The mission of the National Lekotek Center is driven by the philosophy that children learn best when play is a family-centered activity that includes all children,regardless of their abilities or disabilities, in family and community activities. To develop and demonstrate innovative practices for promoting learning-oriented play within families and for providing family supportive services which help parents strengthen their parenting skills.
Every child deserves to have fun.
While the services provided by Lekotek do foster skill development, Lekotek is the one visit in the mosaic of services in the lives of children with disabilities which is designed specifically for fun. Play should focus on what a child can do, not what he or she can't do. All children benefit from a healthy self-esteem, and mastery of skills learned through positive play experiences helps to foster feelings of satisfaction and adequacy. Lekotek play facilitators, called Lekotek Leaders, select toys for children which challenge them to create successes for themselves. The Lekotek approach focuses on identifying each child's set of skills and competencies, and helps him or her to make maximum use of them.