Lego Therapy

How LEGO Therapy Works

The goal of LEGO therapy is to build the types of skills that can help pupils better engage with peers, share experiences, and collaborate.

In the most basic form of LEGO therapy, children work in a group, taking the following roles: 

• The Engineer: has a set of instructions for the model and has to request the bricks from the Supplier and direct the Builder to put the model together
• The Supplier: has the Lego bricks and supplies the Engineer with the required items upon request
• The Builder: is given the bricks by the Supplier and has to follow the instructions given by the Engineer to make the model.

An adult facilitator works with the group as needed to encourage problem-solving, communication, and engagement.

LEGO therapy can also be expanded to encourage creative play and collaboration through storytelling, dramatic activities, and innovation. For example, one version of LEGO therapy has children work together to build versions of a pretend world described in a story, or work together to create a vehicle that has specific qualities or can navigate in a particular situation.

Children can also work together to build much more elaborate LEGO Mindstorms robots and program them. In these more advanced scenarios, children collaborate in complex world-building, storytelling, or design.