The use of LEGO® DUPLO® bricks to stimulate the speech development of minimally verbal children

Abstract

The main goal of the paper is to initially assess the possibility of using LEGO® DUPLO® bricks as an aid in stimulating speech development of minimally verbal speech therapy patients. Research using LEGO® DUPLO® bricks was conducted individually with four minimally verbal preschool children. To obtain data, a non-standardized interview with a speech therapist and/or the
children’s caregivers and inclusive observation during subsequent meetings and qualitative analysis of documentation were performed. The research covered the following areas: building and maintaining the field of joint attention, construction praxis, visual and visuospatial perception, understanding simple and complex commands, passive and active vocabulary range, visual and visual-auditory sequences, spatial orientation, alternation, working memory, sound localization and auditory attention. All tested children attempted to participate in subsequent activities and to construct verbal messages: they imitated the therapist’s statements or produced their own. Each child gradually lost their avoidance strategies. The research shows that LEGO® DUPLO® bricks can be an effective aid in stimulating the cognitive, linguistic and communication functions of minimally verbal children and are an attractive form of play.