Ahead of World Autism Acceptance Week, Tonies has partnered with the National Autistic Society to build awareness and understanding.

Tonies has announced a partnership with the National Autistic Society to help amplify the incredible work it does to support autistic children in the UK. In celebration of the partnership, Tonies will be donating £10 from every sale of a Toniebox Starter Set and Toniebox Bundle to the charity during World Autism Acceptance Week, which runs from 27th March to 2nd April.

Pinky Laing, Tonies Partnerships and PR manager, commented: “We feel extremely privileged to partner with the National Autistic Society. We have received so much positive feedback from our customers over the years, about how the Toniebox has helped their autistic children, so this is a partnership especially close to our hearts. We are looking forward to working closely with NAS to help build greater acceptance and understanding of our autistic communities in the UK, while exploring how our product ranges can further benefit neurodiverse children.”

The partnership has been inspired by many parents with autistic children saying the Toniebox range is a great way to introduce language and literacy to their children.

Sarah Lopes is one of many parents who has found the Tonies range helpful with language development for her son: “Spencer was diagnosed with autism and severe speech delay officially at age three. We found that Spencer learns his language through chunks and scripts and a lot of repeating what he hears, commonly known as echolalia. The Toniebox has helped his speech and language so much. He can use the copied language in his day-to-day life, and it’s helped him to read the books that go along with the Tonie characters. Spencer’s speech is super clear now and we are able to understand what he is saying. To hear his voice is just perfect.”

Routine and familiarity can be very important to autistic children, with many finding changes to routine distressing. Well-loved stories on the Toniebox can add a familiar element to an unfamiliar environment; for example, a different bedroom on holiday can be made more comfortable with the presence of a familiar Tonie and favourite story. Listening to the same story over and over again can also bring comfort.

Many autistic children find too much sensory stimulation overwhelming, so journeys on public transport, or time spent in crowded places can be distressing. The Toniebox paired with headphones can bring welcome relief in these overwhelming sensory moments, filtering out the noise for the child, to bring their focus to one voice, one sound and one storyline.

The screen-free, low-sensory aspect of the Toniebox can help calm children and create a sleepy bedtime environment. Many of the accompanying Tonies have been designed to assist in bedtime routines, such as Lullaby Tonies, the Sleepy Friends range and a Nap Time collection, with white noise and nature sounds to bring the focus back to relaxation.

The Tonies x National Autistic Society partnership aims to explore how the brand’s ranges may benefit autistic children, with ongoing support and materials to be developed and released on the ‘mytonies’ app.

Gaby Richardson, Corporate Partnerships manager at the National Autistic Society, added: “Tonies has been fantastic to work with and has given parents a tool that could be really beneficial to their child.”

For more information about World Autism Acceptance Week, visit the website here.