It is a fantastic toy it builds imagination, perseverance, spatial and visual skills, problem-solving There are also loads of opportunities to develop language with Lego. If you want even more ideas of how to use Lego in therapy, check out this book Building Blocks for Commuication, Your email address will not be published. (2003). Being somewhat challenged in terms of spatial awareness, I could never work out the instructions of my brothers Lego (and anyway, he loved making up his own models and so the instructions were usually discarded pretty quickly!) LEGO therapy courses are often designed for schools and professionals so as a parent make sure you are clear what will be covered in the course. Owens, G., Granader, Y., Humphrey, A., & Baron-Cohen, S. (2008). Building language and literacy through play. Have you found something helpful today? Additionally, this manual includes bonus downloadable resources to help chart a childs progress in the areas of expressive language, conceptual understanding, attention, and social communication. They check that the model is built correctly. H. G. Kaduson & C. E. Schaefer (Eds.). A. Drewes & C. E. Schaefer (Eds.). **This post contains affiliate links, if you purchase from these links I may receive a small commission. The LEGO build you select should be simple at first. At the same time this means many children with language difficulties cannot participate unless the therapy is adapted. This book provides a comprehensive introduction to speech and language therapy. My son is brilliant at completing LEGO but he is non-verbal and does not have the expressive language needed to take part. Once considered a mere toy, this world-famous construction system is now also being used by adults to overcome stress, pointing to the power of the humble Lego brick as a transformative tool for healing. Towards the end of the session there should be some time for free play. My daughter is 6 and she has recently become a huge Lego fan. Start each session with a welcome. Thank You. Baron-Cohen, S. (2008). All our speech and language therapists are registered with the RCSLT and the HCPC. The principle can be expanded for anything with instructions and resources we use it for baking sometimes! LEGO therapy and the social use of language programme: An evaluation of two social skills interventions for children with high functioning autism and Asperger syndrome. His discovery came when he observed two of his socially withdrawn child patients playing together with Lego in his clinics waiting room, sparking the idea of developing an intervention involving the construction toys. The adult should not be part of the group or a director. I had the privilege of attending a short workshop by the authors atthe Autism Showand their helpful advice on using Lego to support language development as well as social is very useful. The reality is you can adapt any of these methods to suit your child. For more reading to complement your work with children, check out the following articles from around our site. The facilitator can give specific praise to the children for what they have done well. tail /wing. This needs to be clear at the beginning. This would consist of 40 minutes of build and 20 minutes of free play at the end. Block play. You may want to develop the rules with the children in your first session. Our expert speech and language therapists provide a range of services for children with eating, drinking and swallowing difficulties, alongside our professionals multidisciplinary team. I have only scratched the surface here. To develop the skills and assess the value of the therapy ideally groups will run for 10 weeks at a time and be members only. As my son is non-verbal we are using the Picture Exchange Communication System /PECS for him to request which pieces he needs. It is likely you will have to adapt some resources for different children and this is easily done when you know the childs needs, hence the need for an assessment first. The LeGoff LEGO based therapy is designed to develop social communication skills in children on the autistic spectrum. Lego therapy club for children with high functioning autism and Aspergers syndrome. LeGoff observed children on the autistic spectrum in his waiting room, and over time he noticed positive interactions around the LEGO amongst children who often avoided social interaction normally . I would really recommended this course particularly for schools planning to implement LEGO therapy. Lego as a construction toy is predictable and systematic (i.e., the bricks always click together the same way), making it an ideal vehicle to deliver therapeutic interventions for children with ASD. To illustrate, Lego has released a series of kits designed with nostalgia in mind, including the Central Perk cafe from the sitcom Friends and a vintage 1989 Batmobile. (2021, April 15). I am the supplier as we are just working on him requesting the pieces for now. LEGO is a highly structured, visual construction toy. Upon realizing Legos effectiveness in encouraging children with ASD to play together, LeGoff created a therapy group called the Lego Club. In Lego therapy, adults run a structured group where children work in teams of 3 to build a Lego model and each child has a particular role (please see below). Then, take one chip away each time the child engages in distractible behavior while building and award a chip each time the child stays focused on their construction for a specified amount of time. My son has moved on from DUPLO and developed a keen interest in LEGO which is fast becoming a special interest! This is at no additional cost to you and supports my blog so thank you**, My eldest did lego therapy and I think its such a good thing for him. (2010). Evans, C., Sanders, D., & Knight, R. (2014). Rather fitting that Mr LeGoff developed LEGO therapy given that LEGO is in his surname! What Is Lego Therapy & What Is It Used For? And for some kids, the benefits of learning through play will be especially pronounced, helping them achieve developmental milestones that may not otherwise have been so easily within reach. Id love the visuals you have created. I would love to use them for our schools Lego Club if possible. I will also look at some adaptions for those like my son who are not quite ready for the group work. Research has shown that Lego Therapy often taps into the natural interests and motivations of children with ASD, making it a highly effective form of therapy. These detailed, science-based exercises will help you or your clients build healthy, life-enriching relationships. If you are a school ask parents you will often find people have sets they are happy to donate. Likewise, the three roles assigned to children as part of a Lego Therapy intervention (discussed in more detail below) serve to further systematize the process of collaboration. Students are introduced to the linguistic, medical, scientific and psychological disciplines that lie at . You can get instructions for any set from the LEGO website. Let me know if you use a good one. The facilitators should then record session logs and plan for their next session. I love the visuals you have shown in your post- is there somewhere that I can find/purchase them from? Only the Engineer sees the instructions for the build, They check that the Builder gets the correct bricks, They explain to the Builder how to build the model, They answer any questions to help understanding. In particular, the program is targeted at therapists (particularly speech therapists), social workers, counselors, psychologists, teachers, and more. The role of the facilitator is to keep everyone on task and support socially appropriate behaviour. Having badges set up for the different roles, club rules and build sets will all need to be set up in advance. A group of children work together to build a LEGO structure, each have defined roles and follow a set of rules to support this play therapy. Lego therapy was originally created for children with social difficulties associated with Autism Spectrum Disorders, Aspergers, and even Anxiety or Adjustment Disorders. Asking for clarification resolving communication breakdowns. Comment * document.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id", "adeb9867f2367ef896beb842a490f7e6" );document.getElementById("i455f001d7").setAttribute( "id", "comment" ); Two British Speech Therapists writing about all things speech and language. However, when the practice first emerged, interventions initially centered on children with ASD (LeGoff, 2004). Beat the clock technique. Always give them a chance to problem solve as a group first. Description skills. Instead they can prompt and offer ideas for strategies if they feel the group are becoming frustrated, e.g. It will take much longer to do a simple build as each brick requires co-operation from all three children. Lets now return to Lego Therapy with groups and consider two more activities you might facilitate with your clients: Once everyone has built a model, invite each person to tell a story about their model and then invite others to ask questions. Dont forget to download our three Positive Relationships Exercises for free. ), They listen to the instructions from the Engineer, They ask the Engineer questions to clarify, They follow the instructions to build the model. Both languages will be used in their daily lives. Here are three ideas from clinical social worker Mary Anne Peabody (2021): Next, invite the child to add to their creations using miniatures or natural items like rocks or leaves as symbols indicative of thoughts, experiences, or feelings. LeGoff, D. B., Krauss, G. W., & Levin, S. A. Suitable for both experienced clinicians and other professionals, this book gives you the tools to help build a childs resilience and wellbeing and includes real-life case studies of children whove seen success from the method. To play, begin by giving a child a stack of 10 poker chips and a plan to construct. Lego Therapy is a powerful intervention designed to support children with ASD and communication challenges in developing skills in language and collaboration. In this article, weve explored the power of Lego Therapy to help kids reach their potential, but the learning doesnt stop there. You can have several groups running at a session but each group should be 3 children and 1 adult. It is especially [], Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can be devastating, and millions of people across the globe experience it. The facilitator should look at the build and set sensible stages of the build for the roles to rotate. Lego Therapy was designed for children between 6 and 16 years old (Raising Children Network Australia, 2021). There are other LEGO based therapies such as Build to Express which focuses on team work and expression. I dont intend to run a LEGO therapy club but I do want to know what the skills are, how they work so I can build on the right skills with my son at home and help prepare him for LEGO therapy at school as he gets older. If this post has sparked your imagination, consider reading more about the broader field of play therapy or registering for one of our recommended training courses to learn more. For instance, you might use this activity with a newly formed Lego group to determine a common set of rules or expectations, or you could use it with a group of family members to represent a shared understanding in a household dynamic. I would recommend the book Building Language using Lego Bricks by Dawn Ralph and Jacqui Rochester. This information has been beneficial for my research. (2021, June 1). Did you know you can subscribe to LEGO rental clubs? When deciding which children to put together it is essential to consider, language skills, cognitive ability, personalities and relationships alongside their individual targets /aims. This practical manual walks through the Building Language Using LEGO Bricks approach to conducting Lego Therapy, which involves two children working together to build a model to facilitate language and social communication skills. Engineer / Architect / Designer / Planner: this is the person who has the instructions and tells supplier what pieces are needed and the builder how to put the pieces together. Build2Talks 100%-online program is designed for parents looking to support children with learning disabilities or ASD to develop cognitive, visual, language, fine motor, and social skills. It includes everything a parent needs to teach many of the skills taught by Lego therapists to their own children. collaborate and interact.. Skills developed include sharing, turn-taking, following rules, using names and problem-solving. English as an additional language (EAL) is where children will learn their home language alongside English. Further, the course offers a certificate upon completion and access to a parents support group to keep in touch with the Build2Talk community.
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