Lego Therapy

For many children, making friends, joining a group, sharing ideas or coping when someone has a different plan can be surprisingly tricky. LEGO®-Based Therapy offers children a fun and structured way to practise these skills while doing something many children already enjoy — building with LEGO®.

Our LEGO® Therapy group for children aged 7–10 years uses collaborative LEGO building to support the development of social communication, teamwork and confidence. Rather than sitting down and being explicitly “taught” social skills, children work together towards a shared goal. Group members take on different roles — such as Engineer, Supplier and Builder — so that successfully completing a project involves communicating, listening, cooperating and problem-solving together (LeGoff, 2004; LeGoff et al., 2014).

Why LEGO® Therapy?

LEGO®-Based Therapy was developed by clinical neuropsychologist Daniel LeGoff as a way of helping autistic children connect with others through a shared interest in LEGO®. Rather than teaching social skills in a formal way, the approach uses collaborative building to create enjoyable, natural opportunities for children to communicate, problem-solve and work together (LeGoff, 2004). LEGO®-Based Therapy is best understood as an evidence-informed approach that gives children a fun and motivating way to practise connecting, communicating and collaborating with others.

Building skills through shared interests

One of the strengths of LEGO®-Based Therapy is that the LEGO itself provides a shared focus. For children who find unstructured social situations difficult to navigate, having a clear activity, shared goal and defined role can make interacting with other children feel more predictable and purposeful.

Importantly, the aim is not to teach children that there is one “correct” way to socialise. Instead, the group provides a supportive environment in which children can experiment with different ways of communicating, expressing their ideas, understanding another person’s perspective and navigating the challenges that naturally arise when people work together.

Across the group, children have opportunities to practise skills such as taking turns, sharing and requesting information, listening to others, explaining ideas, negotiating, problem-solving and asking for help. Collaborative building can also create opportunities to practise flexibility when plans change, manage frustration, repair misunderstandings and work through disagreements.

And there is another important ingredient: fun.

Shared interests can provide a powerful starting point for connection. When children are interested and engaged in what they are doing, social interaction can develop around a meaningful activity rather than feeling like something they are required to perform. For some children, an important outcome may therefore be not simply developing a particular “social skill”, but becoming more confident contributing their ideas, collaborating with others and experiencing a sense of belonging within a group.

Our LEGO® Therapy group is facilitated by a Psychologist and designed for children aged 7–10 years who would benefit from supported opportunities to develop confidence when communicating, collaborating, problem-solving and connecting with peers.

Because sometimes the best conversations start with a pile of bricks and something to build together.

For more details about accessing the program in a group or individual format, complete the M&H Contact Form here.