Many of our children struggle with social skills, initiating and maintaining social conversations, and developing friendships among peers their own age.
I came across this short video and thought it might be an idea that would be helpful to families. Perhaps it could be adapted to fit your child and their needs and interests (Legos, Star Wars, Polly Pockets, etc).
3 comments:
Hi Jennie! I'd really like to see someone adapt this kind of club with a variety of toys, but there are several factors that make LEGO bricks pretty ideal for socialization classes.
A) The kids usually adore LEGO bricks to begin with, and it's one toy they can focus on for long periods of time and it gives them great satisfaction.
B) The club engages in 'building projects', which put the kids in sort of a 'controlled conflict' environment where they have to work together and resolve project-related or interpersonal issues.
C) Some of the kids have trouble with Fine-Motor, and the LEGOs give them great practice.
D) Usually nobody --namely teachers, parents, other kids-- ever let kids who are on the spectrum *take charge* of something, so they're not used to it, but can get to enjoy true leadership (not just being bossy) once they get the hang of it. With the building projects, they have to look at a picture to infer instructions, then describe what needs to be done, and then inspect it afterwards.
E) Unlike so many social skills classes which mostly involve a lot of talking and feeling-sharing and a maybe tiny bit of role-playing, this is something where really get their hands dirty in actual experience rather than getting confused by hypothetical situations, and socializing concepts that are too abstract to simply discuss and hope they pick up on it. Instead, they learn the same way all neuro-typical kids learn best, BY PLAYING!
F) Through all the growing pains, the kids really get to know each other and make friends, which is the whole point!
Thanks for sharing the video!
Very cool video. Made me smile a lot. The music is a good selection as well. Thanks for sharing!
Hey Bill,
My name is Amanda Sutton. I am a special ed/co teacher in Elmira ny. I teach a number of things, including what we call a "resource" class which includes a group of 6 autistic boys whom absolutely adore "lego time." The goal of this class is to get them to socialize, as they all have zero interest in doing such. I was wondering if there is any way you could send me some ideas with legos that can help build their social skills (ie; group projects, etc). I am available via e-mail at blameitonme06@yahoo.com ... any help for a new teacher would be greatly appreciated ..
Thanks a bunch,
Amanda
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