Post #32 Build, Communicate and Share - Using Lego & Other Construction Toys

Construction toys can be used to encourage communication and interaction whilst building. Many youngsters enjoy building with Lego and this interest has been used in designing the intervention 'Lego-Based Therapy'. This post gives some tips and ideas for ways to make the most of your child's construction interests, including the use of Lego and other construction toys.

Encouraging social communication skills is essential for all children's development. This is particularly important for autistic youngsters who struggle with the complexities of social communication skills. Teaching social and communication skills can be challenging, not least because it is hard for our children, but by finding ways to engage and motivate it is possible to encourage social and communication skills in more meaningful and enjoyable ways. It makes good sense that if you want to teach skills that may be difficult, you need to use resources that interest, engage and motivate.

Building with construction toys is enjoyed by many children (and adults). The structure of using construction resources can be highly appealing to autistic youngsters. So it is not surprising that the use of Lego has been developed to teach and encourage social and communication skills through 'Lego Therapy'.  I outline here the principles of Lego Therapy before suggesting ways to adapt this strategy to use at home.

Lego-Based Therapy - the basics
Lego-Based Therapy (Lego Therapy) is used to develop social and communication skills such as turn-taking and sharing through collaboration. BRICKS for AUTISM states: Key to this approach is how engaging and enjoyable it is for the participants! Building LEGO® collaboratively is great fun, and young people develop social skills while enjoying themselves. This is such an important point - learning and developing social communication skills is hard for some youngsters, but can be more motivating if learned through activities which are linked to interests, engaging and fun.

A typical session involves 3 roles: engineer, supplier and builder:

Visual instructions for building a model are used by the engineer who describes the instructions, the supplier finds the required bricks and the builder builds the model. To be successful the group need to interact and communicate with each other, with collaboration between each of the roles. Watch this film clip for an explanation:

For further details on Lego-Based Therapy, see BRICKS for AUTISM website which include research evidence: BRICKS for AUTISM There are some films on You Tube with further examples which demonstrate Lego-based therapy.

My thoughts
This can be a great way to engage children and young people in an activity which interests them and through which you can support social and communication skills, problem-solving and collaboration. I have some thoughts about the approach which I will share here:

1. Don't be alarmed by the word 'therapy'. Whilst Lego-based therapy requires a trained person to facilitate the group, it is possible to run a similar group without a trained therapist. Many schools and after-school groups which do not have access to a trained therapist are offering 'Lego club' or 'Lego group' to engage children in social interaction. This film shows how an out of school Lego group uses the approach: 

So you might set up a Lego club or group at home, including siblings and/or parents/carers. It is important to ensure that your autistic son or daughter knows the difference between a structured 'Lego group' and times at home when they can play with Lego as free-time (you can show this on a visual schedule). 

As with any approach, it takes time and practise so don't expect things to go smoothly at first! Remember, they are learning social and communication skills which are difficult. You will need some time to prepare the resources. Make sure you have clear rules and that these are shared before each session. Have visual instructions prepared which are suitable for level of understanding (pictures, symbols, words). TWINKL has some useful resources, including description prompts and instructions: TWINKL Brick therapy You may also find resources from ELSA helpful, although there is a cost (the set below costs £3):

https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/elsa-support-building-brick-rules-rewards-and-jobs-social-skills-autism-11286125

Many youngsters are able to use the instructions provided in a Lego set, others will need simpler models and instructions. 

You can use Duplo bricks if Lego bricks are too tricky. You might need to design a model for your child, or they might have their own ideas like this duck made by a young child.





You may see examples of Lego Therapy on YouTube in which the group has a large tub of Lego bricks - for some children this is too much to process and you may find it helpful to provide only the bricks required for the model. Here is a Duplo example which shows the bricks required and the completed model - you would then need to make a simple instruction card for the engineer. Alternatively you might give the engineer the photo of the bricks so they can then ask the supplier for each brick required and then pass to the builder, giving instructions for where to place each brick.

TWINKL has some nice prompts to support describing where to place bricks, for example Instruction words

https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/t-s-1179-building-bricks-useful-instruction-words

Note that you may need to teach your son or daughter each of the roles in  one-to-one sessions before they are ready to take part in your Lego club/group. You can also run the club with just 2 members, e.g., yourself and your son or daughter. As an example, your autistic child may have an illustration of the model and you (or a sibling) have all the bricks - your autistic child then needs to ask for each brick so they can build the model. Such an activity is not Lego-therapy, but nevertheless uses the principles of the approach to facilitate social interaction and communication and may be a useful precursor to participating in a group when ready.

2. You don't need to use Lego! Whilst many youngsters like Lego they are also interested in, and enjoy building with, other construction toys and 'making' materials. In Lego-based therapy, Lego bricks are used as a motivating resource, which engage interest and are fun to play with. The Lego bricks are then used as a means of developing social communication, supported by an adult. So... you can substitute Lego with other construction toys or 'making' sets which your son or daughter enjoys playing with:

Whichever resource your son or daughter enjoys, the process is the same: clear roles of engineer (or designer), supplier and builder (or maker); encourage social communication, turn-taking, sharing, problem-solving and collaboration. Instructions and models can be simple to complex, according to ability.

Finally you will need time to prepare, so perhaps this is an activity that you could begin to plan now and introduce in the school summer holiday. It is important that whichever activity/resource you decide to try, it should be enjoyable and fun for your son or daughter - they will not be motivated to learn to share or collaborate if the activity/resource is of no interest to them! It will take time to set up and time to practise before it 'works' as a means of encouraging social communication - but it could well turn out to be a fun 'summer building/making club' for your family:)

Thanks to my beautiful family for their contributions.