LEGO®-Based Therapy: How to Build Social Competence Through LEGO-Based Clubs for Children with Autism and Related Conditions

by Simon Baron-Cohen, Georgina Gómez de la Cuesta, Gina Gómez de la Cuesta

This complete guide to LEGO® Therapy contains everything you need to know in order to set up and run a LEGO® Club for children with autism spectrum disorders or related social communication difficulties and anxiety conditions. By providing a joint interest and goal, LEGO® building can become a medium for social development such as sharing, turn-taking, making eye-contact, and following social rules. This book outlines the theory and research base of the approach and gives advice on all practical considerations including space, the physical layout of the room and choosing and maintaining materials, as well as strategies for managing behaviour, further skill development, and how to assess progress. Written by the pioneer of the approach alongside those who helped form it through their research and evaluation, this evidence-based manual is essential reading for professionals working with autism who are interested in running a LEGO® Club or learning more about the therapy.

Genres: Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Psychology

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Simon Baron-Cohen FBA is Professor of Developmental psychopathology at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. He is the Director of the University's Autism Research Centre, and a Fellow of Trinity College. He has worked on autism, including the theory that autism involves degrees of mind-blindness (or delays in the development of theory of mind) and his later theory that autism is an extreme form of what he calls the "male brain", which involved a re-conceptualisation of typical psychological sex differences in terms of empathising-systemising theory.

Reviews

[Ashley Adams]

Research to guide educators, parents, or therapists through a Lego-Based Therapy approach to use intrinsic motivation and an authentic environment to increase communication skills.

[Kirsty Cochrane]

This was an easy read and not only covered the idea of Lego based therapy but also hints and tips from people who have put it into practice. The concept is exciting and I feel like I have a lot of information to arm myself with as I implement changes to my Lego Club.

[Ellie]

A useful guide, if a little bit dry. LEGO based therapy groups are really great, so it's worth reading this and learning more. This book focuses on LEGO groups that run in the long term for autistic young people so it might be a bit different in style to how you might run LEGO groups in mainstream schools / to address other types of needs. But still useful to get a general idea.

[Carlene Alexander]

Really good book co-written by experts in the field
It would have benefited from “lesson” plan outlines and pictures. Perhaps a companion website?