Psychotherapy Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Psychotherapy, including details on psychiatry, psychoanalysis, methods, outcomes.

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

Legoff DB, Sherman M

Bancroft NeuroHealth, Haddonfield, NJ 08033, USA. dlegoff@aol.com

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.

Published 15 August 2006 in Autism, 10(4): 317-29.
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