Long-term outcome of social skills intervention based on interactive LEGO© play

Abstract

LEGO building materials have been adapted as a therapeutic modality for increasing motivation to participate in social skills intervention, and providing a medium through which children with social and communication handicaps can effectively interact. A 3 year retrospective study of long-term outcome for autistic spectrum children participating in LEGO therapy (N = 60) compared Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale socialization domain (VABS-SD) and Gilliam Autism Rating Scale social interaction subscale (GARS-SI) scores preand post-treatment with a matched comparison sample (N = 57) who received comparable non-LEGO therapy. Although both groups made significant gains on the two outcome measures, LEGO participants improved significantly more than the comparison subjects. Diagnosis and pre-treatment full-scale IQ scores did not predict outcome scores; however, Vineland adaptive behavior composite, Vineland communication domain, and verbal IQ all predicted outcome on the VABS-SD, especially for the LEGO therapy group. Results are discussed in terms of implications for methods of social skills intervention for autistic spectrum disorders.

Nonmedical Interventions for Children With ASD: Recommended Guidelines and Further Research Needs

“…Social skills programs for higher-functioning children and adolescents Many controlled trials 21,23,24,29,[59][60][61][62][63][64][65] and observational studies 25,26,30,31,[66][67][68][69][70] of social skills programs have been conducted. We conducted several meta-analyses on social skills studies that used similar outcome measures.…”

Knowledge or Performance - Why Youth with Autism Experience Social Problems

“…This is consistent with the theory that performance-training interventions provide somewhat more "enriched" social environments, facilitating greater in-session peer interaction (Lerner, Hileman, et al, in press;Lerner & Levine, 2007); this also suggests that it may be fruitful to consider that the process by which performance-training activities effect more enduring change in longer interventions (Legoff & Sherman, 2006;Lerner et al, 2011) may indeed accord with neuroplastic models of learning and intervention (Bryck & Fisher, 2012;Lillard & Erisir, 2011;Robertson & Murre, 1999;Rosenzweig, 2007). However, neither condition demonstrated generalization of effects to post-test unstructured social interaction or change in Theory of Mind or emotion recognition; this is somewhat unsurprising, as even four 90-minute sessions of these conditions failed to produce generalized results (Lerner & Mikami, in press).…”

“…Still others have demonstrated significant improvements in generalized (out-of-session) social skills among youth receiving creativity-focused social performance-training compared to matched controls engaging in social knowledge-training interventions after 3 years of continuous intervention in both groups (Legoff & Sherman, 2006). Likewise, creativity-focused social performance approaches have preliminarily demonstrated results in terms of improvements in social anxiety (Lerner, Calhoun, & Mikami, 2009;Lerner, Calhoun, Mikami, & De Los Reyes, in press) and autistic impairment in social settings (Lerner, Spies, Jordan, & Mikami, 2009).…”

A Systematic Review of Social Communication and Interaction Interventions for Patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder

“…Of these, 5 were conducted in the United States (62-66), one took place in the United Kingdom (67), and one occurred in Australia (68). Some of the studies included children (62,63,67,68), whereas others focused on adolescents (64)(65)(66).…”

“…The only exception was the retrospective study of the Lego-based interactive playgroups (63), which included 60 participants in the intervention group. Although all 7 studies reported beneficial effects of the interventions, we assessed that the results should be interpreted with caution due to the small sample sizes and the non-randomized design.…”