Lego Social Club

No. Your child does not need to be a LEGO expert, a superfan, or someone who spends hours building at home.

Some interest is helpful, though. LEGO is the shared activity we use to bring kids together, practice collaboration, and work through social and emotional challenges in real time.

If your child is hesitant, unsure, or only mildly interested, that’s okay. We’ll start where they are and help them find ways to participate that feel manageable and engaging.

If your child actively dislikes LEGO or consistently wants nothing to do with it, this may not be the right group for them.

The goal isn’t to create kids who love LEGO. It’s to use LEGO as a comfortable, hands-on way to practice being with other people.

No. A diagnosis is not required to join LEGO Social Club.

Many of the kids who participate have diagnoses such as autism, ADHD, anxiety, learning disabilities, or other differences that affect social interaction, flexibility, emotional regulation, or executive functioning. Others may not have a formal diagnosis at all.

What matters most is whether the group is a good fit for your child. LEGO Social Club is designed for kids who would benefit from extra support with things like collaboration, communication, flexible thinking, frustration tolerance, perspective-taking, and participating with peers.

The group is set up for kids who are 7 - 9 years old.

We accept 5 kids maximum each semester. The group is led by Amy, and she is assisted by two college-aged helpers.

That’s okay. We start where your child is.

For some kids, building alongside other children feels much easier than building with them. Collaborative play can require a lot of underlying skills, including flexibility, communication, sharing materials, tolerating other people’s ideas, asking for help, and managing frustration.

We don’t expect kids to walk into group ready to do all of that at once.

A child might begin by building independently near the group, showing someone what they made, sharing a few pieces, responding to another child’s idea, or participating in a short shared activity. Those are all meaningful steps.

Over time, we’ll support your child in gradually moving toward more interaction and collaboration as they’re ready.

The goal isn’t to force kids into a group build before they have the skills to manage it. It’s to help them build those skills, one step at a time.

Kids get frustrated. They get disappointed. They get overwhelmed. Sometimes a build falls apart, another child has a different idea, or something simply doesn’t go the way they hoped.

That’s part of being in a group, and we don’t expect kids to never get upset.

When a child becomes dysregulated, we’ll slow things down, help them take space if they need it, support them in identifying what happened, and help them find a way back into the group when they’re ready.

At the same time, safety is paramount.

We can support crying, yelling, shutting down, needing a break, or having a hard time recovering. We cannot safely run a group when a child is repeatedly hitting, kicking, throwing objects at others, or otherwise putting peers or staff at risk.

If safety concerns come up, we’ll talk with you about what your child needs and whether the group is still the right fit.

The goal is not to prevent big feelings. It’s to help kids learn that they can have big feelings, get support, recover, and stay connected without anyone getting hurt.

LEGO Social Club is a therapeutic group, not just a place to build.

The group is led by a child therapist and intentionally kept small so kids can get individualized support while they play and interact with peers.

We’re paying attention not only to what kids are building, but to what’s happening underneath the play: Who is having trouble sharing control? Who gets stuck when the plan changes? Who wants to join but doesn’t know how? Who gives up when frustrated? Who needs help speaking up for themselves or noticing someone else’s perspective?

Those moments become opportunities to practice skills in real time, with support right there when kids need it.

A regular LEGO club focuses on the activity. LEGO Social Club uses the activity to support communication, flexibility, emotional regulation, collaboration, problem-solving, and connection.

A lot is happening underneath the building.

Depending on the child, we may be working on:

• Joining play and participating with peers

• Sharing ideas and listening to other people’s ideas

• Flexible thinking

• Sharing materials and space

• Taking turns

• Planning and problem-solving

• Communication and self-advocacy

• Perspective-taking

• Reading social cues

• Managing frustration and disappointment

• Asking for help

• Negotiating and compromising

• Sharing control

• Recovering when something doesn’t go as planned

• Repairing after conflict

• Staying engaged when something feels hard

Different kids will be working on different skills. One child may be practicing how to tolerate someone changing the plan. Another may be learning how to join a build without taking over. Another may be working on speaking up, asking for help, or staying connected when they feel frustrated.

LEGO gives us a shared activity. The real work is helping kids become more flexible, confident, communicative, and connected with other people.

Yes! About halfway through the semester, you will receive an invitation to sign-up for a 30 minute meeting with Amy. At the end of the semester, you will receive written feedback about how the semester has gone.