Lego’s creative playing blocks are becoming more accessible to visually impaired with the launch of Lego Audio & Braille Building Instructions earlier this year and the upcoming 2020 launch of Lego Braille Bricks.
The Lego Audio & Braille Building Instructions available online give blind and visually impaired children of all ages an opportunity to build Lego sets independently and enjoy the developmental benefits of creative Lego play experiences.
The idea originated from blind US entrepreneur Matthew Shifrin, who developed a strong passion for Lego as a child but always needed assistance when it came building sets with specific building instructions.
“I had a friend, Lilya, who would write down all the building steps for me so that I could upload them into a system that allowed me to read the building steps on a Braille reader through my fingers,” he said. Shifrin would pore over his customised instructions to create models such as the Sydney Opera House and London Tower Bridge, the latter of which required over 850 pages. For the first time, he was able to build Lego sets independently.
“For blind children, we don’t have access to what sighted kids are used to. Lego bricks enable us to learn about our environment, to see the world. It is so important because blind kids get left out of a lot of social stuff, especially in elementary school. But Lego building is one of the things we can do.”
