Call me Cynical.... But this stuff on the news about Lego Therapy and Autism....

[ClutterJunkie]

isn't it just a bit obvious that lego and Autism go together ? (you know...the way that lego is predictable, uniformly shaped...can be symetrical...can be chewed...bright stimulating colours...and 'amazingly' the discovery that if you put a big pile of lego on a table autistic children play together (yes...says me...until one of them takes the red brick that the other one was about to use...or starts spinning the wheels...instead of fitting them to cars....)

(yes i've had a stressful few days...as we all have...and I may just be nit picking at this....)

but when i googled "Lego/ Autism"...and clicked the NAS link.... suprise suprise...Lego are one of the NAS's sponsers....so what a great way to 'advertise lego'....

If anyone has not heard of this latest 'miraculaous way to help autistic children interact socially' ...i will post a link!!!

They even featured a Doctor/author...that they quoted as having written a book called 'Defeating Autism"... and that immediately set my blood boiling...as they were 'once again' implying what we all know is impossible....and not stressing the way we all use strategies to manage and live WITH autism...NOT rid oourselves of IT

so ...i googled the doctor's book...and am pretty certain he shares MY thoughts...as the book is actually titled "Defeating Autism, A Damaging Delusion".....

yet again the media have edited and tweaked it all to suit their rose tinted 'feel good story'

Grrrr and bloody Grrrrr!

We have had a very Lego-based Christmas so really we should be reaping the rewards right now. In reality ds has stopped screaming for the cinema all day - he doesn't seem to realise he has been 'cured'

hasn't not has

Lego is a bit like Marmite (in the love it or hate it sense)

thing is...I like lego! just annoyed at this new article!

DS2 had a 'thing' for lego bionicle ... thing is though got very expensive as he'd build the models...following the step by step instructions...and once done onnce...would not do them again...nor would he 'use his imagination' as suggested by bookelet 'to make his own designs'...he would ONLY build that which they showed instructions for!!!

and wehn 'into' castles...drawing...painting etc...he'd build castles...but always exactly the size of the base board...and always the same height...and always the same details....

Hi, I was interested in the evening news re autism and lego as I work with 4 autistic children as a TA. They are all non-verbal but it would be a great activity to use with PECS to aid communication and social skills. Two of the pupils have poor fine motor skills that affects their writing skills (have little pressure) so this could be helpful. I will be hunting for lego in the New Year and looking at other construction toys but lego is probably more appealing because it colourful. It was good to read all the discussions and I guess it`s like all things it may work for some and not others. thanks

It's not the lego that is effective though.It could be anytihng-cooking,painting,gardening.Its success rests entirely on the skill of the person directing and organising the session.

The great shame is that many desperate people will now think that lego has magic properties and rush out and buy it.

It's very dodgy indeed that Lego sponsor NAS.

Yes I agree its a bit suspicious that Lego sponsor NAS and a cheap trick if all it is is a publicity stunt.

This seems to me to be one of those studies that prove that the 'Pope is Catholic!' or that 'Birds Can Fly!' Of course we generally like structured tasks and often can find ways to co-operate with other people in order to achieve a personal aim if we understand the rules for it. And if you're building lego, you don't need to look at body language or make eye contact. But it would work with anything similar. Lego has no special properties. you can get lego-like bricks that work just as well and aren't called Lego and cost a fraction of that sum. So why Lego? Oh yes, they give money to the NAS. Let's make parents who are often struggling for cash buy really, really expensive lego stuff, eh? (arrghh)

I'll tell you what makes me despair - it's the whole idea behind a lot of these 'therapies' (not necessarily this specific one) - that they build the expectation of parents that unless we can socialise precisely as NT people do, we're broken, useless, damaged, of no worth, a tragedy, suffering. If we can go into a party or job interview and thrill everyone with our sense of dress, deportment and witty replies, we're 'human'. Hmm.

Sod whether it's making these children into mini-NTs or not, I'd want to see if we can use that skill for lego to help them become brilliant engineers, talented builders, skilled design experts. Something that will earn them money, improve our world. It's what many of us can do, but so very, very people (including employers) are utterly obsessed with social skills.

If I wanted to make a real difference to our lives, I'd make every technical employer in the UK play with lego for a week with us and see how much better we generally are than them. Then ask them if they'd like their bridges and factories and refineries built by someone with a) a reasonable degree in the subject and fantastic social repartee at the interview or b) the ability to see a building in 3-D in their mind/test things to destruction time after time to ensure absolute safety and fine-tune its efficiency to save them £millions and lives.

Interestingly, the answer is almost invariably (a). Result - lots of buildings and structures are unsafe, lots of lives are lost. But who cares - as long as the boss has his/her ego stroked and is surrounded by fashionable personable engineers, eh?

If it helps the children to form useful alliances with others round them and feel confident in their skills, brilliant. But the aim should never be to turn us into what I'd call "Hello Magazine Fodder". I suspect that too often it will be focusing on just that.

PS I'm not saying social skills are unimportant - just that they're missing the most important and useful thing for us in this whole experiment, and that social skills are not the only thing that makes people human or worthwhile.

Thanks MOONDOG, Amber and Turning.... YOU understand my concerns EXACTLY!

hers's the NAS link to the sponser deal: LEGO

I got my MIL on the phone this morning - did you see the news item? Actually my DS hates lego - his fingers are weak and he has difficulty manipulating it. He is more likely to tip it over his head as sensory play. Really the report has nothing to do with lego, it is about engaging in a shared/special interest as a motivator to encourage social skills and interaction. Is that news?

My hackles were raised by the opening line of the report about 'Autism sufferers' - so again we have an implication that somehow autism is a disease. And as soon as anyone talks about defeating autism I switch off. Yet more media misinformation that presents our children as sufferers who need to be cured.

turningover - I think that you might be trying to work on too many things at once - that working on fine motor skills as well as social skills might overload - better to find an activity all the kids enjoy if you want to focus on social skills/communication