Accessibility Spotlight: LEGO Braille Bricks – endless possibilities for Play and Education
Hello, dear readers and fellow LEGO lovers. As some of you may remember, both Alina and I are huge LEGO fans, and with me also being a totally blind journalist and accessibility advocate, I thought that it would be interesting to write an article about the LEGO Braille Bricks, a thing that needs to be talked about more.
A few years ago, the LEGO Group released these LEGO Braille Bricks, and after getting our own set, which we use both at home and at work, we realized what a huge potential these have to raise awareness about blindness, but also for education and rehabilitation.
According to the LEGO Group, the LEGO Braille Bricks – Play with Braille is aimed at kids aged 6+ and has been designed so that anyone who is curious about Braille, be they blind, partially sighted, or sighted, can have fun getting to know the Braille system at home with their family members in a playful, inclusive way.
Until September 2023, LEGO Braille Bricks have only been distributed free of charge by the LEGO Foundation to organizations specializing in the education of children with vision impairment. Since the launch of these educational kits in 2020, feedback from parents, carers, grandparents, children, and educators has continually highlighted the positive impact the bricks have and how they transform the way children with vision impairment can learn Braille.
This overwhelming response has led to the creation of LEGO Braille Bricks – Play with Braille to give families the opportunity to enjoy the benefits and practice their tactile skills at home.
LEGO Braille Bricks – Play with Braille includes 287 bricks in five colors: white, yellow, green, red, and blue. All bricks are fully compatible with other LEGO products, and the studs on each brick are arranged to correspond to the numbers and letters in the Braille system, with the printed version of the symbol or letter situated below the studs. The set also includes two baseplates to build on and comes in packaging with Braille embossing.
We also appreciate that in order to enhance the play experience and support pre-Braille skill development, a series of supporting play starters are available on LEGO.com and will teach players how to orient, attach, and stack the bricks through well-loved games such as Rock, Paper, Scissors, which all members of the family can take part in.
Not only that LEGO decided to give the Visually Impaired Community these bricks, but they also developed and released the LEGO Audio & Braille Building Instructions, a permanent offering. Inspired and co-developed by entrepreneur Matthew Shifrin, who is blind and runs his own website, Bricks for the Blind, which offers text-based instructions for blind builders. The LEGO Audio instructions give builders the option of having select LEGO building instructions available as audio or text for Braille readers.
I am 42 years old and have learned Braille two years ago. I’m reading well enough, but not as fast as I want. I truly think that these LEGO Braille Bricks can make a huge difference in the education of future Braille readers as they offer the perfect starting point for learning.
The six dots are much bigger than in a regular Braille cell, but I believe that in this way, blind and visually impaired individuals can learn easier and will know exactly what to expect when they begin regular Braille lessons. At the same time, these Bricks can educate parents, family members, and the friends of kids and adults with a visual disability on how to read Braille themselves.
Alina and I work every day with such adults with disabilities, and we use these LEGO Braille Bricks a lot. Aside from the education benefits, these bricks can be included in regular LEGO models and, as we saw in Billund at the LEGO House, can serve as nameplates for larger builds.
We are extremely happy to have access to these LEGO Braille Bricks and we applaud all the efforts the LEGO Group makes to ensure they bring joy to everyone, while at the same time making them feel included. They even released a polybag with enough Braille bricks to write LEGO and the numbers from 1 to 4, which also are the letters A, B, C, and D.
These can be very nice and thoughtful gifts for absolutely anyone. Alina and I will continue to build LEGO every day and to cheer LEGO on with enthusiasm! Thank you for taking the time to read this and leg godt that translates to play well in Danish!
Victor Dima
