Image: Oscar and Occupational Therapist Ashleigh enjoying a laugh during Lego® Group Therapy
Lego® — we all know it. Most of us grew up with it. But have you ever thought of the benefits of Lego® for both children and adults?
To most people, Lego® is just a toy but for many years SensesWA have been using the benefits of Lego®, coupled with people’s love of playing, to help improve communication, social skills, concentration, mindfulness, relaxation and much more.
The SensesWA Lego® Therapy groups support the development of social connections through play. Through having fun with Lego® children learn to communicate with others and express their feelings, learn a variety of ways of relating to others, adjust their behaviour and develop their problem-solving skills. All of this gives the child more ‘friendship tools’ which they can apply to develop and maintain positive friendships in their everyday life.
Lego® Therapy for children
Client Oscar attended SensesWA’s School Holiday Lego group.
“We noticed a big change in Oscar from his first Lego session to his last. He was talking more and interacting with the other children. He enjoyed the structure within the group but also got creative and created his own things too.” Ashleigh – Occupational Therapist
Oscar’s mum Emma said: “Oscar has Autism and only skips when he is really happy and he skips out of Lego group. He told us about the friends he was making and overall, he really enjoyed the group.”
Lego® not just child’s play
Mark started building Lego when he was 50 years old, his first piece was a 4WD with a trailer and two boats. Over the years Mark hasn’t let his vision and hearing loss stop him from building his Lego collection. Mark’s Support Workers read the instruction books to him and they use underhand support to guide him to the areas they need to be placed, he then puts them in place. He has completed over 30 Lego creations which he has on display at home and he’s not stopping anytime soon.
“I love building Lego, it helps keep my brain busy. I want to share my journey so far with everyone to encourage people with vision loss that they also can build their own Lego collection. My goal is to build every model of car to have my own Lego museum. Happy building everyone!”
Image: Mark with part of his Lego collection
Groups and Workshops
SensesWA run a range of groups, including school holiday programs. Set in relaxed environments these groups create positive learning experiences which are both educational and fun.
Group topics and times are regularly updated from month to month. To keep up to date with what is happening, visit our Groups and Workshops page.
