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Inspiration til et engelskfagligt forløb med LEGO

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Inspiration til et engelskfagligt forløb med LEGO

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Engelsk artikel om Lego og elever med autisme

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Engelsk artikel om Lego og elever med autisme

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Autism, Lego, Duplo and even Lego's cooler, younger brother Minecraft, are all things that come hand-in-hand for the autistic community. In fact, Lego is so loved by autistic people that it has: given rise to its own form of autism therapy, received its own category in special interest surveys and, more recently, been a union which resulted in a Guinness World Record - for largest Lego Titanic replica.

However, while Lego's popularity amongst people on the spectrum is something that is highly publicised (although not always true), it seems that few people understand the positives these Danish-born building blocks provide for people on the spectrum and so, today, I plan to fill these gaps by asking the question: Why do Autistic People LOVE Lego?

Why Do Autistic People LOVE Lego?

Okay, so we all know that stepping on a piece of Lego is a sure-fire way to ruin your day. However, other than this minor drawback you've got to ask yourself: 'why wouldn't an autistic person love Lego?'

It's common knowledge that autistic people love to delve deep when it comes to any topic as, unlike the average mind, autists favour building up lots of little connections in isolated brain regions. This is the reason we can really get hooked on certain subjects and, given the simple fact that as little as 6 pieces of 2 x 4 bricks (the classic pieces) could have as many as 915,103,765 combinations, it comes as little wonder why we can become so obsessed.

However, while Lego is seen as a great interest for autistic people, it can also be a great assistance for us too - as interacting with Lego has proven to provide two huge benefits for autistic people:

A Sense of Control: While the world can at times seem unpredictable/terrifying for autistic people, the activity of building Lego can often ease these feelings as, by being able to interact with something which plays by an unchanging set of rules, we can remind ourselves that, even when everything is moving at lightning fast speed, there are still some aspects of our life that we can count on.

An Opportunity to Win: Similarly, for autists with sensory issues (who may feel overwhelmed by all the colours of the bricks) Lego gives us a chance to be able to overcome and resolve challenges which we often struggle within day-to-day life. This can be done by arranging the hazards into neat non-threating rows or easy to process shapes and, as such, we can be rewarded with a feeling of success which so rarely comes in similar circumstances.

Lego Therapy for People with Autism

The benefits of Lego for autistic people don't end there however as, in recent years, many advances have been made into the use of Lego as an educational tool to teach autistic people valuable social skills like sharing, turn-taking and problem-solving. This practice has come to be known as Lego-based therapy and, considering how successful it has been, the actual techniques are remarkably simple i.e.

During Lego Therapy, a group of autistic people gather round in a club-like setting and assume the role of either:

An Engineer: The big boss men/women who give the demands but don't get their hands grubby

A Supplier: The heart of the operation who sift through the pieces that are required for the engineer's grand scheme

A Builder: The muscleman/woman who puts the pieces, provided by the supplier, together and completes the trilogy of Lego Therapy roles

Together everyone involved in the Lego Therapy will cooperate with each other to come up with grand creations. To achieve the optimum outcome, autists must learn to develop the many social skills previously mentioned.

Thanks to the natural setting that these workshops usually take place in, the lessons learnt during Lego Therapy have an extremely high attach rate: with many autist being able to adapt the skills taught into modern day circumstances which may arise on a playground.

Is Playing with Lego a Sign of Autism?

While this is something I hoped I wouldn't have to clarify, before finishing I feel like it should be stated that, NO, playing with Lego isn't a sign of autism and, on the flip side, even if a child doesn't play with Lego, they may still be on the spectrum.

This is a strange myth which I have seen scattered around the web while researching for today's article and, it seems to stem from the fact that, every other article discussing autism diagnosis seems to feature a picture of a child playing with Lego (something which this article will likely only add fuel to... my bad).

In reality, playing with Lego should only be considered a sign of autism when the behaviour surrounding the play falls in line with diagnostic criteria. For example, if the play becomes ritualistic, with a child building the exact same things in the exact same way without venturing into new areas (and becomes visibly stressed if you try to interfere), then perhaps this could be a clue to a potential diagnosis.

However, it's also important to consider that most children will begin their journey into playing with Lego by matching colours and creating similar lines, as naturally this is the most logical step after spending years of playing match the shape with the hole games.

As such, it can be tricky telling what is a sign of autism and what isn't, so just remember to make a mental note of the behaviour and monitor how long it lasts. It may be an opportunity to spot an early diagnosis. However, it could just be that your child loves Lego because, really, what's not to love?

Carry on the Conversation

Want to hear more about autism and special interests? Then follow this link to my article: Why do Autistic People LOVE Dinosaurs?. Or, if you've still not had your fill of Lego, why not check out Daniel B. LeGoff's (the founder of Lego Based Therapy) new book:How LEGO®-Based Therapy for Autism Works.

As always, I can also be found on Twitter @AutismRevised and via my email: AutisticandUnapologetic@gmail.com.

If you like what you have seen on the site today, then show your support by liking the Autistic & Unapologetic Facebook page. Also, don't forget to sign up to the Autistic & Unapologetic newsletter (found on the sidebar on laptops and underneath if you are reading this via mobile) where I share weekly updates as well as a fascinating fact I have found throughout the week.

Thank you for reading and I will see you next Saturday for more thoughts from across the spectrum.

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Why do Autistic People LOVE Lego? - Autistic & Unapologetic

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Autism, Lego, Duplo and even Lego's cooler, younger brother Minecraft, are all things that come hand-in-hand for the autistic community. In fact, Lego is so loved by autistic people that it has: given rise to its own form of autism therapy, received its own category in special interest surveys and, more recently, been a union which resulted in a Guinness World Record - for largest Lego Titanic replica.

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Lego kan være katalysator for litteraturanalyse i dansk og fremmedsprog

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"Man kan tænke, at Lego er meget langt fra danskfagligheden. Men allerede når man taler om, hvad klodserne symboliserer, kommer det frem, at ting skifter symbolværdi afhængig af konteksten, og det er jo et godt skridt ind i en analyse", forklarer hun og viser billeder af en legomand der er fanget under et net og en, der er faldet og grebet i samme net.

"Moderen skal i hvert fald stå i centrum af pladen, siger én af lærerne. De arbejder sammen to og to. Lego-analyse kan nemlig ikke foregår alene, for det er netop i samtalen om, hvordan klodserne skal placeres, at analysen tager form, forklarer Susanne Hansson.

"Lego rimer rigtigt meget på tydelig klasseledelse, for selvfølgelig kan det godt stikke af, når man giver børn en kasse klodser. Men det handler jo bare om disciplin, og det er en god måde at træne sin klasseledelse".

Kroppen skal med

Kasserne, Susanne Hansson bruger, hedder Build to express. De er til udlån på cfu'et og de egner sig godt til dansk, fordi der er mange synbol-ladede klodser. Men hun fortæller, at nogle skoler efter at have lånt dem køber ind til at have deres egne kasser stående.

Ideen med at bygge sig til læring kommer heller ikke ud af det blå. Susanne Hansson henviser til Kjeld Fredens' bog 'Læring med kroppen forrest', hvor han fortæller, hvor stor betydning, det har, når der er sammenhæng mellem det, vi lærer, og måden vi bruger kroppen imens. Og hun nævner også Arthur Glenberg fra Arizona State University, som har lavet en store undersøgelse af 3.-klassers læseforståelse, hvor børn, der bruger legetøj til at fortælle hinanden, hvad en novelle handler om, husker den langt bedre, end børn, der bare fortæller.

"Hjerneforskere er enige: Børn lærer lettere at læse ved brug af artefakter. Det at tænke med kroppen og hånden har stor betydning for deres kognitive udvikling", forklarer hun.

Forskellige fortolkninger bliver tydelige

For dansklærerne går det også fint at få samtalen i gang efter at have hørt novellen og fået deres anden byggeordre. Denne gang skal de igen bygge og samtidig udvælge et citatet fra novellen, som underbygger deres model. Og begge dele skal præsenteres for gruppen overfor.

"De er mildest talt forskellige, udbryder en af lærerne, da hun ser, hvordan den anden gruppes model er helt uden legomænd, men i stedet har symbolske opbygninger af relationerne.

"Hvordan ville modellen have set ud, hvis I havde lavet begyndelsen af novellen?", spørger Susanne Hansson, da hun kommer ned for at tale med grupperne.

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Lego kan være katalysator for litteraturanalyse i dansk

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"Man kan tænke, at Lego er meget langt fra danskfagligheden. Men allerede når man taler om, hvad klodserne symboliserer, kommer det frem, at ting skifter symbolværdi afhængig af konteksten, og det er jo et godt skridt ind i en analyse", forklarer hun og viser billeder af en legomand der er fanget under et net og en, der er faldet og grebet i samme net.

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Ideer til sproglige aktiviteter med Lego

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Ideer til sproglige aktiviteter med Lego

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Vil du inspireres til at arbejde med fremmedsprog og Lego?

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CFU Absalon udbyder kurset Byg sproget op med LEGO:

Målgruppe: Undervisere i engelsk og tysk på mellemtrinnet og i udskolingen.

Formål: Der sættes fokus på, hvorledes LEGO i sprogundervisningen kan facilitere og støtte sprogtilegnelsen for alle elever. Temaet er mash-up eventyr.

Indhold: 3 workshops á 3 timer.

Fokus på arbejdet med elevernes forforståelse. Der arbejdes med teknikker og redskaber, du direkte kan overføre til din daglige undervisning.

Mash-up eventyr bygges og fortælles i Lego, og der tages billeder.

Eventyret fortælles som en multimodal fortælling i BookCreator.

Det sproglige tema i kurset vil være eventyr. Der arbejdes henimod et eventyr mash-up slutprodukt, dvs. et eventyr indeholdende træk fra tre forskellige kendte eventyr.

I arbejdet indgår både mundtlig og skriftlig kommunikation, mens fortællingen bygges med LEGO.

I de tre workshops bliver du klædt grundigt på til temaet, teknikken og it-værktøjer.

Hvis din skole/kommune er interesseret, så kontakt venligst:

CFU's fremmedsprogskonsulenter:

Ulla Krogsgaard, ukr@pha.dk

Marianne Hubert, mkh@pha.dk

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Sprog med LEGO - Professionshøjskolen Absalon

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CFU Absalon udbyder kurset Byg sproget op med LEGO: Målgruppe: Undervisere i engelsk og tysk på mellemtrinnet og i udskolingen. Formål: Der sættes fokus på, hvorledes LEGO i sprogundervisningen kan facilitere og støtte sprogtilegnelsen for alle elever. Temaet er mash-up eventyr. Indhold: 3 workshops á 3 timer. Fokus på arbejdet med elevernes forforståelse.

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Mange forskellige opgaver velegnet til fremmedsprog

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Lego og specialundervisning, ideer på engelsk

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Lego og specialundervisning, ideer på engelsk

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LEGO® Bricks are such a versatile toy. We all know that they make great educational tools because kids love them so much they don't realize they are learning while playing with them. Additionally, they make great tools for LEGO Therapy for fine, and gross motor development. They also can be used for vision training, speech training, and so much more. These versatile toys, the simple LEGO Bricks are being used by therapists and moms alike to help special needs children.
This post contains affiliate advertisement links to 3rd party sites.
I reached out to a friend of mine, Colby, to ask her if she would share some tips for using LEGO for therapy purposes. She worked as an Occupational Therapist for years before choosing to be a stay-at-home mom, homeschooler, and support her 4 children. She shares the following general information from her role as special needs mom.
Disclaimer: This article is not meant to provide medical or therapeutic advice, your doctor and therapist will prescribe your child's therapy program. You should always follow all the precautions your doctor or therapists provides, as well as using just good old common sense; like never leave a child who mouths toys alone with small pieces.
Tips for Using LEGO Bricks
for Special Needs Therapy

LEGO Blocks! Who doesn't love them, right!? The popular, perfect, open ended, brain building, play for hours toy! These toys are a great fit to use with your kiddo that is working on therapy goals, too! I used to practice Occupational Therapy, before I stopped to stay at home with my kiddos, and I also have a couple of my own kiddos with therapy needs. So, Renée asked me to share some ideas about how to use LEGO Bricks with kiddos who might have some therapy needs!

▬ For children who need lots of proprioception or "heavy work" to help with calming, you could make an obstacle course around your living room and place LEGO Bricks along the way and at the end have a model for your kid to copy. This will help get that heavy work that is so calming and work on vision and fine motor all at the same time!

▬ Walking like different animals is a another great way to get that calming work in; walk like a bear to go get your brick, bring it back like a snake, then build something fun at the end.

These activities are also a great way to get siblings to interact, it's an activity everyone can enjoy!

▬ If your kiddo is working on stairs you can place a DUPLO Bricks, or the really over sized off name blocks, on each stair for them to put in their bag or hand to you as they go up the stairs. Then, let them build something when they reach the top.

▬ Working on reaching overhead? Place LEGO or DUPLO Bricks at the appropriate height and ask your child to collect them. Then, when they've collected them all, they'll have a perfect natural break to stop and build something for a bit!

LEGO Bricks for Speech Therapy & Language Development

LEGO Bricks are great for speech and language development. Even though I'm not a speech therapist, I've had kids in speech therapy and I can tell you some fun things we've done. LEGO Blocks provide a lot of language learning opportunities.

They are great for working on naming colors.

Numbering the LEGO Bricks in a tower

Identifying the different sizes of LEGO Bricks

When they have built their LEGO World there is so much to talk about, especially if you have plenty of LEGO Minifigures to rule your LEGO World.

What's more fun and motivating to talk about than your own LEGO World, where for a change your kiddo can be in charge?
LEGO Bricks for Visual Therapy

▬ Need to focus on visual work? While I usually encourage my own kids to toss the instructions and build whatever they can imagine, when working on vi sual spatial issues, using those instructions can be a good work out.

Start simple and make sure you give your kiddo the appropriate amount of help. I love those small packages of LEGO Building Kits, because they typically start out quite simple.

▬ Working on Visual Memory?
Make a simple model, let your child study it, then hide it and have them build the same thing. Start simple, two or three blocks and work up. Make sure to offer a limited numbers of bricks, especially in the beginning.

Troubleshooting LEGO Therapy Pitfalls

* What about kids that don't have the fine motor skills needed to build with LEGO Bricks? You can always try the larger DUPLO Blocks. These can be great for a child with fine motor difficulties to pick up.

Then, as your kiddos fine motor skills progress you can let them use the LEGO Juniors.

* What about a kiddo that still struggles with handling the larger blocks, but they still want to play with bricks like their friends? You could let them choose which block goes next and tell you where to place it.

* Learning how to communicate politely what they need and want, is a great skill for kids who will be dependent on others for care as they grow.

* For some with augmentative communication devices, it would be great practice using their device to tell you which block goes next. You can make it as simple as them just choosing the color or if they are able, they could choose the length of block, 2×2, 2×4, etc. You may want to sort the blocks out into categories, so that all the red blocks are 2's, all the blue blocks are 2×4's, and so on.

There are so many ways to use this versatile toy to help your kiddo grow and develop as they work on their therapy goals. I hope some of these ideas help you and your kiddo stay motivated to keep moving forward and most of all help you have some fun together!

- Colby Burrows, OT, Retired

Isn't Colby great? She has such a sweet demeanor and it's such a blessing to have her as a friend.

What about you? What is your own child's favorite therapy technique? Tell me in the comments below.

If you are researching LEGO Therapy techniques be sure to check out these books for LEGO Therapy.

Thera-Build with LEGO: A Playful Therapeutic Approach for Promoting Emotional Well-Being in Children by Alyson Thomsen

How LEGO®-Based Therapy for Autism Works: Landing on My Planet by Daniel B. LeGoff
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