Lego Braille Bricks, Learning Through Play

#disability #educationandtraining #languageandcommunicationabilities

There are over 2 million people in the UK living with sight loss

As of September 2020, Lego will start selling bricks featuring studs on top that correspond to a letter, number or symbol of the braille code.

"These unique LEGO® Braille Bricks, created by the LEGO Foundation, are a fun and playful way to introduce braille to anyone who wants to learn!"

The LEGO Foundation sees learning through play as crucial for children’s positive development, regardless of their situation.

These specialist bricks were tested and developed in partnership with blind organisations around the world, free of charge to a selection of schools and services catering for vision-impaired children since 2020.

Lego hopes the initiative will help parents and siblings share in learning braille, and the packs will include ideas for a range of educational games that families can play together.

Given natural language processing technology, that can turn written text into spoken word, some argue that braille is out dated. However, blind adults like braille as it allows them to multitask by using their their fingers to read while listening to other things.

The European Blind Union (EBU) says spelling, reading and writing are improved through knowledge of braille which in turn contributes to higher levels of education and better employment opportunities for those who are vision impaired.

The braille bricks are another product from Lego championing the UN's Sustainable Development Goal 4 - "Ensure inclusive and equitable access to quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all."