Question: Margaret what interested you into using lego to help therapeutically and for you to pursue that field, what made you find your love for that project?

Margaret Laurie answered on 2 Feb 2024:

This is a great question! I guess I kind of fell into this field accidentally…

When I worked at a school for children with additional support needs, I was inspired by the way that the children played. During play, children could demonstrate skills such as communication, and interacting with others, that they wouldn’t normally show in other spaces like the classroom. It made me think about how different environments, toys, and settings can impact how we behave, and how we could find the right types of environments to support children who think and learn differently. It also made me think that we were perhaps underestimating people’s skills by only seeing them, in for example, a classroom rather than other places that are more fun and flexible like a play space.

When I started looking at play, I naturally gravitated towards LEGO building, and it turns out that lots of people use collaborative LEGO play to support children in developing social and thinking skills. My question has then shifted to.. how do we use LEGO in the best ways to support children? And that’s where I am now 🙂