The LEGO Group, LEGO House and the LEGO Foundation have started to introduce new initiatives to make LEGO experiences better for neurodivergent children and adults.
As World Autism Acceptance Month, the LEGO Group, LEGO House and the LEGO Foundation are announcing new ways that the organisations will consider the needs of neurodivergent children and adults. LEGO House has already started to roll out the new inclusive plans.
‘All LEGO entities are united by our mission to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow and a belief that the benefits of play are equally critical to all children. This fuels our exploration of how to make the LEGO experience more inclusive and welcoming for everyone,’ says Colette Burke, Chief Commercial Officer at the LEGO Group.
‘We know the LEGO System in Play is enjoyed by neurodivergent fans of all ages and we want to support, inspire, and celebrate their creativity. We hope that the changes to our stores, publications and family attractions will have a positive impact and help embrace the diverse needs and strengths of our fans globally. There will always be more to do, and we’re committed to working with fans and experts to implement initiatives that can help make a difference in building a more inclusive world.’
The LEGO Group is working with nonprofit KultureCity to make LEGO Stores and LEGO House more accessible. KultureCity consults on improving accessibility in public spaces for individuals with sensory needs and invisible disabilities. It certifies locations that provide visitors with an inclusive experience.
To begin with, LEGO Stores in the USA will be KultureCity Sensory Inclusive Certified, with more countries to be certified later in the year. During visits, bags will be available that contain noise reducing headphones, fidget tools, visual cue cards, KultureCity branded lanyards and strobe reduction glasses.
LEGO House has already been given KultureCity Sensory Inclusive Certification status. The special experience in Billund, Denmark, is the first in the Nordics to receive KultureCity certification. A new experience in the History Collection features an interactive timeline with animations supported by audio, braille, International Sign and tangible wooden models to increase accessibility.
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KultureCity signage indicating the Sensory Inclusive Certification will be visible at each location once team training is complete and supportive sensory bags are available.
“When I’m in a crowded place or noisy area, I feel nervous. The [noise reducing] headphones really help well because it just cancels out most loud noises,’ says Isabella, age 11. ‘It gives me a little bit less stress. If there’s someone really close to me and I feel like I’m really nervous, I’ll just pop a fidget out and just play with it to calm myself down.
‘I like having [noise reducing] headphones and fidgets in the LEGO store because it’s just going to make me feel really more welcome.’
‘When I heard about this project, I just beamed,’ her mother Samantha agrees. ‘I was so excited. I’ve been waiting for this – to just be able to go to the store, where the employees understand, and the store is ready for my child. It’s exciting. Having KultureCity involved gives me so much confidence that my child will enjoy the experience and the sensory bags will make us come to the store more often.’
‘To have sensory bags in a LEGO store when I was a kid would’ve changed my whole perspective on the communities I could be a part of,’ says Sean, an AFOL (adult fan of LEGO). ‘Being able to experience the LEGO store at my own pace would have allowed me to connect to so many other people and LEGO fans, and truly feel like I belong. This move will allow for people like me, a full-grown adult, to experience everything the store has to offer and let children visiting the store have their own perspective on their own lives changed in a positive way. That’s something that can’t be replaced.’
LEGO Life Magazine, the LEGO Group’s magazine for children, will also be enhanced for neurodivergent readers. Special Networks organisation reviewed many issues of the magazine and suggested improvements that will be incorporated from 2024 Issue 2:
• Numbering the boxes used in cartoons to make them easier to follow.
• Ensuring consistent and meaningful use of visual simples.
• Planning content to suit varied abilities and interests.
• Having consistency in placement of useful items, such as prompts for activity answers.
The LEGO Foundation launched the Play for All Accelerator Programme to bring inclusive learning through play to neurodivergent children and their families. Five organisations have been selected for to partner with the LEGO Foundation for two to three years. The successful entrants are:
• Social Cipher: A video game-based platform that uses the power of story to facilitate social-emotional learning and increase sense of belonging for neurodiverse youth. $1.9 million USD grant – to help make content more accessible to children and professionals to enhance children’s engagement, as well as creating a full years’ worth of SEL content that will support children’s development.
• Kokoro Kids: An early learning platform for children to develop cognitive and emotional skills through play. $2.25 million USD grant – to expand learning through play activities for neurodivergent children, focusing on holistic skill development, wellbeing and inclusion.
• Mom’s Belief: A holistic care provider for neurodivergent children that provides Individual Educational Plans and physical play-based toolkits. $2.03 million USD grant – to help expand impactful services reaching children and families in India, USA, Vietnam, and United Arab Emirates.
• onebillion: A nonprofit publisher of adaptive literacy and numeracy software for marginalised children. £1.9 million GBP grant – to accelerate the development of new activities, which is projected to deliver up to one years’ worth of learning content for children, benefiting over 450,000 neurodivergent children.
• Little Journey: A mobile app designed to reduce the anxiety experienced by children and families before, during, and after healthcare interactions. £2.09 million GBP grant – to develop a Learning through Play-focused digital health passport with a module for clinicians, displaying children’s needs and preferences next to their electronic health records, allowing conditions to decrease stress, enable agency, and increase a sense of belonging.
The Play for All Accelerator programme builds on the LEGO Foundation’s existing work to support autistic children through programmes promoting learning through play. In 2021, it announced support for a social initiative called Brick-by Brick programme, which helps uplift children and young people who may benefit from social communication support to boost their emotional wellbeing.