Why Legos Are Therapeutic for Children with Autism

One of the main "symptoms" of autism is difficulty with communication. Most people with autism have some degree of difficulty with social skills, whether it means that they have difficulty speaking at all, or they have difficulty knowing what to say and how to act in different situations. This can be particularly hard for children with autism spectrum disorders. Often, they want to have friends, but don't know how to make connections with other kids.

But how do you teach kids how to connect with others? Most children learn social skills naturally, just by being around other children and by modeling adults and older kids. Kids with autism, on the other hand, don't naturally pick up social skills on their own. There are special social skills classes where kids can practice talking to each other, asking questions, waiting their turn to speak, using manners, etc. But these classes don't always come close to a natural setting. And the things taught in social skills groups tend to be super-polite adult social skills, and not the type of skills that would come in handy for a ten-year-old on the school playground. (Do you know many eight year olds who shake hands with each other and say, "What are your plans for this weekend?")

Dr. Dan Legoff created a different kind of group for children with autism. He had worked a lot with children with autism, and had observed that many of his young clients loved to play with Legos. Kids would often come to appointments with him and bring Lego creations they had made at home. Legoff also noticed that, in the waiting room, kids who played with Legos talked to each other and played together, even though they usually had difficulties with that type of social interaction.

Dr. Legoff decided to use Legos to help the children he worked with. He developed the Lego Club. In the Lego Club, children work together, along with therapists and other adult helpers, on projects that involve Legos. They create animated movies by taking digital photos of Legos in different positions, and later putting all of the photos together into movies. While working on these projects, the kids speak to each other, and work together. Each child in the group has a specific job to do. The best jobs are assigned to the kids who have been in the club the longest and who have worked the hardest.

Dr. Legoff's group was the first of it's kind, and for a long time, was the only one of it's kind. Other professionals were reluctant to start groups of their own, because there were no proven results yet, and the groups could be expensive to run. But in recent years, more Lego groups, both formal and informal, have cropped up to help children with autism practice their social skills. In fact, one study showed that children who participated in Lego Clubs (also known as Lego Therapy) had a greater improvement in their social skills than peers who participated in regular social skills therapy groups. So next time you see Legos, don't think of them as just a toy! Think of them as valuable, therapeutic equipment!