile sensory, gross and fine motor , getting ready for school, reading, writing, music, breathing and water play just to name a few.