Lego to the rescue
Using the popular building bricks can help children with autism, writes
THE best way to teach children is through play. And when it comes to teaching through play, colourful Lego bricks can do wonders. Clinical neuropsychologist Dr Daniel B LeGoff has shown the effectiveness of using Lego to help children with autism and its related conditions.
LeGoff is the founder of Lego-based Therapy for Autism. In 1997, as an autism therapist, he discovered that children with autism experienced significant social skills improvement when exposed to Lego.
He then developed the Lego-based therapy approach and has published research papers and books on its methodology and effectiveness.
Practised in 36 countries, the Legobased programme will soon be available here under the joint BlokkeTherapy initiative between Lego education provider BlokkeLabs and the National Autism Society of Malaysia (Nasom), supported by Bank Rakyat and Lego Malaysia.
CONNECT EFFECTIVELY
“Why does the Lego-based programmematter? Well, for a start, there’s so much to be done to improve the fields of diagnosis for autism and its related conditions,” says LeGoff at a recent lecture titled today are largely adult-oriented and they fail to address a key issue for children with autism, which is the inability to socially develop and connect effectively with peers. These factors will create a future adulthood of loneliness as well as a lifetime of financial dependence.
“But the Lego-based programme is able to address this key issue. It improves social competence of a child with autism,” he adds.
SOCIAL COMPETENCE
The programme allows children to form natural, self-initiated and sustained con- nections with peers through a collaborative brick-building process.
It requires them to communicate effectively and appropriately to advance through a reward system mediated by their peers.
The process, developed over 20 years and the subject of several studies by LeGoff and researchers from Cambridge University’s Autism Research Centre, was found to be able to help children create real relationships, manage their social differences and learn to take responsibility for their actions.
“It’s a fun way for children with autism to increase their interaction and social competence. It’s not even called therapy in the first place. It’s called the Lego Club where children experience three inter-dependent roles (as a parts’ supplier, builder and an engineer) throughout the process,” says LeGoff.
And what makes Lego Club unique is that social, language or cultural differences are not an issue as it is mostly a non-verbal process. Parents can see significant improvements in their children after 12 weeks. Sesions are held once a week for an hour.
“It results in better-adjusted individuals who can lead independent and responsible social lives despite their autistic condition,” he says. Studies show that children in Legobased therapy groups exhibit improvements in self-initiated contact with peers and in the duration of social interaction. Playing with Lego can help children with autism improve their social skills. They also perform significantly better on more measures than children in comparative social therapies.
PILOT PROGRAMME
As a social enterprise, BlokkeLabs aims to reach out to communities that are left behind by the education system with autism currently being its focus, says its marketing director, Sheahnee Iman Lee.
“BlokkeTherapy is the way forward to help frustrated parents who are looking for a better, more engaging form of programme for their autistic, socially aloof children,” she says.
Under LeGoff’s mentorship, BlokkeLabs will lead a six-month pilot programme to assess the implementation and effectiveness of the programmehere.
The pilot programme started on July 24 with a pioneering team of 16 therapists from BlokkeLabs and Nasom assessing a control group of 12 pre-screened children with autism and its related conditions.
“Our aim is to make BlokkeTherapy available in all BlokkeLab’s present and future Lego education centres as well as 17 of Nasom’s 20 autism centres.”
BlokkeTherapy is expected to receive its first intake of students in the first quarter of 2018.
For details, log on to www.facebook. com/blokke.labs