Special Needs Teddy Bear Making an Impact in Households with Autistic and Nonverbal Children

HOUSTON, TX - An interactive Teddy Bear developed locally to help autistic and nonverbal children better communicate with others is bridging a long-standing communication gap in households with special needs children, especially during extended homeschooling due to the pandemic.

The cuddly baby blue Teddy Bear, named “Auzy”, is part of the Cubby Love Bears line, an educational brand developed by Houston single mom and former elementary school teacher, Dr. Tameka Maiden. Auzy is helping children on the autism nonverbal spectrum and kids with language barriers verbally communicate their needs and feelings to family members and caregivers by way of the bear's pre-programmed voice commands.

With a simple squeeze of the bear’s paws and ears, children who are unable to verbally express themselves can easily tell family members that they are hungry, not feeling well, want to play, need to use the restroom, and other basic needs that can be challenging for special needs kids to convey.

“For children who are nonverbal, trying to communicate simple needs and feelings to others can be really frustrating for both the child and their family,” said Dr. Maiden. “I created Auzy to help make life a little simpler for autistic and special needs families and I’m amazed at the impact this little bear is having right now as parents struggle to help their children learn in the absence of in-person special education teachers and support systems due to the pandemic.”

Dr. Maiden, who created an entire line of colorful bilingual Cubby Love Bears that teach children colors, shapes, numbers, alphabet, and other primary skills in both English and Spanish simultaneously, is also a pharmacist. She was inspired to create the Auzy bear after learning one of her patient’s sons and her cousin’s son both had autism and trouble communicating. Since she had created a full line of bilingual Teddy Bears to help children learn a new language, she designed and launched this special needs bear to give children with language barriers a voice of their own and to give families with nonverbal children a tool to help bridge the communication challenges together.

Dr. Maiden said while the bear is designed specifically for special needs families, parents with little ones just starting to talk have been using Auzy as a way to help their kids express basic needs as they explore their way to independence.

The Auzy Special Needs Bear retails for $39.99 and is available only on the Cubby Love Bears website at https://cubbylovebears.com.