How a West Deer company is helping kids with autism and sensory needs through play
Sometimes, you just fall in love with a place.
And that, sort of, is how West Deer became home to an international company’s only U.S. location.
Not widely-known to many in the community, TFH Special Needs Toys is a transatlantic company producing toys and other gadgets that make life better for people with special needs.
Its handful of employees build toys and pieces of equipment, from small fidgets to durable, sensory-room equipment, and ship them to locations across the country, said Managing Director Angela Conigliaro.
“Parents, teachers, caregivers — when you find something that works, you love it,” Conigliaro said. “When you find something that calms them, relaxes them and meets their needs, you want it.
“We try to provide those tools.”
But the Pittsburgh area wasn’t the company’s first choice when it went looking for a U.S. location.
It was kind of an accident, really.
TFH was created in the United Kingdom in 1983 by Anthony Tidmarsh, who recognized a need for affordable products allowing children with special needs to play. He and his family created a full-support swingset seat, which is still one of TFH’s signature items today, Conigliaro said.
TFH has since expanded to a worldwide presence with locations in Canada and Sweden, in addition to the West Deer office and the U.K. home base.
When the Tidmarsh family was looking to come to the U.S., they first visited Chicago, Conigliaro said. Plans there didn’t work out, and they were driving to New York when they stumbled across Pittsburgh and fell in love.
Their first U.S. location was in Indiana Township, Conigliaro said, and they relocated to West Deer because the company needed to expand.
The exterior of the company’s 14,000-square-foot warehouse off Route 910 in West Deer is pretty unassuming.
But the inside is a bastion of development and manufacturing of toys, tools and equipment that aim to ease life and provide an outlet for people with physical or developmental disabilities.
Today, TFH has about 1,000 products. Its clients include schools, hospitals and families.
One of TFH’s most popular products is the vibrating snake, a 1.2-pound, flexible, 49-inch, battery-powered snake toy that vibrates at different speeds. Vibration helps relax the body and helps people understand where they, and their body parts, are in a space and further assists in coordination and balance.
Hospitals enjoy TFH’s Vecta, which Conigliaro described as “bringing a sensory room to you.”
The Vecta is a portable cart that includes fiber-optic tails to assist fine motor development and a “hurricane tube” that simulates a water tube without the water. It can include a projector that’s preloaded with age-appropriate activities designed to stimulate and relax. The system can project onto floors, walls or tables; it responds to gestures and movements.
“All of the products we sell are geared toward helping people regulate senses,” Conigliaro said.
Alanna Kanawalsky, child life specialist at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, said TFH’s equipment helps its staff support the hospital’s neurodiverse patients.
“Located right in our backyard, TFH is a valued resource that helps us provide thoughtful, inclusive care with tools designed to calm, engage and support children with sensory needs,” Kanawalsky said. “Some of the sensory items we use include hurricane tubes, Vecta mobile sensory stations and fiber-optic sprays.
“These items offer a soothing and interactive environment that promotes emotional regulation, reduces anxiety, and encourages positive engagement during hospital visits.”
Another unique offering from TFH includes a vibroacoustic therapy chair and weighted blanket. It’s a chair that magnifies musical vibrations so the person can feel the bass through the chair. The amount of vibration is adjustable. Therapists use the chair to provide sensory input for joints and muscles.
Conigliaro said TFH takes into consideration feedback from families and occupational therapists on how to better their products or create new ones.
An item still in production is a wobble garden: a board with numerous metal springs attached and a lightboard that responds to the touch of metal springs.
“It relaxes people and gives them something to focus on,” Conigliaro said. “They can also tie in exercises with their occupational therapist.”
There’s a growing need for such toys and equipment, Conigliaro said.
“I think caregivers sometimes struggle to find the right products for their loved ones,” she said. “I hope we’re able to bridge that gap and provide the service.”
Not only does TFH sell products, it also can design a sensory room tailored to a client’s needs. Recent rooms designed by TFH include one at the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children in Oakland and an autism ministry at North Way churches in Pine and Sewickley.
“Our sensory room is the starting point — both to facilitate this process and to address accommodative needs,” said Courtney DiVito, occupational therapist at the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children. “From this small space, growth extends into the classroom, the home, and the community.”
TFH also supplied many of the toys and equipment inside Pittsburgh International Airport’s Presley’s Place, which is a private, soundproof space where people with sensory sensitivities can calm themselves away from the hectic pace of an airport.
“We try to make items as affordable as we can,” Conigliaro said. “We know these products are needed to help people. We certainly stay competitive.”
Joshua Fitzgerald, of Springdale, works for TFH as a warehouse assistant with his father, Shawn. Joshua, who has worked there for about five years, is on the autism spectrum.
“The environment, itself, feels warm and inviting,” he said. “Regardless of how much work there is, it’s always been a comfortable space.”
Barb Hilliard of West Deer, a TFH office manager for 12 years, said the best part of her job is when she knows the toys and equipment have made a difference in someone’s life.
“When you hear a parent come back and say, ‘I haven’t been able to do anything with my child, but he’s able to interact with me (with this equipment).’
“It’s great that we make products that make people with special needs feel like they don’t have special needs.”
Kellen Stepler is a TribLive reporter covering the Allegheny Valley and Burrell school districts and surrounding areas. He joined the Trib in April 2023. He can be reached at kstepler@triblive.com.
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