Maternal experience of Lego Therapy in families with children with autism spectrum conditions: What is the impact on family relationships?

Researchers asked 10 moms to run Lego Therapy at home with their autistic child and siblings.

Each mom got a short training, then ran six weekly 30-minute Lego sessions.

Afterwards, researchers interviewed the moms about what changed in family life.

Moms said siblings played together more and fought less after the Lego weeks.

Kids with autism talked more and stayed calmer during the builds.

Some moms felt the good vibes stayed at the Lego table and did not spread to meals or bedtime.

Shabani et al. (2006) showed Lego groups run by clinicians beat regular therapy on social scores for three years. Peckett et al. (2016) now show moms can get similar social gains at home in just six weeks.

Hu et al. (2018) used peer buddies in preschool Lego play and also saw more social bids. The new study swaps peers for moms and moves the same idea into the living room.

Ferguson et al. (2022) coached parents through a screen and hit high treatment fidelity. Peckett et al. (2016) did it face-to-face, proving you do not need fancy tech for parent-led Lego to work.

You can teach a parent the Lego Therapy script in one brief meeting. Six short home sessions later, siblings get along better and the autistic child talks more. No clinic space, no extra staff, just bricks and a timer. Try it next time a family asks for something they can do together.